Page 39 of Promise Me

And then my brother's beer sprays out of his mouth and all over Betty, who isn’t even fazed.

She just smiles, moving to greet a couple of new customers as she wipes her shirt off.

“You two are living together?”

“Just briefly,” I answer.

My brother’s gaze bounces back and forth between us.

Then he slaps himself.

Sadie jumps back, but I just watch him.

“Are you done?”

“No. Because”—he points between us and then around the bar. He’s being overly dramatic—“I have to be dreaming this. I’m sitting at a bar with you and Sadie. No one is fighting. You have both been laughing and now you live together.”

As if on cue, Sadie laughs.

“Sounds about as wild as the fact that I can’t remember the last three years of my life.”

“Sure as shit does.”

“Luca.”

“What?” he says again and glares at me.

He needs to stop. She has enough on her mind. Now he’s bringing it back to the memory thing, and she doesn’t need that.

“I’m sorry you can’t remember anything. That fucking sucks.”

I’m about to tell him to get out, but I see Sadie smiling at him.

“It does fucking suck,” she replies. “Really fucking sucks.”

“Okay, my little foul-mouth buddies, let’s dial it back.”

“Okay, Dad,” Luca says sarcastically.

Feeding off him, Sadie says, “Yeah, Daddy, my bad.”

The three of us fall silent just then, and Luca clears his throat, tossing a twenty on the counter and getting up.

“It’s really my time to leave now.”

“Bye!” Sadie says to his retreating back.

“See you later,” he says with a wave.

“Why don’t I hang out with your brother more?” she asks me when it’s just us.

“Probably because he’s related to me.”

She taps her nose. “That’s probably true. I think I'm going to go upstairs and crash. How late do you work?”

I glance at the clock on the back wall.

“For a few more hours.”

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