Bad Boys Do (Donovan Brothers Brewery 2)

“Just talk to him,” Tessa repeated. “It would be so nice if you two could be friends like you used to be.”

“We were never friends,” he corrected. “He was my big brother, not my buddy.”

“He was your hero! You looked up to him. I don’t understand how you can go from that to barely tolerating each other.”

He understood why. Sometimes it felt as if he hated Eric. Hated the way he always did the right thing. Hated the way he was always responsible. Always the good one. But the truth was…Jamie knew full well that the person he really hated was himself.

“We clash,” he muttered. “It’s just that simple.”

“So don’t clash. Get along. Talk. Everything doesn’t have to be a battle between you two.”

Try. Just try. That’s what she was asking, and he now knew he could do that. Jamie took a deep breath. “Okay.”

“Okay?” She looked stunned.

When he nodded, Tessa squealed and jumped up from her chair to throw herself at him.

Wrapping his arms around her, he managed a laugh past her bone-crushing hug. He kissed the top of her head before shoving her off his lap. “You’re not as little as you used to be.”

“Hey!” The hard slap to his arm signaled that everything was back to normal. Everything was fine. The only difference was that Jamie was finally starting to find his footing after having been knocked off his feet so many years before.

“Are you already off work?” he asked. “You wanna grab dinner later or—” His phone beeped, and Jamie snatched it up so quickly that Tessa jumped.

“What is it?”

“Shit,” he cursed, viciously disappointed that it wasn’t from Olivia. “It’s from the new part-time guy, Zach. His car broke down in Colorado Springs. He can’t make it in tonight.”

“Oh, no. I can go in, if you want.”

“No,” he sighed. “He’s my bartender. I’ll cover it.”

“Okay,” Tessa said. “But if you’re going in, wear the kilt. I’ll put it on Twitter.”

“Tessa—” he started, but she’d already whipped out her phone and started typing. What the hell. Olivia might call, and it never hurt to be prepared.

CHAPTER TWENTY

“WE’VE GOT A PROBLEM,” Tessa’s voice said into his ear.

Phone clutched loosely in his hand, Jamie settled back into his mattress. “Hmm?” he asked sleepily. Tessa got upset about a lot of stuff, and an early-morning phone call from her wasn’t exactly something to get worked up about.

“Jamie, are you awake?”

“Kind of,” he grumbled, eyes still closed. “What time is it?”

“It’s nine.”

Nine o’clock on a Thursday morning. He opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling. He’d only talked to Olivia once since Tuesday. Concentrating in class today would be challenging. He hoped she wore heels again. And maybe that innocent little button-down dress she’d worn the first day of—

“Jamie! Wake up!”

He forced his eyes open. “I’m awake. I swear. What’s wrong?”

“I know you normally come in late on Thursdays, but Chester just called and he can’t make it.”

“Are you kidding me? I already filled in on Tuesday, and I had to get in at eight yesterday to meet the plumber.”

“I’m sorry. I’d do it myself, but I’ve got an appointment with the accountant and I have to stop in and do a press check at the printer for the new coasters. Eric’s supposed to leave at two for—”