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She left then, and Blake once again felt all his oh-shit meters skyrocket. This woman was planning something, and he had a feeling it was going to blowback on him. Bad.
Chapter 4
Friday night at Madigan’s was a madhouse. Between mixing and serving drinks, breaking up bar fights with threats of calling the cops, and handling one crisis in the kitchen after another, Skyla still somehow managed to keep looking at the clock, remaining acutely aware of how much time remained before Nico arrived, and she had to sneak out back to meet AJ.
She was so wrapped up in what she was doing, she almost didn’t notice Orly walk in with Luke. Skyla was about to greet them when Orly suddenly turned and bumped into a woman awkwardly holding a pink drink filled to the brim. The colorful liquid splashed onto the woman’s white blouse just as she let out a slight yelp that Skyla could barely make out over the loud chaos.
Skyla grabbed a clean rag and several napkins, and quickly made her way through the crowd to her friend, offering the other woman an apologetic smile.
“I am so sorry,” Orly pleaded. “I can’t believe how clumsy that was of me.”
In an obvious effort to be nice, the other woman waved her off. “It’s okay, I’ll just go clean up in the bathroom.” She excused herself and made a quick getaway while Skyla used her rag to wipe up any spilled drink from the nearby table while a busboy mopped up the wet spot on the floor.
“Sorry about that,” Luke said. “This place is really hopping.”
“Yeah, and no worries,” Skyla said. “Comes with the territory. I can give her one of our Madigan’s tank tops so she doesn’t have to drive home in a wet shirt.” “Are you guys staying or…” Skyla’s voice faded into the crowd's cheers. She loved having her friends here and she hoped this little incident didn’t sour their night.
“We’re staying,” Luke said.
“Will you ask that woman I bumped into to join us if she’s here alone? I want to properly introduce myself and apologize again. I feel so bad for ruining her blouse.”
Skyla smiled at Orly. The woman was so sweet, always taking care of everyone around her. “Of course. Go ahead and grab the next available table. I’ll come find you in a few minutes.”
She hurried to the back in search of a tank top that would fit the woman’s small stature, then beelined to the restroom. The blonde woman was standing at the sink, hopelessly trying to get the stain out of her blouse. The silk material would likely need to be dry cleaned if it had any hope of being returned to its original condition. “Here,” Skyla offered her the tank top. “It’s nothing fancy, but it’s dry. Are you okay?”
The woman smiled and took the tank top. “Thanks,” she said and disappeared into one of the stalls. “I’m fine. I probably walked right into that other woman. Is she okay?”
Skyla nodded absentmindedly. The woman in the stall was the one who’d gotten a drink spilled on her, so Skyla’s main concern was her at the moment. “I’m sure she’ll be fine,” Skyla smiled, thinking of Orly.
The other woman giggled and came out of the stall wearing the black tank top with the Madigan’s logo on it. “You look great. I might even put you to work,” Skyla teased. “Are you here by yourself or are you meeting friends?”
The woman smiled shyly. “Would you believe it if I told you that I was stood up?”
No, Skyla wouldn’t. The woman had a near perfect figure, shiny blonde hair, and one of those killer smiles. “Any man who stands you up obviously doesn’t know what he’s missing.”
The woman smiled broadly. “Thanks.”
“Come on,” Skyla said. “The woman who bumped into you and her husband are friends of mine, and they asked if you’d like to join them. I can take you over to their table or I can leave you alone if you prefer. I’m Skyla by the way.”
“Vivian, and I’d love to meet your friends.”
“Great,” Skyla said, relieved another potential crisis had been averted. “And your first drink is on me.” She led Vivian over to the small booth where Luke and Orly were sitting, and made the introductions before taking their orders.
A while later, Vivian was still sitting with Luke and Orly. They appeared to have really hit it off, laughing and talking as if they were old friends. Curious to hear what they were talking about, Skyla carried an empty tray over to their table, hoping to make it look like she was just doing her job instead of spying on them. “How is everything? Can I get you anything else??”
Luke smiled, holding up his glass. Orly did the same, but Vivian asked for sparkling water.
“Hey guys.”
Skyla turned to see Hallie and immediately hugged her. Orly introduced her to Vivian.
“Am I too late to join the party?” Hallie asked.
“Of course not,” Orly said. “We’ve been waiting for you”
“Thanks.” Hallie turned back to Skyla with a huge smile. “I’ll have a martini. Can you join us for a bit?”
“I wish,” Skyla said, wanting more than anything to accept Hallie’s invite, but Madigan’s was busy and they were short of a busboy tonight. “It’s just too busy right now.”
