Page 17 of Seamus's Basement
“Hey, I offered him an out, but Mike physically restrained him to prevent him from leaving. There was nothing I could do.”
“It’s probably good for him to hang out with Mike and his friends,” DJ said.
“Exactly,” Steve agreed and then he turned to Seamus. “All joking aside, is your family okay?”
“Everything’s fine.” Seamus nodded. “Really good, actually.”
“Seamus, can you open this bottle for me? It’s too tight,” Laura the bartender asked.
Eyebrows pulled together in confusion, Seamus said, “Uh, sure,” and reached for the bottle.
She put it into his hand, sliding her fingers over his while she did it. “Thank you.”
Next to him, Steve coughed.
In under a second, Seamus twisted the cap and handed it back to her. “Here you go.”
“You’re so strong.” She curled her hand around his bicep and squeezed.
The cough was now a laugh.
“Cut it out,” DJ hissed at Steve, keeping his voice low as Laura walked away.
“Oh, come on,” he said to DJ. “That was funny.”
“What’s funny?” Seamus asked guilelessly.
“Are you serious?” Steve said.
“What?”
Steve waited a few beats and then said, “Are you and Laura seeing each other?”
“Of course not.”
“Does she know that?”
“What do you mean?”
“And here I thought Tanner was clueless when I was pursing him.” Steve shook his head. “She has a crush on you. And she’s pretty. You should go for it.”
Seamus reared back. “That’s ridiculous.” He jerked his gaze to DJ. “I’m not dating my employee.” He was cute when he was nervous.
“I know you’re not.” DJ tilted his head and considered his husband. He was an objectively gorgeous man. His green eyes were kind and his hair looked soft in the middle, where he kept it long. At over six feet tall, he had probably half a foot on DJ, and his broad frame was twice his width. Laura was right, his arms were muscular and being wrapped in them would probably feel safe and warm. He couldn’t blame her for having a crush on her boss. If DJ wasn’t careful, he could fall victim to the same fate.
Chapter 6
“Pizza delivery!” DJ said with a smile. “Hungry?”
“Starving.” Seamus stepped aside so he could walk through the front door. “Thanks for bringing dinner.”
“No problem. After all, it’s date night.” He winked at Seamus as he put the pizza box on his counter. “Did you have a good day?” He walked over to the cabinet and took out two plates and then got a few napkins from the drawer.
Seamus had lived alone since he left home at eighteen, and while he socialized with people all day at work, he hadn’t ever been close enough with someone for them to be so familiar with his home. The sight of it tightened his chest.
“It was fine. Work was work. How about you?”
“Our days have finally cooled down so we were able to keep the windows and door open at Strong Brew. I love November weather!”
