Page 32 of The Overtime Persuasive

“You invited me,” I say with a laugh.

“Yes, but the restaurant is outside Old Town.” She leans in conspiratorially. “Eva. You crossed a bridge.”

“Almost had to get my passport out.” I laugh as I slide into the chair across from her and set my purse beside my feet. “Made it, though.”

A server approaches and I order a glass of wine before Lucy can accuse me of needing assistance with that too.

“Where’s Vivian?” I ask.

“On her way. She was helping Juliette with something at the store.”

Vivian owns Sullivan & Stone, the bespoke jewelry store a few doors down from Side B and Leaf & Letter. She recently remade her family’s traditional business into something distinctly hers, while also falling for Ty McCade, another Dominion defensemen and one of Liam’s teammates. Apparently, Vivian tackles her major life renovations in bulk. Respect.

Lucy orders an appetizer before the server disappears and I open the menu. There are enough meat options on the first page to make me feel as though I should apologize to a cow or consider being vegan.

Lucy rests her elbows on the table. “So, how was Liam the other night? Helpful?”

I shrug, my eyes trained on the salad section. I could use some roughage. “He’s okay…yes. Helpful.”

“So things are good?” she presses.

“Yeah,” I say nonchalantly. “They’re fine. You are officially off the hook.”

I can feel her watching me, but I refuse to look. If I do, I might have to explain that somewhere between Lucy canceling, shoving Liam through my door in her place, and him staying until well after midnight, a glitch appeared in my internal matrix.

Honestly, glitch is as far as I’ve let myself go with this.

Because last night was helpful. Genuinely helpful. Liam didn’t take over or make me feel as though I’d failed some basic test of adulthood. He sat with me, worked through my numbers until they made sense, offered to connect me with his accountant, and committed to coming back next week. He treated my business like it deserved to be taken seriously simply because it mattered to me.

Calling what happened a glitch is safe. Glitches don’t require explanations or invite follow-up questions from your best friend about why her twin brother suddenly annoys you considerably less than he did twenty-four hours ago. In a few weeks, the system might correct itself and this whole thing will turn out to be nothing more than a blip.

Right?

Except I keep remembering Liam leaning over my counter, poring over my books as though we were sharing the Sunday morning paper, then looking up and grinning at me like I was the best part of his week.

And I wasn’t mad at that.

“I hate when someone answers ‘fine’.” Lucy huffs, folding her arms across her chest. “I’ve learned, with all of my infinite wisdom, that usually means things are not fine.”

I try to ignore her, and study the list of sauces. Carolina vinegar, sweet bourbon, and ooohhh, this sounds yummy…spicy peach.

Across the table, another huff and movement from my dinner mate pulls my attention there. Apparently, I’ve come to dinner with a woman who no longer accepts one-word answers, at a restaurant that believes sauces will solve world problems.

“Fine.” I say it again, on purpose, as I put the menu down and clasp my hands on the table in front of me. “The boxes were sent out, thanks to Liam’s help, and I’ve already got more orders coming in for next month, so that’s a plus. Store is pumping along, and I have several weeks before Les moves out, so I have plenty of time to find another tenant.”

“And the city payment?”

I look up. “Payment plan figured out.”

“And you’re doing all the boxes yourself for the next round? Or do you have thoughts yet about part-time help?”

Thankfully, the empty chair beside us scrapes across the floor.

“I’m sorry,” Vivian says as she lowers herself into it. “Juliette asked me one question, which became six questions, two sketches, and Sawyer moving the same display table four times.”

Lucy winks at me. “There’s always a hockey player involved around here.”

“He was extremely involved.” Vivian sets her bag beneath the table. “Juliette moved the table back to its original position after he left.”