“Hey, Bryn,” Lindsey said as I slid onto the barstool beside Trish. “How are you doing tonight?”
“Doing pretty well, Lindsey,” I said. “How’s business been?”
She gestured around at the already dense crowd filling the space. “It’s a good night. Burger night always is. I wouldn’t be surprised if some of the Freeman boys came in tonight. Nick isn’t the only one who can’t resist my burgers.”
“You make your special burger for all the Freeman boys?” I asked, teasing her.
“Of course not,” she said. “That special is just for Nick. Unless Vince is around, then I have to make one for him. But that’s only because I see him naked on a regular basis, so I figure he deserves it.”
I laughed as she walked away. Trish was staring at me when I turned to look at her.
“Remember I told you Nick brought me to his best friend’s bar the night he wanted to get together to talk about Justin?” I asked.
“Yeah,” Trish said.
“This is it,” I said. “Isn’t it great? I really like it here.”
Trish looked around, taking in the atmosphere, and then her eyes came back to me. “It’s a good bar. It would be a whole lot better if some of those Freeman boys were already here.”
I giggled and shook my head. “You are shameless.”
“Of course I am. Why shouldn’t I be?”
“Because other than Nick, they’re all spoken for,” I said.
Trish shook her head. “No law says I can’t appreciate the scenery.”
We were still laughing when Lindsey came back up with two glasses of wine. She sat them down in front of us, then handed us menus. “What can I get for you?”
Trish and I glanced over the menus and ordered a couple of appetizers, then the burgers that were on special that night. Lindsey nodded, took the menus, and disappeared again. Her interactions were brief because of the crowd, but even being so busy, she managed to be friendly and charming. I took a sip of my wine, then turned to Trish.
“So, I should probably tell you, Nick and I are now officially working together,” I said.
“Officially?” she asked.
“Yes,” I said. “He’s helping me make back the money Justin lost.”
She let out a sigh and drained the rest of her wine. “That’s all? You’re just working on getting your money back? I’m telling you. This is ridiculous. You have this exceptionally gorgeous, influential, rich man who is being so sweet to you and you’re talking about investments? I would have already thrown myself at him. At least once. Just in the name of womanhood.”
I couldn’t keep the grin off my face. Even if I had tried, I’m sure it would have slipped through. She stared at me for a second, and then her eyes grew wide and she let out a squeal so piercing and loud, Lindsey came running over to check on us.
“Trish,” I hissed, half scolding her, half laughing at her reaction. She covered her mouth with one hand, but her eyes were still sparkling.
“What’s going on?” Lindsey asked, her eyes flickering around at all the other customers who were now firmly invested in our conversation.
“I’m sorry,” Trish said, pulling her hand down away from her mouth. “It’s just that my friend… who just went through a really awful breakup with the jackass from hell, by the way… got laid!”
My head dropped and I covered my face with one hand. I couldn’t believe she just did that. Actually, I could completely believe she just did that. That was so Trish. And in that moment, I realized I kind of loved her. She was big and crazy and ridiculous, but she was unapologetically her.
I was shrinking down in my stool, trying to escape everybody around me staring. There was plenty of laughter, and I heard a few comments I couldn’t decide if I wanted to find flattering or offensive. So, I just decided to ignore them. Lindsey patted me on the shoulder and walked off laughing. I looked over at Trish.
“Remember when I said Nick’s best friend owned the bar?” I asked.
Trish gasped. “Oh. That’s right. You did say that. She’s her.”
“Yep.”
“She’s going to tell Nick we were in here talking about him,” Trish said.
“She’s probably on the phone with him already,” I said, noting she had gone off toward the office at the back of the bar rather than going into the kitchen.
“Shit. I’m sorry,” Trish said.
I looked at her, trying to muster up being mad, but all I could do was burst into laughter. “It’s fine. It’s not like he doesn’t know we had sex. And we’re not kids. I’m pretty sure he’s going to talk about it, too.”
Moments later, Lindsey reappeared and dipped into the kitchen. She came out with our food and brought it over to us. I waited for her to say something about Nick while she sat the plates down on the bar, but she didn’t. Maybe she was just waiting for Nick to mention it.