Total pages in book: 39
Estimated words: 37426 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 187(@200wpm)___ 150(@250wpm)___ 125(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 37426 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 187(@200wpm)___ 150(@250wpm)___ 125(@300wpm)
“Thanks.” Steve picked up his glass and took a long swallow. “Mmm.” He wiped his hand across his mouth. “What was Lucas saying about drama with your family?” he asked. “Did they overtake your house with cheap beer, bad music, and loud stories?”
“They’ll probably leave a mess too.” Seamus laughed. “Every twenty-one-year-old is a version of an idiot. Next time, send Mike and his friends over here instead.”
“I tried. When that failed, I followed my own advice and now I'm here.”
“I can’t believe you abandoned Tanner like that,” DJ said.
“Hey, I offered him an out, but Mike physically restrained him to prevent him from leaving. There was nothing I could do.”
“It’s probably good for him to hang out with Mike and his friends,” DJ said.
“Exactly,” Steve agreed and then he turned to Seamus. “All joking aside, is your family okay?”
“Everything’s fine.” Seamus nodded. “Really good, actually.”
“Seamus, can you open this bottle for me? It’s too tight,” Laura the bartender asked.
Eyebrows pulled together in confusion, Seamus said, “Uh, sure,” and reached for the bottle.
She put it into his hand, sliding her fingers over his while she did it. “Thank you.”
Next to him, Steve coughed.
In under a second, Seamus twisted the cap and handed it back to her. “Here you go.”
“You’re so strong.” She curled her hand around his bicep and squeezed.
The cough was now a laugh.
“Cut it out,” DJ hissed at Steve, keeping his voice low as Laura walked away.
“Oh, come on,” he said to DJ. “That was funny.”
“What’s funny?” Seamus asked guilelessly.
“Are you serious?” Steve said.
“What?”
Steve waited a few beats and then said, “Are you and Laura seeing each other?”
“Of course not.”
“Does she know that?”
“What do you mean?”
“And here I thought Tanner was clueless when I was pursing him.” Steve shook his head. “She has a crush on you. And she’s pretty. You should go for it.”
Seamus reared back. “That’s ridiculous.” He jerked his gaze to DJ. “I’m not dating my employee.” He was cute when he was nervous.
“I know you’re not.” DJ tilted his head and considered his husband. He was an objectively gorgeous man. His green eyes were kind and his hair looked soft in the middle, where he kept it long. At over six feet tall, he had probably half a foot on DJ, and his broad frame was twice his width. Laura was right, his arms were muscular and being wrapped in them would probably feel safe and warm. He couldn’t blame her for having a crush on her boss. If DJ wasn’t careful, he could fall victim to the same fate.
Chapter 6
“Pizza delivery!” DJ said with a smile. “Hungry?”
“Starving.” Seamus stepped aside so he could walk through the front door. “Thanks for bringing dinner.”
“No problem. After all, it’s date night.” He winked at Seamus as he put the pizza box on his counter. “Did you have a good day?” He walked over to the cabinet and took out two plates and then got a few napkins from the drawer.
Seamus had lived alone since he left home at eighteen, and while he socialized with people all day at work, he hadn’t ever been close enough with someone for them to be so familiar with his home. The sight of it tightened his chest.
“It was fine. Work was work. How about you?”
“Our days have finally cooled down so we were able to keep the windows and door open at Strong Brew. I love November weather!”
“I spend my days in a basement. I have no sense of when it’s hot or cold and I don’t remember the sun,” Seamus said, only partially kidding.
“At least it’s a nice basement with a big screen TV you get to control.”
“Clearly, you haven't spent as much time as I have with drunk people. I control very little. Unless live sports are on, I’ve started playing game shows. Nobody actually likes them, but everyone seems to find them equally tolerable, so they don’t fight.”
Laughing, DJ got a couple of glasses from the cabinet, added ice from the freezer, and then filled them from the filtered water spout next to the sink. He looked so at home that Seamus considered asking him to move in. There was plenty of space for them both, and if he lived with him, DJ wouldn’t have to pay rent and he could work less. He could relax and they’d be able to spend more time together.
Unfortunately, he didn’t know how to raise the topic. He had gotten to know DJ pretty well over the past couple of months, and while he was laid back and kind, he also had a fair bit of pride. There was no missing how hard he worked, which was too hard, and yet he deftly avoided any of Seamus’s suggestions that he slow down. The reason he worked so much had to be financial, but he never asked him for help, and since he hadn’t heard anything about it from his family, he suspected DJ didn’t ask his sister either. When he tried to remember details of what DJ’s friends had said about him at the bar months earlier, he thought they’d also been confused about why he needed to work so much. But there was no way to talk about finances or work hours without DJ sidestepping the topic.