Guy Hater (Fisher Brothers 2)

“Are we taking it to go?” Claudia asked absentmindedly as she stared at the menu.

“Let’s eat here.”

She ducked her head, her hair dropping into a curtain that nearly hid her smile. “Are you going to make fun of me if I order a salad?”

I tried to keep my face serious. “I thought you ate pizza? Loved cheese? Could live off pizza alone? Told me to feed it to you or lose you forever?” I poked at her shoulder.

She swatted my arm. “I meant with the pizza.”

“Order whatever you want, babe,” I said, then froze when I realized I’d just responded as if she were my girlfriend. Her cheeks flushed, and I knew I was screwed. It wasn’t like I could take it back, but I could pretend it had never happened. Stupid fucking mouth.

We ordered more food than we could possibly eat, and I paid, not wanting to let Claudia buy anything when we were together. She tried to argue with me, reminding me how I always paid for her drinks at the bar, but in the end, I won. Her wallet stayed in her purse, and her purse stayed on her shoulder.

Looking around the small space, I was glad it wasn’t busy, and urged her toward a small table in the back.

Claudia sat down across from me and smiled. “Thank you for dinner.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Next time I’m treating you,” she insisted, and I knew better than to fight her on it. I simply nodded and wondered how the hell I’d pull off a next time with her.

When we finished eating, I grabbed Ryan’s pizza and our leftovers before we headed out into the chilly evening air. Claudia wrapped her arms around herself as we hustled back to the bar. I’d left Ryan alone for way too long, losing track of time as Claudia and I ate and chatted like we’d been doing it for years. Even though Sam’s would be all but empty on a Tuesday night, none of us liked working alone. Not to mention the fact that there was safety in numbers, and being the lone person tending bar wasn’t all that smart.

I was glad when we walked inside to see only a small handful of patrons. Ryan seemed to have everything under control, laughing easily with them as he prepared a drink.

“Let me put this in the back,” I said to Claudia, and she smiled and gave me a quick nod. I left the pizza on the desk in my office, then returned to the bar.

“Pizza’s in the office. Go eat. I’ll take care of things out here,” I said before giving Ryan a slight shove. Before I knew it, he had the pizza box in hand, and rather than eating in the office, was headed toward where Claudia gone to sit in the back of the bar, at the same table we’d sat at last night.

I bit back a scowl, wanting to strangle my brother as I answered nonstop questions from two guys who wanted to know how long we’d been open, what our plans were for the future, and why we didn’t serve food. Jesus, I wanted them to shut the hell up. I kept my responses short, my tone gruff, and they eventually stopped being so damn chatty. If they wanted a bartender best friend, they’d have to wait for Ryan to come back.

Claudia’s laugh filled the room. I jerked my head around to find she and Ryan were laughing so hard, they looked like they each might fall off their chairs. Jealousy ripped through me. As irrational and immature as it was, the emotion still seared my every fiber. I wanted to make her laugh like that. I wanted to do so many things both to and with Claudia.

Needing a distraction, I reached for the empty beer tumblers and started washing them. I kept my head down and scrubbed furiously, letting out all my pent-up emotions on the poor glass cylinders.

Ryan’s voice startled me. “Whoa, bro, what’d those glasses ever do to you?”

I had no idea how long I’d been standing there, my hands moving furiously, my knuckles white from my grip.

“She’s really cool,” he said in a low voice as he gently removed the glass from my hand.

“I know she is,” I bit back before casting a glance at her direction. She sat at our table alone, her eyes on me. Not on Ryan, but me. I couldn’t wait to get back over to her.

The door opened and several loud female voices floated into the bar. I looked up, immediately recognizing one in particular, and froze in shock as Shelby and three of her coworkers stepped inside the bar. The group had clearly already been drinking, and Shelby was apparently more than simply buzzed, based on the way she carried herself and the higher-than-normal volume of her voice.

Ryan stomped on my foot. “What’s she doing here?” he asked behind a smile meant for my girlfriend and her friends.

“I don’t know,” I ground out behind a plastered-on smile of my own, trying not to freak the fuck out.

“Hey, baby!” Shelby hopped onto a stool, reaching over the bar to loop an arm around my neck and plant a kiss right on my mouth.

With my eyes still open, I met Claudia’s confused gaze, then looked back at Shelby.

She frowned. “Did you forget we were coming? I told you this morning.”

My mind sifted through foggy memories for a conversation where Shelby had mentioned coming by the bar tonight, but came up empty. With my luck, she had probably told me while I was still half asleep.

I mumbled something in response that she assumed was my recognition. Obviously, I had no idea she’d be stopping by the bar tonight.