Page 13 of The Dating Prohibition
Kendra pulled herself up to standing and grabbed a napkin to dab at her eyes. “I’m sorry, I had just forgotten all about that.” Her shoulders began to shake uncontrollably and shegasped for air between fits of cackling. “But . . . if my business sounded anything like that lemonade stand, then I can’t blame Uncle Ronnie for rejecting my business plan.”
BJ roared, his two hands on the bar counter to steady himself. “Ron would have had no tooth enamel left after ten cups.”
At that, even Lani joined in, her shoulders shaking until she was doubled over at the thought. “I’m sorry. I had no idea.We made it almost thirty years without you telling me the lemonade had no fucking sugar.”
“That’s how much of a ride-or-die I am for you, cuz.”
“Mmm-hmm. Gas me up till the wheels fall off, Keke.” Lani wiped her eyes, kissed Kendra on the cheek, and gave BJ a high fiveover the bar. “I’ll text you when I get home,” she called over her shoulder as she headed toward the front door. “BJ, youmake sure she gets to her car safely please.”
“Of course.” He shrugged.
“Good.” Lani wiggled her fingers and walked out.
Kendra heaved out a massive breath and turned to BJ. “What do you have left to do?”
“Uh, one more load of glasses and I’m supposed to bring up a couple of boxes from downstairs. You?”
“I’m just going to settle the till and I need to inventory which simple syrups I’ll need to make when I come in tomorrow.I think we started to run low on the rhubarb one.” She tapped her chin with her finger before walking around the bar and squattingto check the mini-refrigerators.
“You may be short on the mint syrup as well.” BJ’s deep rasp made Kendra shiver as she realized how close behind her he was.She took a look at the bottles and stood, closing the fridge.
Turning, her arm brushed against his chest, and her cheeks warmed. “Thanks,” she whispered, turning back toward the register tablet, hitting a few buttons before the cash drawerslid out and a receipt of sales began to print. She didn’t dare look at him; as a kid, her family teased her because her face expressed everything she thought and felt. She’d lost at poker too many times to believe anything different. “Should be done in a few.”
“Me too.” He hung his towel to dry and brushed past her gently, his body grazing her backside.
The contact sent a jolt through her body. Kendra glanced at him over her shoulder, her eyebrow arching. “You feelin’ on mybooty, Benji?”
BJ glowered at her. “Ain’t nobody gettin’ fresh. And it’s Ben or BJ.”
The growl in his voice sent a shiver down her spine. “Mmm-hmm.” She eyed him as he headed toward the cellar and went backto counting cash, grabbing Post-it notes to notate tips for each member of the service team. On each one, she wrote the person’sname and the amount, folding the Post-it around the money to keep each amount separate. She rubber-banded the receipt, thetips, and some large bills together with notes for her brother just as BJ came upstairs with the last box of wine. He gruntedas he set it down on the counter and pulled back the flaps.
“Hey, can you put these in the fridge? I’m going to make sure the windows and the back door are locked.” He gestured towardthe back.
Kendra nodded, pulling bottles from the carton and organizing the red wines on shelves and the white wine in a fridge. Shegrabbed her bag and coat from a cabinet near the kitchen, and BJ returned from the back door. “Ready?”
“Yeah. You tired?” Ben eyed her curiously, his gaze tracing the contours of her face.
Heat colored her cheeks under his watchful gaze, but she hoped he didn’t notice. “I haven’t been on my feet this longin a while, but it’s actually good practice,” she admitted. She stretched her arms upward, interlacing her fingers and pressing them against the back of her head so that she could stretch her back.
As she arched to lean into the extension, she sighed happily. Before she dropped her arms, she released her hair from thetopknot she’d tied before the shift, and it fell down her shoulders in loose waves. Kendra ran her hands through a few timesbefore tucking it behind her ears.
BJ regarded her quietly for a moment. “Tell me more about your joint. Are you gonna be the cook or the bartender? Or—” thecorners of his mouth twitched “—are you thinking you’ll be able to be in two places at once?”
“Oop! Now don’t do me like that, I know that’s not possible.”
His lips twitched. “Just making sure. So then which?”
“The cook. It’s easier for me to relinquish control of making my cocktails than it would be for someone else to have accessto my recipes––especially the family recipes.” That wasn’t easy for her to admit, but if she were being honest, she’d preferto clone herself and control everything. Perfection was attainable.
He tilted his head, his face unreadable.
“What?” she asked.
BJ’s mouth curved slightly as his chin dipped slightly. “You’re mean when you’re in the kitchen, Kenny.” His deep brown eyescrinkled at the corners and he burst out laughing. “You’re like two notches below Gordon Ramsay.”
Kendra’s eyes widened as they walked toward the front door. She turned off the lights and closed the curtains as they went.“I am not!”
“Yeah, you are. One year, at Thanksgiving, your brother tried to add some seasoning to your gravy and you hit his hand witha wooden spoon. Popped him like he stole somethin’.”
