Page 5 of Back To You

My heart sinks to my stomach at the thought that the sight ofmemade that happen.

Her brown eyes cloud, and my chest tightens, and so many emotions begin to flood my senses.

Happiness because I finally found her.

Anger because she left without telling me where she was going.

Sadness becausesomethinghappened to her.

Frustration because I have no idea what thatsomethingis.

Someone clears their throat, drawing our attention to the other bartender. “Everything okay, Ann?” he asks, his harsh eyes giving me a once-over before looking at her with concern.

It occurs to me that Annie mouthing off to some guy at the bar didn’t faze her co-worker, but her looking at me with this look on her face did.

It takes her a second, but she shakes her head, relaxing her shoulders, before turning to him. “Yeah, all good, Eddie.”

Annie sets down the drink she was making in front of one of Bill’s friends. She looks at me again, this time her brown eyes swimming with confusion. The same confusion that I’m sure is reflected on my face.

I’m confused about what happened that night at Grant’s.

I’m confused as to why she refuses to talk to me.

I’m confused how she ended up here.

And, most of all, I’m confused about what the fuck happened in these past four months that turned her into someone I recognize on the outside, but who I am convinced is a complete stranger on the inside.

“You guys know each other?” Eddie asks Annie.

“Not really,” she says to him, but her eyes are locked with mine. “Not anymore.”

Chapter 3

Present Day

Annie

“Cheers to our newlyweds!” I say as I clink my gin and tonic to the two other glasses. The smile on the face of one of my best friends is brighter than I’ve ever seen, aside from the smile of her husband as he looks down at her.

It was only fitting to come to Lenny’s to celebrate Eddie and Mia’s marriage.

“Thank you for coming today,” Mia says to me as Eddie kisses her temple. Mia and I are seated at the chairs at a high-top table a few feet from the bar, Eddie standing behind Mia’s chair.

Mia’s blonde hair is curled, falling in waves over her shoulders, her long-sleeved bodycon dress a stark white against Eddie’s black dress shirt and dress pants.

“Having you all there meant the world to us.” Mia and Eddiefinallytied the knot an hour ago in the Milwaukee courthouse with our group of friends and her brother, Mateo, as witnesses, all of us in disbelief that it’s been two and a half years since Eddie proposed to Mia on stage while his band, Cross My Heart, was performing.

Working at Lenny’s brought me friendships that made me realize the people I considered friends in high schoolwere anything but. Next month marks seven years since I marched back in here and demanded Emmett give me a job, and so much has changed since then.

It almost makes all the shit that led up to coming here worth it.

It brought me Emmett and Eddie, who became the older brothers I always wanted as an only child, and it brought me their better halves—the two pieces of my makeshift heart—Mia and Emmett’s wife, Drew.

“Another round for the bride and groom? Emmett just texted that he and Drew had to stop home, but they’ll be here in a few minutes.” A voice calls from behind the bar, a voice that makes my stomach drop every time I hear it, but I’ve gotten good at ignoring the feeling over these past seven years.

Luke.

Working at Lenny’s also brought me back to Luke, the person I was desperately trying to run from when I came here in the first place.

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