Page 2 of Anyone But the Superstar

And my bar positioning skills are second to none.

By the time Business Suit has pocketed his credit card, I’m already in place, standing near the restroom hallway with a clear direct path to Business Suit’s stool, waiting to swoop in.

My phone buzzes again. Thomas is calling.

Unlike Alice, or Chase’s wife Bell, I don’t feel as guilty letting my brothers’ calls go to voicemail. Probably because, while neither Chase nor Thomas had a part in the paternity bomb my mother dropped on me a year ago (in tandem with the discovery that mynot-father had embezzled my trust fund), they are a little too close to the reality that I’m not ready to face.

Plus, Alice and Bell send me cat pictures and funny gifs. Thomas, Chase and even my previously emotionally distant mother want totalk.

And after a year, I’m still not ready.

It’s not that I’m in denial. I fully believe I’m not Stanley Winston Moore’s daughter. And I’m well aware the man previously known as my father stole my part of the family’s inheritance. In his eyes, I didn’t deserve it. Plus, you know, he had mistresses to feed and shelter.

But knowing all of that is different to admitting it out loud. So I don’t.

However, having been caught in a moment of weakness, probably brought on by hellish-heat, Texas culture shock, and acute anxiety over therealreason for my trip to Houston, I slide my thumb across my phone’s screen.

‘Liz?’

I smile at Thomas’ serious baritone. ‘Hey, bro.’ Shifting to the side to let a waitress past, I keep my eyes on the bar and Business Suit.

‘How are you?’

I open my mouth, ready to rebut his usual order to come home, when his question registers. My imperious brother askinghow I’ve been smacks of Alice’s influence. It’s gotta be hard to maintain an aloof, asshole-ish demeanor when you live and sleep with a woman who’s basically an angel reincarnated.

Deciding that if he’s trying, then I should too. Clearing my throat, I keep my voice as agreeable as possible. ‘I’m good, Thomas. You?’

‘Hmmm.’

Thatis a usual Thomas response.

Chuckling away the surge of emotion I seem unable to shake today, I lean against the brick wall of the restroom hallway, still with a direct line of sight to where Business Suit leans in to say something to the guy next to him. A glance at the hostess stand has me hoping the two guys at the bar don’t know each other. If they both leave, I’ll have to compete with the couple that just arrived, who, like me, don’t seem insane enough to sit outside.

Odds of the two guys at the bar knowing each other seem slim though, seeing as Business Suit’s neighbor is sporting the same threadbare jeans and trucker hat that a lot of the surrounding locals are wearing. Together, they look like the human equivalent of oil and water.

Knowing my brother could hold world records in silence, I bridge the gap. ‘How are Alice and Mary doing?’

‘Fine.’ He pauses, as if thinking. ‘They’d be better if you moved back home.’

I’d give him credit for stepping back from giving his usual direct order and making a passive aggressive suggestion instead, except I’m pretty sure the credit should go to Alice.

I smirk, wondering if Alice made him swear to be nice before he called me. I’d bet my inheritance on it, if I had it to bet. But since I don’t, I play the teasing little sister card. ‘You know, Thomas, as much as I think Alice is a good influence on you, I’m still quite concerned about her intentions.’

Business Suit hands the guy something and then laughs at whatever the guy says before standing. As his shiny loafers hit the floor, I push off the wall, poised to move.

‘Oh?’ Thomas’ tone suggests he’s donned his usual superior expression. The one with a single eyebrow raised that used to remind me of our father.Hisfather. ‘What makes you think that?’

Business Suit is only two steps toward the door by the time I hop onto the vacant stool, my bare thigh halting my slide against the heavy, dark wood. Lifting my knees up, I balance on my jean shorts covered butt and shimmy fully onto the seat. ‘Because if your wife truly took your feelings into consideration, she wouldn’t be sending me pictures of you and your hairy pussy.’

The guy next to me chokes on his beer.

Thomas remains unfazed. ‘Normally I would tell you not to say pussy, but I’ve been informed by said wife that as I don’t reprimand Chase for the same vulgarity, I just end up sounding like a chauvinist asshole.’

‘Whoa-ho, Tommy-kins.’ I laugh at this heretofore unheard-of side of my stiff older brother. ‘Pussy and asshole at the same time?’ A bearded bartender double-takes as he walks past from the other side of the counter. ‘Pint of cider and a water please,’ I call to him before continuing my phone conversation. ‘I take back what I said. Alice has been aphenomenalinfluence on you. Team Alice all the way.’

‘Yes, well—’ he sniffs ‘—you should be.’

We’re silent for a beat. Thomas probably needing a moment to come to terms with sounding human. I use the time hang my purse on a conveniently placed knee-high hook under the bar.

---