Page 4 of Make You Mine

“Is anyone else giving you shit?” She asked Paige as she sat next to me.

“Everything okay?” I asked.

“No to both questions,” Paige answered. “But I’ll be fine—eventually. The townsfolk appear to be a little bit peeved that I got the bar in the divorce. Who cares that we opened it together, right? Who cares that I’m the one who kept it open when Eli wanted to sell it a few years back?”

“Ugh, they’re only talking about you because no one cares when they talk about themselves, okay?” Piper’s hand hit the bar to emphasize her point. “And apparently, it doesn’t matter that he is a lousy, abandoning, cheating pig-man, right?” she scoffed. “Leaving you alone with the kids while he goes gallivanting all around town with his new piece of ass. If he ever shows his face around here, I’ll?—”

“I’ll be okay,” Paige cut her off. “No use getting upset over him—again.”

Paige’s husband was a real dirtbag. The kind of man I loved raking over the coals. However, this was not the setting I was accustomed to when a woman was ranting about her ex.

I cleared my throat with a nervous cough. Should I apologize for men everywhere? Or should I go find a table? My eyes darted back and forth between them as I tried to decide what to do.

“The patriarchy is alive and well, and I’m over it. That’s all I’m saying. I’m done with men. After what happened with Richard, I mean it this time. For good. The end. Just me, the cats, and Cody.”

“Oh god, girl. You’re grim as all hell tonight. Have a shot.” Paige grabbed the tequila from the shelf behind her and filled a shot glass for Piper. “Richard is her ex, and Cody is her dog. They’re trying to share him, but it’s not quite working out.” Paige informed me before turning her attention back to Piper. “One shot, Piper. You need to chill out. Let’s toast. One shot will make it all better, or at least ten percent less shitty. I don’t know. Whatever. I’ll pour.”

Deciding to leave them to their moment, I stood to go.

“No, you too, Ren. Please stay.” She filled a second shot glass and pushed it toward me.

“To sisters.” She clinked her shot glass to Piper’s. “And to mean ass divorce attorneys.” She turned to me with a grin. “I owe it all to you.”

I curved my lips in a sardonic smile and raised my glass to hers. “I wish I could have gotten you more. But the state of Oregon doesn’t allow me to go after his soul. Not yet, anyway.”

“He turned out to be a soulless jerk anyway. Trying would have been a waste of time. You two go find a table,” Paige encouraged. “I’m going to zone out and start taking inventory, and there’s no point in drinking alone.”

“I—” Piper started to protest.

“I insist. I’ll have Noah bring out some wings, okay? Someone around here should have a little bit of fun. Entertain my sister, Ren. She could use it. She’s had a bad couple of weeks.”

“Make it cheese fries, and I’ll leave you alone to work,” she grudgingly agreed.

“You got it. Noah!” Paige yelled. “Grab some cheese fries for your Auntie Piper.”

“Will do.” Her eighteen-year-old son shouted back. I knew he wanted to be a chef someday. He was a good kid.

I stood up to find a table, not realizing how close Piper would be when she stood up too. She had a faint spray of freckles across her nose. I’d never noticed—god, they were cute.

Her eyes riveted on my collar, it was undone, tie now gone, before flicking her gaze up to mine with an awkward laugh. A flush covered her cheeks, rosy and warm.

“Shall we?” I asked, surprised by the gravel in my voice as I offered her my arm.

My heart thumped in my chest in reaction when she took it. “Why not, right?” I sucked in a startled breath when she aimed a radiant smile up at me. “Drinking aloneiskind of sad. However, I did not intend to drink tonight in the first place. I just dropped by to check on Paige.”

“Funny. So did I.”

“She has a way of bringing that out in people, doesn’t she?”

“She does,” I agreed. “I have to confess that making small talk is not one of my strengths. Awkward might be my middle name.”

“It’s not his middle name,” Paige snickered behind the bar.

Laughing, Piper leaned into my side as we walked toward a booth in the corner. “Should I ignore her?”

“God, please do.” I watched, intrigued, as she laughed without restraint; her eyes alight with humor and held tilted back like she put her whole body into the feeling.

While Paige was full of brash humor and dry as dirt jokes, Piper seemed…different.

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