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I lifted a shoulder. “Not sure how they behave when you’re there, but I didn’t notice anything hinky.” My brow crinkled. “Would have been good to be warned about the cupcake girl, though. I almost had her thrown out for hanging behind the bar, then she billed me for eating her cupcakes.”
Nick burst out laughing, pressing his hands together beneath his chin. “I’m sorry, dude. I completely forgot Daisy was coming back this week or I would have told you to keep a lookout. You pissed her off?”
“Momentarily, then I paid the bill, making us square. But yeah, you told me to watch out for Bea’s spikes but failed to mention the other prickly princess you employ.”
“Daisy?” He shook his head. “She’s nice to me. I don’t know what you did to her.”
“Did you hear the part about trying to throw her out of the bar?”
He ran his hand down his face, still grinning. “Man, I really should have warned you about her.” He brought a slice of pizza to his mouth. “She’s not my employee, though. The cupcake thing is her business. She’s like a contractor.”
“Huh.” I grabbed another slice from the box sitting on the table between us. “Do you take a cut of her profits?”
“No, she pays me a flat fee. I don’t ask for much. The customers like her vibe, and it fits with the speakeasy theme, so it’s a win-win, for me having her there and her to rake in the dough.”
“It’s a good idea. Her cupcakes are the shit.”
He swiped his mouth with a napkin and balled it in his fist. “They are. People go crazy over her charcuterie cups too. Nothing like sipping a whiskey and eating some nice cheese and cured meat.”
I laughed at his tepid description. “Good thing you’re not selling her meat cups. I think you’d drive customers away.”
He gestured to the front of him. “I’m also not a cute girl in a skimpy outfit.”
“Don’t tell me you picked that out for her.”
“You met her. Do you think she’d wear that if I’d told her to?”
I didn’t even have to consider it. “Nope. She’d get Duke to shove your balls into your throat.”
“Yep.” He chuckled as he took another bite. “I should’ve asked—you do okay in the bar with the whole no drinking thing?”
My spine went rigid. I had next to no shame and would divulge my deepest secrets to a stranger without blinking, but this was one topic I wasn’t comfortable discussing. The only reason Nick knew was because he’d noticed my lack of alcohol in the house a few months back—a massive change for me.
I’d told him I was taking a break from alcohol, which had been true, but I was banking on it being permanent. I needed it to be.
“I can’t say my mouth didn’t water for an ice-cold beer, but I was fine,” I replied. “I distracted myself with cupcakes.”
He gave me a sidelong glance. “You won’t drop that, huh? You that into her cupcakes—or is it the girl?”
I shrugged. “The girl made an impression. I was thinking about texting her to acquire more of her treats.”
Turning fully in his chair, he pinned me with a serious gaze. “Look, I’m going to give it to you straight. Daisy just got dicked over by her ex. They were together for six or seven years, and she’s absolutely not over him. If he were to show up at her door tonight, she’d take him back in a heartbeat. That’s not a girl you want to pursue right now, you get me?”
I thought back to the grouchy girl in the silly hat, picturing her with this new knowledge. Had she seemed sad? I hadn’t met her before the breakup, so I had nothing to compare her to. Maybe she’d been a ray of sunshine before having her heart shattered. I couldn’t imagine her like that. Being slightly mean suited her.
Not that I knew her.
Those cupcakes, though…
“I wasn’t planning on it.”
This was honest and true. But I also wasn’t a guy who planned things, which was ironic since my business was making plans for other people. I guessed I was also the poster child for “Do as I say, not as I do.”
Nick nodded. “Good. I know how you are with women. The last thing Daisy needs is to be used and discarded.”
“I’ve never used anyone, dude. That’s uncalled for.”
He crushed his empty water bottle, returning his gaze to the yard. “I’m just saying, Daisy isn’t like the girls you go for. She’s the relationship type. A family girl. Maybe let this one go. Find your cupcakes elsewhere and leave her be.”
