Page 33 of Friends to WHAT?!

One of my mother’s friends—Fran, I think she’s called—shoves her phone into the makeshift aisle to first photograph Leora, then me.

I jolt.

I curse.

Imove.

I charge through the parted crowd on swift feet, snagging Leora the moment her startled frame is within reach.

“Wolfe?” she asks, bemused.

“One second,” I request, beelining for the corner of the bar. When I reach the booth I’m aiming for, I gently guide Leora into the bench across from Sterne, then not-so-gently shove him over so I can scoot in next to him.

Sterne grunts, moving his glass of whiskey with him. “Sure, you can sit with me,” he says. “You know I love a front-row seat. Not ahugefan of the third wheel vibes, but I bet I’ll get over it if you two are interesting enough.”

“You made yourself the third wheel when you forced me to kidnap her,” I huff at my second-best friend. “The least you could do is offer us refuge in our time of need.”

He shrugs, unapologetic. “Of course. Ma table est ta table.” He gestures to the worn, empty wood before us. “Partake of it as you like.”

How generous of him. Truly.

I roll my eyes, then settle them on Leora.

I catch her profile and learn that her hair glitters because it has glitter in it, not because she is an ethereal creature sent to earth from the heavens above. Her etherealness is doing entirely different things to her person—like causing her lower lip to bejustthe right amount of plush, and the tip of her nose to bejustthe right amount of tipped, and the slant of her neck to bejustthe most enticing slice of skin I’ve ever beheld.

“Is it always like this?” she asks, bestowing upon me the blessing of her gaze.

“No,” I reply miserably, attempting to duck low in the booth. Unfortunately, my height combined with Sterne taking up over half the freaking seat means I don’t get far. “They’re here to see the show.” I elbow Sterne in an attempt to get him to move over.

He grabs my elbow, slides his hand down to mine, then forcibly moves it to his side by the wall. He presses my hand into what should be a gap between his ribcage and the building.

There is no gap. He’s got nowhere to scoot to.

Whoops.

I wince and apologize.

He gives me my hand back and ruffles my hair.

Leora cranes her neck. “I want to see the show, too,” she says. “Why would you shove me in the corner if there’s going to be something happening?”

I drop my head to the table.

Sterne laughs.

Chapter Fifteen

?

And boy is it entertaining.

Leora

Despite living in October, Tennessee for several years now, and despite October, Tennessee being not that big, there are still a few places I’ve never gotten to experience firsthand. The most notable such place is Blackwood Brew, Fox Blackwood’s bar.

I know the lore behind it.Everyoneknows the lore behind it, and I happen to have gotten a closer look at the story, as I have Wolfe’s POV on the matter tucked neatly in a box of letters atop my desk at home.

Once belonging to the Blackwood parents, there were hints that they planned to pass it down to him some ten years ago so they could retire. They wanted the bar to stay in the family, and with Wolfe and Almond already well on their way to their own budding careers, Fox was the obvious choice.