Two Truths & a Lime (The Love Game Book 3)

by Elizabeth Hayley

  “We picked it because there’s a grassy area right off the deck, and the guys thought it’d be cool to set up some backyard games and stuff there with a fire pit or two. Other places have decks or patios with outdoor seating, but from what I’ve seen, no other bar or restaurant nearby has anything like that, so we wanted to capitalize on that with the name.”

  “Ahh, okay, that makes a little more sense. Let me know when it opens. I’ll be sure to check it out.”

  “Yeah, I definitely will. Right now we’re aiming for the first day of summer.”

  “Oh, nice. That’s pretty soon.” He picked up his computer and pushed in the chair he’d been in beside me. “I’ll leave you to it, then.”

  Thankfully, he did.

  D R E W

  “You found someone good, right?” Sean asked as he led the way out of his office and toward the bar.

  “Uh…yeah.” The word left my mouth more as a question. I honestly had serious doubts Xander would be any good. How much could someone really learn about bartending on YouTube?

  My tone must have registered with Sean because he stopped dead in his tracks and turned to look at me.

  “What’re his experience and qualifications?” he asked, starting to look dubious.

  Shit.

  “He’s smart,” I offered hopefully. “And a quick learner.” At least I had some positive attributes I could be honest about.

  “Has he ever tended bar before?”

  “Not exactly.”

  “Worked in a bar?”

  “Not that I know of.”

  “Worked at all?”

  “His work ethic has mostly been confined to his studies.”

  “Because he’s never worked a day in his life,” Sean finished.

  “Everyone’s gotta start somewhere. I didn’t have any bartending experience when you hired me.”

  Sean scrubbed a hand down his face, obviously unhappy with the situation. “True. But you give off good, hardworking vibes.”

  “Xander may give you those same vibes.”

  “The way you’re sweating tells me he won’t.”

  “It’s practically summer,” I argued.

  “We’re indoors.”

  “Just…give him a fair chance, okay?” I begged.

  Despite telling Aamee and Xander they were hired, that wasn’t completely true. While Sean had put me in charge of the deck and had allowed me to pull the applicants I preferred, he still insisted on doing the actual interviewing. Not that I could blame him. It was still his business on the line, and he was the one paying everyone. And under normal circumstances, his interview would’ve been a formality because he trusted my judgment. Well, he had at least, but I had a feeling that trust was about to take a nose dive.

  I’d rather have not put myself in this position, and in a different scenario, I might’ve blown off Xander’s offer to work here. But I was worried about Xander, and I thought it would be good for him to have somewhere he had to be a few times a week. For that reason, I didn’t want Sean making up his mind before he even met Xander.

  “Yeah, yeah,” Sean muttered as he resumed his trek to the bar where Xander was waiting.

  Thank God he’d shown up on time. He’d texted me to say he was on his way, but I hadn’t had a chance to meet him out here beforehand. As we approached, Xander noticed us and stood up.

  What the hell?

  Xander was wearing black pants and a maroon button-down with a black vest that had little neon martini glasses all over it. He’d topped that with a black flat cap that made him look like he’d just walked off the Irish highlands.

  Next to all of us wearing jeans and T-shirts, he looked positively ridiculous, though I appreciated that he attempted to look the part. What part, I wasn’t sure, but definitely part of something.

  Sean and Xander introduced themselves, and then Sean said, “Nice outfit. So you’re looking to be a bartender?”

  “Thanks,” Xander replied. “And I prefer the title mixologist.”

  I’m going to strangle him.

  “Oh yeah?” Sean said, the disdain in his voice evident despite the few words.

  Xander seemed to pick up on it because he faltered a little. “But bartender works too.”

  “Great. Why don’t you get behind the bar, and I’ll throw out a few drinks for you to make?”

  Xander rubbed his hands together so hard, I thought he might start a fire. “Sounds good.”

  He hurried around the side of the bar and walked through the opening. Wyatt, who was setting up for happy hour, moved to the side to give Xander room.

  “Okay, you got this, you got this,” Xander muttered to himself as he bounced on the balls of his feet, seemingly trying to psych himself up.

  Sean sent me a look that screamed Are you serious with this guy?

  I smiled weakly and turned my attention back to Xander.

  “What’s up first?” Xander asked. His excitement would’ve been endearing if I hadn’t thought Sean was about to throw him right the hell out of here.

  “Manhattan,” Sean said.

  “Awesome. I studied this one a lot.” He took one of the shakers that was set up in front of him and then looked around for the ingredients he needed.

  Wyatt pointed out where the various things were as Xander asked for them.

  “Orange peel?” Xander asked.

  We all looked at him like he was crazy, and he shrugged.

  “It’s cool. I can work without it.” He looked at the ingredients he’d collected and reached for the shaker before stopping suddenly. “Oh, wait, you didn’t say how you wanted it.”

  “A Classic Manhattan is fine. How about with a twist, since we didn’t have orange peels for ya?”

  Xander nodded. “Sounds good. Do you, by any chance, know how big your ice cubes are?”

  “Ice?” Sean asked.

  “Yeah. It’s cool if you don’t. It’s just hard to account for dilution if I don’t know how big it is. But I can guesstimate.”

  “Yeah, you’d better do that.”

  “Okay, cool, no problem.” As he set about mixing the drink, he began babbling. “Did you know that bitters were originally used to treat stomach and gas issues? Pretty fascinating.”

  Xander finished up the drink, garnished it, and handed it over to Sean.

  Sean eyed it warily, even though he’d watched Xander prepare it.

  Xander just smiled patiently.

  Sean finally picked up the drink and took a sip. “Mmm, pretty good. Where’d you learn to bartend?”

  Xander glowed under the praise. “YouTube. What’s next?”

  Sean hesitated a moment, as if he were weighing whether or not Xander was kidding. Thankfully he didn’t ask. “Daiquiri.”

  “Okay.” Xander grabbed a clean shaker and gathered the new ingredients. He didn’t need Wyatt’s help this time, as if looking for the things he needed for the Manhattan had imprinted the layout of the entire bar. Hell, knowing Xander, it probably had.

  “How sweet do you like it?” Xander asked.

  “Just do what a typical recipe calls for,” Sean said, his voice a little patronizing.

  “Yeah, well, the thing is there seems to be some disagreement as to what’s typical. Some recipes call for an ounce of simple syrup, but from a chemistry point of view, that leaves it somewhat under diluted with a bit too low of an ethanol content. But it’ll be very sweet, if that’s how you like it. Others say a half an ounce, but that affects the acidity balance with the lime. So I could play it safe with three-quarters of an ounce, but really, it all comes down to preference, so if you could just tell me, that would be great.”

  Sean stared at Xander for a second, and I could see my friend beginning to wilt under the scrutiny. My chest began to ache as it sank in that Sean was going to send Xander packing. And Xander, who acted like nothing ever bothered him, kind of looked a little pale.

  Fuck it. I’d fight tooth and nail for him.

  Xander had clearly put a lot of
effort into learning his shit, and if Sean didn’t like it because he was a bit of a rambling know-it-all, then too damn bad. He put me in charge of the deck, and Xander would just have to be part of that deal.

  I opened my mouth to ask Sean if I could speak to him privately, when I saw a ghost of a smile appear on Sean’s lips.

  “Don’t worry about it, kid,” Sean said. “You’re hired.”

  “Really?” Xander sounded as surprised as I was, but he looked elated.

  “Yup. You can even shadow Wyatt for happy hour if you want to get your feet wet.”

  “Yeah. Yeah, I’d love that.”

  Sean gave him a nod before getting up and walking past me, patting me on the shoulder. “I hope the girl you’re bringing in later is as good as that one,” he said, jerking his thumb over his shoulder at Xander.

  I bit my tongue to keep myself from revealing that Aamee likely wouldn’t be, but who really knew? Stranger shit had happened. Like Xander impressing my boss with skills he learned from YouTube.

  I settled for a nod, and Sean walked away. When I looked back at the bar, I saw Xander absorbing every word that left Wyatt’s mouth like it would lead him to a pot of gold and decided to leave them to it.

  I made my way outside to where Brody was inputting purchasing orders into an Excel spreadsheet, looking focused and professional.

  It was like all my friends had up and become responsible adults when I wasn’t looking. And I wasn’t sure how I felt about it.

  Chapter Fifteen

  D R E W

  I scrolled a bit more on my iPad before handing it to Brody.

  “What about bumper stickers?” I asked. “Like the magnetic ones. You think people would use them?”

  Brody took a look at the ones I’d chosen—oval with a black border. “What would they say?”

  “The Yard,” I answered slowly.

  “I know, dumbass. But is that it? Would people know it’s a bar with just that?”

  “We can put the city and state below. Or the website or something so people might look it up.”

  Why was deciding on advertising merchandise so difficult? We’d already chosen black T-shirts with the logo for the employees, and we’d ordered the same design in a few different colors to sell.

  “I feel like people will think it’s a bar just because of the logo alone,” I told him. It was a clever design, and one neither of us could take credit for—the Y in Yard was made to look like a martini glass, and the d looked like a stake with a ring that had landed on it. I had no idea how Sophia had designed it, but it looked amazing.

  “Okay, yeah, you’re probably right,” he said, not sounding so sure.

  “What? What is it?”

  He shrugged and settled back against the lounge chair before putting his hands behind his head and looking up at the sky. “Just hope it all works out, ya know? And this place comes together like it should.”

  “It’s already looking better. The bar’s almost done, and we’re almost finished with the landscaping.” I looked around at the previously barren space where we’d planted some bushes around the perimeter and installed some permanent benches for added seating.

  “No, I know all that’s going well. I just mean the whole thing.” He sat up and folded his hands, cracking his knuckles nervously.

  I didn’t know how to respond because I was scared too. Terrified, actually, when I really thought about all of it. But it was a good kind of fear. The kind that helped motivate you to get shit done because you don’t want to see what’d happen if you don’t. I wanted to tell him it would be okay, but I didn’t know if that was true. And more than that, Brody needed to figure this shit out on his own. We both did.

  “Yeah, I know” was all I could come up with.

  “I don’t know, man. Like my dad wants to see our plans and shit, but I’ve never been much of a planner, you know?”

  I nodded and tried not to laugh. “I think your dad knows that. You know, since you told him you got married to someone your parents had never met.”

  “Fuuucckk.” He drew out the word as he steepled his hands in front of his face. “The fact that figuring out what to do about my fake marriage has been on the back burner lately should tell you all you need to know about my life.”

  That time I laughed. We both did, though Brody’s faded quickly.

  “I think some of it for me is that Sophia’s done a ton for us,” he said. “She did for Nite Bites too. And now we have Aamee and Xander and Sean believing in us. So then I wonder how much of our success is really us and how much of it is the people in our corner.”

  Sophia had done a lot for us, more than we’d ever asked her to. She’d researched comparable establishments, mocked up some other graphics and ads to share. She’d even set up a newsletter for us, and through all our combined contacts, we already had a good number of subscribers. Brody and I had created the content for the first one that went out to advertise the grand opening. We included some promos we planned to run that first week, as well as some pictures of the outdoor space in progress and a list of the types of games we’d be offering.

  Aamee had also been supportive, and now she and Xander would be helping us at the bar. But they weren’t the reason this would be a success. Just like they couldn’t be blamed if it failed.

  “Does it matter why it works, as long as it does?”

  When Brody turned toward me, I sensed the gravity of what he was about to say before he said it. Somehow his eyes looked heavier, and his lips held a tension I’d seen there only a few times before.

  “It matters to me” was all he said.

  We were silent for a few more minutes, both of us presumably unable to find anything to say that was worth saying.

  “Do you two ever do any work?”

  I didn’t think I’d ever be happy to hear Aamee’s voice, but I guess there was a first time for everything.

  Brody lit up when he saw her, a smile sweeping across his face. “We’re taking a break,” he said. “You don’t want us to overheat, do you?”

  She plopped down on his lap with more force than was necessary, causing him to wince.

  “Guys are so dramatic,” she teased.

  “Oh yeah, we’re the dramatic ones,” he said.

  She put her finger in front of his lips to serve as a warning for him not to continue.

  “You done for the day?” Brody asked her. “Or do you just have an aversion to labor too?”

  Aamee seemed to consider her response for longer than was necessary before she said, “Both, actually.”

  Brody laughed, and it was nice to see him lighten up. Aamee was good for him.

  “Where’s Xander?” he asked. “Is Sean letting him leave early too?”

  “Yeah, but he’s in there ‘experimenting’ with new drinks,” she said, using air quotes to show how ridiculous she thought it was. “He said he wanted to create some signature cocktails for the Yard with a summer or outdoor theme or something. Sean said it was fine as long as he didn’t try it with any top-shelf stuff.”

  “That’s cool. He come up with anything good yet?” I asked.

  “He’s being pretty secretive, but I saw him making something with peach schnapps, cranberry juice, lime, and prosecco that looked pretty freakin’ good. I asked if I could try it, but you know how he gets when he’s superfocused.”

  I definitely knew how Xander got when he was in his zone. He was so far into his own thoughts, the outside world ceased to exist.

  “Did he even respond to you?” I asked.

  “What do you think?”

  All three of us laughed before Aamee asked how much longer we’d be at the bar.

  “Probably another hour or so, and we’ll be good here,” Brody told her. “We started looking at some advertising stuff when we took a break to cool off.”

  “Advertising stuff,” she repeated, teasing. “You guys are such professionals.”

  I heard her squeal and realized Brody had squeezed her. She tried to
swat him away, but he continued, not letting her go.

  I was starting to feel awkward. “Okay,” I said, “I’m gonna go see what Xander’s up to. Let me know when you two are done”—I waved my hand around—“whatever you’re doing.”

  When I turned to head back to the main entrance, I heard Aamee call after me.

  “Wait, Drew. I’m going, I swear. I’ll let you guys get back to work.”

  She’d already stood up since Brody had been kind enough to let her go.

  “I’ll see you later, then,” he said to her, standing to give her a hug goodbye.

  Even I couldn’t miss the intention behind his words or in the way he looked at her. I looked at Sophia the same way.

  “Damn right you will,” Aamee told him before using his ass to hold on to as she pulled herself a little higher to kiss him.

  I cleared my throat when the kiss lasted an uncomfortably long time. They pulled away a few moments later, both of them smiling stupidly at each other.

  “I’m going this time,” she said to me. “I’ll see you when you get home.”

  “Don’t say that,” Brody whined. “‘Home’ just sounds…weird. It’s still so strange to me that the two of you are living together.”

  Aamee didn’t miss a beat. “Stranger than it is for me that you’re living with your wife?”

  Boom!

  For as much as I’d hated Aamee at one time, the girl had definitely grown on me.

  “Point taken,” Brody said, and then he plastered on a cheesy grin and gave her a long, overly exaggerated wave. “Love you.”

  Smiling back at him, she said, “Love you too.”

  And though I knew I was just as madly in love with Sophia as Brody was with Aamee, I couldn’t help but bust his balls.

  “Okay, you can stop now. You look like Forrest fucking Gump waving to her like that.”

  S O P H I A

  With my eyes still closed, I reached over my head to stretch. I could hear Drew moving around the room, but I had a feeling it was still pretty early, and I resisted the sunlight I could sense through my eyelids.