Love Unrehearsed
Page 116
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“You have time?”
He took a sip and tilted his head. “I have fifteen minutes. Can I have the abridged version?”
“Okay . . . Marie and Tammy are still fighting, Pete is miserable being laid up on his couch and out of work, your mom said that she’s throwing our engagement party at their house on July twenty-second, which is on both of our calendars now, and somewhere in the last week Cory started sleeping with the new waitress Marie hired.” I wiggled my cell. “Oh, and I talked to Joe.”
He looked a bit surprised. “Wow. I thought all the drama was out there.” He pointed. “Cory nailing that short blonde I met, or did Marie hire someone else?”
“No. It’s the one you met—Kara.” Ryan nodded. “Well, good for him, I guess.”
“Not so good for me. Especially if there’s a dramatic breakup.”
He slid into the dinette and sat across from me. “That’s the shit you have to deal with being a business owner. Although it’s really Marie’s problem, I suppose.”
“It’s my bar. It’s my problem. One that I’ve been avoiding for weeks now. She’s got her own drama to deal with.” Ryan scratched his eyebrow with his thumb and frowned at me. “I can’t tell you what to do, but you know you can’t be in two places at once. And Mike is so miserable, I’m about to send him off to Seaport if he doesn’t get to see Marie soon.”
He was rather grumpy lately.
“She wants to become a bodyguard.” I was surprised when he didn’t seem fazed by that. He took another swig of water and I watched him swallow. Something about that was quite sexy, actually. “Mike told me.” The news that Mike talked to him about it was also surprising, since Mike wasn’t one to share much. “Mike told you?” He nodded. “Yeah. We talked about it quite a bit.”
“According to Marie, he’s being extremely supportive about it.”
Ryan twisted his lips as if he were hiding a secret. “Love will do that to ya.” That surprised me. “He’s in love?”
“Isn’t it obvious? She’s very attractive, but she also is a bit of a scrapper. Feisty little thing, ya know? That’s exactly what he needs.”
I smiled. “Yeah, I know. She doesn’t take a lot of crap. She’s worse if she’s been drinking.”
He crawled out of the bank seat and sat down on the couch, putting his feet up. “And what are your thoughts on all of that? You’d lose your bar manager.”
“I think she should do whatever makes her happy.”
He rested his head back into his hands. “I agree. Especially if she and Mike stick.
Would be best if their jobs complemented each other. That’s just a win-win for us.”
“Win-win?”
He gave me his isn’t it obvious? eyes. I wasn’t about to ask. I was sort of stuck on his other innuendo. “You want me to sell the bar.” It wasn’t a question, but it definitely came out of my mouth as a whispered realization.
His frown said it for him. He took another drink of his water, eyeing me before he spoke. “I want you to do what’s right for us.
Having the business is great but you being constantly worried about it isn’t, so something needs to give.”
He was right, in a way, but then again we’d been engaged only a few weeks. Was I wrong for wanting a fallback plan? One ace stashed up my sleeve in case of emergencies?
After all, I had my own sense of self-preservation.
“Can we discuss this some other time?” Without hesitation, he said, “Yep.”
“How are things on set? How’s Nicole doing?”
Ryan seemed undecided. “She’s been toe-ing the line.”
“You think she’s staying clean?” He scratched his eyebrow. “She doesn’t have much of a choice since I insisted on her getting weekly drug screenings. She can be pissy toward me all she wants; while she’s here working on my film, she will keep that shit out of her body and her head in the game.”
I nodded. “Did you talk to her about getting some drug counseling?”
I knew he was not keen on intervening.
“No, but I did have a private chat with her.
One slipup and I’d see to it that she’d get hauled off set in cuffs.”
“You didn’t?”
“I most certainly did. I don’t have time to babysit. She has to deal with her own shit or else. Anyway, that’s not our problem. I have to go back soon. I came to get you. I need you there.”
He took a sip and tilted his head. “I have fifteen minutes. Can I have the abridged version?”
“Okay . . . Marie and Tammy are still fighting, Pete is miserable being laid up on his couch and out of work, your mom said that she’s throwing our engagement party at their house on July twenty-second, which is on both of our calendars now, and somewhere in the last week Cory started sleeping with the new waitress Marie hired.” I wiggled my cell. “Oh, and I talked to Joe.”
He looked a bit surprised. “Wow. I thought all the drama was out there.” He pointed. “Cory nailing that short blonde I met, or did Marie hire someone else?”
“No. It’s the one you met—Kara.” Ryan nodded. “Well, good for him, I guess.”
“Not so good for me. Especially if there’s a dramatic breakup.”
He slid into the dinette and sat across from me. “That’s the shit you have to deal with being a business owner. Although it’s really Marie’s problem, I suppose.”
“It’s my bar. It’s my problem. One that I’ve been avoiding for weeks now. She’s got her own drama to deal with.” Ryan scratched his eyebrow with his thumb and frowned at me. “I can’t tell you what to do, but you know you can’t be in two places at once. And Mike is so miserable, I’m about to send him off to Seaport if he doesn’t get to see Marie soon.”
He was rather grumpy lately.
“She wants to become a bodyguard.” I was surprised when he didn’t seem fazed by that. He took another swig of water and I watched him swallow. Something about that was quite sexy, actually. “Mike told me.” The news that Mike talked to him about it was also surprising, since Mike wasn’t one to share much. “Mike told you?” He nodded. “Yeah. We talked about it quite a bit.”
“According to Marie, he’s being extremely supportive about it.”
Ryan twisted his lips as if he were hiding a secret. “Love will do that to ya.” That surprised me. “He’s in love?”
“Isn’t it obvious? She’s very attractive, but she also is a bit of a scrapper. Feisty little thing, ya know? That’s exactly what he needs.”
I smiled. “Yeah, I know. She doesn’t take a lot of crap. She’s worse if she’s been drinking.”
He crawled out of the bank seat and sat down on the couch, putting his feet up. “And what are your thoughts on all of that? You’d lose your bar manager.”
“I think she should do whatever makes her happy.”
He rested his head back into his hands. “I agree. Especially if she and Mike stick.
Would be best if their jobs complemented each other. That’s just a win-win for us.”
“Win-win?”
He gave me his isn’t it obvious? eyes. I wasn’t about to ask. I was sort of stuck on his other innuendo. “You want me to sell the bar.” It wasn’t a question, but it definitely came out of my mouth as a whispered realization.
His frown said it for him. He took another drink of his water, eyeing me before he spoke. “I want you to do what’s right for us.
Having the business is great but you being constantly worried about it isn’t, so something needs to give.”
He was right, in a way, but then again we’d been engaged only a few weeks. Was I wrong for wanting a fallback plan? One ace stashed up my sleeve in case of emergencies?
After all, I had my own sense of self-preservation.
“Can we discuss this some other time?” Without hesitation, he said, “Yep.”
“How are things on set? How’s Nicole doing?”
Ryan seemed undecided. “She’s been toe-ing the line.”
“You think she’s staying clean?” He scratched his eyebrow. “She doesn’t have much of a choice since I insisted on her getting weekly drug screenings. She can be pissy toward me all she wants; while she’s here working on my film, she will keep that shit out of her body and her head in the game.”
I nodded. “Did you talk to her about getting some drug counseling?”
I knew he was not keen on intervening.
“No, but I did have a private chat with her.
One slipup and I’d see to it that she’d get hauled off set in cuffs.”
“You didn’t?”
“I most certainly did. I don’t have time to babysit. She has to deal with her own shit or else. Anyway, that’s not our problem. I have to go back soon. I came to get you. I need you there.”
