Page 24 of The Ex Next Door
She should have never tried to help Declan and just stayed in her own lane!
“I’ll go get your drinks.” Amy rushed off.
The rest of the night passed in a blur, and she didn’t have any further interaction with Samantha when a couple of seats were vacated near the bar and they joined Declan, who was working a shift tonight, too. He was so busy Amy found herself waiting at the bar station to place her orders.
“What can I get ya?” Declan finally got to her.
“A mojito, a Tequila shot and a draft beer,” Amy said.
“Got it.”
She waited while Declan made the drinks, wondering how and when she’d mention her faux pas with his girlfriend. She didn’t want him to be caught unaware just in case he wanted to preemptively tell Samantha so it wouldn’t appearhe’d been hiding anything. At the same time, Amy realized she was getting a bit too involved in this matter, but she couldn’t help it. Misunderstandings often led to breakups when couples didn’t talk.
Amy waited for her drinks while stealing occasional glances at Samantha, who at least didn’t seem to be upset. She’d probably just been surprised, but c’mon, Amy was zero threat to someone who looked likeSamantha. In fact, she seemed to be fending off advances from both left and right.
“Declan,” Amy said, and he leaned in. He did that a lot due to the level of noise in the bar. “I’m sorry, but I may have misspoken. I accidentally told Samantha I live next door and she seemed a little surprised you didn’t tell her. I don’t want to get you in any trouble.”
Declan simply shook his head and waved it away. “No problem.”
Classic Declan. His attitude had always been rather cavalier, which had been part of the problem. Declan never really seemed to be invested in anyone or anything besides baseball. Amy shook the idea out of her mind and worked hard the rest of the night, getting some great tips from a mommy and me group when a mother recognized her from school pickup.
She caught Samantha and her friend leaving, she blowing a kiss at Declan, he smiling. So, they must have resolved everything. Again, classic Declan. There wasn’t much he couldn’t smooth over withthosedimples.
At the end of the evening, Debbie joined Amy. “You did good tonight. Are your dogs barkin’?”
“If that means my feet are killing me, then yes.” Amy leaned against the bar and took her weight off one of them.
“Have a seat. Before we leave, Declan always rallies the troops.”
“Rallies the troops?” Amy wrinkled her nose.
“Basically we sit and chat, have a soda, and he’ll buoy our spirits after a rough night. He’s kind of inspirational, actually.” Debbie grabbed a stool and encouraged Amy to sit.
She would make excuses to run home for the babysitter, but her mom was her sitter, and already spending the night. Instead, Amy texted her so she wouldn’t worry about her being a few minutes late.
“Hey, ladies.” Declan carried with him a tray of their sample platter of onion rings, potato skins and jalapeno poppers and set it in front of them. “Compliments of the chef. How was your night?”
“I had a pretentious jackass who had me running back and forth because his steak wasn’t cooked to perfection,” Debbie said. “It was fine! You want to know how much he tipped me? The worst tip of my night!” She took an onion ring and bit into it.
Debbie worked both sides of the bar and grill, and she didn’t stop complaining for ten whole minutes. Compared with her, Amy had a great night.
Declan listened patiently, while he poured Debbie soda into an iced tumbler.
“Some people will never appreciate your true worth,” he said. “But I do.”
“Sugar, you’re the only reason I’m still workin’ here. I’m too old for this stink.”
“I bet Amy was a huge help.” Declan winked.
A wink like that on another woman would probably cause a heart convulsion. Fortunately, Amy was relatively immune to Declan.Relativelybeing the operative word.
“I don’t know how I survived without her an entire month!” Debbie leaned in and gave Amy a sideways hug. “Thank you for finding this gem.”
He faced Amy, spreading his arms out on the bar. “How about you? You got any complaints?”
She didn’t, not really, but wanted to participate. “I guess I’m not fast enough forsomepeople.”
“You know, you’d think people would realize they can get a cold beer in half the time from their own damn fridge. Going out is supposed to be a social occasion, not a sprint,” Debbie said. “What else?”
