Page 18 of I Wanna Be Your Lager

“I’m okay.”

“So, what are you going to do while you’re here?”

“Um. I don’t know exactly.” I press my lips together, working up the courage to ask Jake for a job. Spinning around, I lean against the counter. “Maybe you could put me to work at the bar.”

Jake stops stirring his eggs and stares at me. “Wait. You come for a visit, and you want to work at Porter’s?”

I shrug my shoulders. “Sure, why not?” Telling him I technically don’t have a job anymore and could use the money might not be the wisest decision. “It seems like my only chance to spend time with my brother.” I flash him a smile and elbow him in his stomach. It’s the truth. He eats, sleeps, and breathes his bar.

He shakes his head but says nothing because he knows I’m right. “You know what? Sure. I could actually use some help since Dessa’s moving to part-time. I’ll get you a couple of Porter’s shirts, and I’ll have Rylee, Nora, and Lach show you the ropes.”

“Great! I can’t wait to start.” I spin around and twist the dial left on the toaster. “Next time you won’t have to eat charcoal.” I flash him my megawatt smile. Perhaps my luck is finally turning the corner. I hope so anyway.

ELEVEN

THIS IS GOING TO BE GOOD

Lach

I yank open the door to Porter’s. My eyes need a moment to adapt to the shift from sunlight to fluorescent lighting. Nora’s a few feet away, clearing empty beer bottles from a table on the left wall. My gaze drifts from her to behind the bar. A woman—who I don’t recognize—wearing a black Porter’s shirt with her blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail stands in front of a shelf of liquor bottles.

“Hey Nora, who’s that?” I nod toward the bar.

Her gaze drifts from me to the woman behind the bar and back to me. A wide grin splits her face. “Oh, you don’t know who that is?”

I study the woman for a beat longer. Did I hook up with her? From this side, I’d think I’d remember hooking up with her. My brows pinch together. “No. But you say that like I should.”

She laughs. It’s slightly sinister, but it’s Nora, so it’s a friendly sinister. “Oh, this is going to be good.” She turns to the side. “Hey, Eve!”

The woman spins around. All the color drains from her face. The pint glass slips from her grasp, shattering on the hard floor with a loud clang.

“Oh shit,” I mutter.

Nora holds an imaginary popcorn bucket in one hand and motions as if she’s tossing kernels into her mouth. “This is better than any matinee.”

I brush past Nora, and she chuckles behind me as I rush to the bar. I’ve come to grips that Kat would forever live only in my dreams, so to see her not only at my work but behind the bar is mildly shocking. Or a lot shocking. Her real name is Eve. Why does that name sound so familiar? “What are you doing here?” I grit through my teeth. The words come out harsher than I intended, but I’m in a current state of confusion. Or Panic? I’m not even sure.

“I could ask you the same thing,” Eve whispers, eyes wide.

Nora sets a tray of empty bottles on the bar top. “This is Lach. And from what I hear, you two know each other.”

My heart thumps in my chest. I tear my gaze away from Kat—or Eve—and settle on Nora. “What’s going on?” All Nora does is smile brightly at me. She’s useless in helping me solve this mystery.

“What are you doing here?” I ask Eve.

“I’m in town visiting my brother. And what are you doing here?” Her brows raise.

“I work here. But that doesn’t explain why you’re behind the bar wearing a Porter’s shirt.”

“What the hell?” Jake storms in from the hallway where his office is located. “I’m gone for five minutes, and shit’s already breaking.”

“I’m sorry. It bumped against the counter and fell from my hands. I’m such a klutz,” Eve says to Jake.

Shit. Now I feel like an asshole. She’s getting reprimanded for dropping the glass because of me.

Jake groans. “It’s fine. You’re not the first person to break a pint glass, and I’m sure you won’t be the last. I’ll get the mop.” Before any of us can say anything, he retreats to the storage room.

I’m rooted in place, still unable to comprehend what the fuck is happening. The girl I had the most amazing night with, who I thought I would never see again, is standing before me at my job, looking as sexy as ever. My fingers twitch with the need to reach over the bar and haul her mouth to mine.

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