Page 9 of The Dating Prohibition

Duke smiled widely. “That sounds like such an interesting concept. You may not know this, but I’m a commercial loan specialist at a local bank down the street, and I primarily focus on small businesses.

” He pulled a slim leather card case out of his jacket pocket and handed Kendra a card.

“I’d be happy to hear a pitch when you’re ready to start looking for funding. ”

Kendra accepted the card, her jaw on the floor. “Really?” Her eyes ping-ponged from the couple to her brother, who watched

with amusement.

Kelly grinned. “If the cocktails were any indication of what’s to come, I would be at your establishment with my girls on

a weekly basis.”

“Hey, girls’ nights are self-care!” Kendra high-fived Kelly.

“Exactly. What kind of cuisine do you envision for your supper club?”

“I want it to be fusion comfort foods from around the world.” She gestured toward her brother. “Logan and I have a multicultural

background, and both of us have a love for travel and trying new foods wherever we go. I recently came back from two years

of extended travel, visiting family members and also exploring different areas of cuisine, so I intend to fuse some of our

family recipes with other things I’ve learned while wandering.”

“Wow, two years,” Kelly gushed. “That must have been incredible. What made you take that leap?”

“I used to work in the tech industry, and my employer got acquired by a larger business, so I was let go. I’d saved a lot

and they were generous in terms of severance, so I just decided to take the leap to give myself time to consider what I wanted

to do next. I’m good at data, but this is the project of my heart.” Kendra smiled. Truth be told, her desire to open an establishment

predated her brother’s. He’d just been in a better position to make the jump first.

“Having the data background is good though. An important skill set when starting a business.” Duke nodded, his gaze sincere. “I’m really looking forward to hearing more about your project.”

Kelly beamed, bobbing her head in agreement. “Let us know if you do a pop-up somewhere!”

“I sure will.” Kendra waved the card, shaking Duke’s hand again earnestly before offering her hand to his wife as well. “Wow,

thank you so much. I am researching some locations right now, and then I’ll be in touch to schedule a meeting very soon.”

“I’ll look forward to it,” he said, rising from his seat. “Alright, my dear, I think it’s time that we take leave to let these

good people close up and rest.” He helped Kelly with her coat, and they headed toward the door.

Kendra waved. “Y’all have a good night! Hopefully we’ll see you here again soon.”

Kelly winked over her shoulder. “Count on it!”

Dessert service went smoothly, and a few locals from the neighborhood stopped in to check out the menu or sit at the bar to

chat with Logan. When the last of the customers were gone and the kitchen was cleaned, Logan and Shonda sat wearily at the

bar. Lani wiped down tables in the dining room and put chairs up so that the floors could be mopped by the custodian. Kendra

moved from organizing the hostess stand toward the bar, squeezing the shoulders of her brother and sister-in-law. She plopped

onto the barstool next to them. BJ stopped polishing glasses long enough to pour Kendra a couple of fingers of scotch. “Kenny.”

He slid the glass toward her.

She blew out a breath. “Thanks.” After taking a sip, she made eye contact with BJ, whose eyes darted toward the windows at the end of the bar and returned to her.

Kendra understood immediately. “Hey, you two. Why don’t you go home?

We can finish up and close. Go and rest, because this all starts again tomorrow. ”

Logan eyed his sister. “You sure?”

She nodded. “BJ, Lani, and I can handle it. There’s not much more to do, anyway.”

Shonda covered her mouth as she yawned, and BJ jerked a thumb in her direction with a half smile. “Take your wife home, man.

Y’all need some shut-eye.”

Logan looked at his wife, and nodded. “Okay.” He handed keys to Kendra.

“We’ve got it,” she said, hugging the couple. “Today was amazing. I’m so proud of you both. You really inspire me, you know

that?”

Logan kissed his sister’s cheek. “This will be you soon enough.”

“You really think so?”

He nodded. “One foot in front of the other.”

Kendra bobbed her head, but her mind flitted back to her uncle’s words and her shoulders slumped. “You’re right,” she replied

glumly. This is already not going the way that I thought it would.

He jutted his chin toward her as he gripped her shoulder. “Just hang in there.”

“I will. Go home and draw a bath for my sis.” She shooed them out, and she told Lani to go home once all of the tables and

counters were spotless. “We’re almost done here. Go get some rest.”

Lani’s eyes were barely open. She threw her arms over her cousin’s shoulders. “I’m proud of you.”

“What’d I do?”

She regarded Kendra with wide eyes. “Are you kidding? Pitching Uncle Ronnie was ballsy. Don’t you remember when I asked him

for ten dollars to open up that lemonade stand?”

Kendra burst out laughing. “You mean that bucket of paint that you sat on? You didn’t even have a table! Everything was sitting in the grass by your feet.” She cackled so hard she began to wheeze. “No one wanted to tell you, but that lemonade was terrible . You didn’t even add any sugar!”

Lani’s shoulders fell, her jaw slackened. “What! Why didn’t you tell me?”

Kendra held on to the back of a barstool as her legs gave way. She kneeled on the floor, tears rolling down her cheeks. “The

lemonade was so sour that I ran in the house so you wouldn’t see my face when I spit it out. Uncle Ronnie came out there to

run interference, but you got mad that he wouldn’t buy ten cups of the stuff that he’d just seen me drop into the sink.”

BJ began to chuckle. He looked toward the ceiling, and Kendra guessed that he was trying to picture the scene. His shoulders

shook until he couldn’t hold back a smile. “Yo, you spit out her lemonade?”

“It was so sour I was drooling afterward. She juiced something like six or seven lemons and then only added four cups of water. No sugar, no ice.” Kendra

held out her arms. “There was no way I was going to be able to get that down.”

Lani kissed her teeth and hung her head. “Eight.”

“What?”

“It was eight lemons,” she admitted quietly.

Kendra had melted into a puddle completely, her tears landing on the wooden floors. “Stop. You’re only making it worse.”

BJ doubled over, howling. “Were you trying to burn off their taste buds?”

Lani stomped her foot, her scowl pinching the skin between her eyebrows. “Don’t make fun of me!”

Kendra pulled herself up to standing and grabbed a napkin to dab at her eyes.

“I’m sorry, I had just forgotten all about that.

” Her shoulders began to shake uncontrollably and she gasped for air between fits of cackling.

“But . . . if my business sounded anything like that lemonade stand, then I can’t blame Uncle Ronnie for rejecting my business plan. ”

BJ roared, his two hands on the bar counter to steady himself. “Ron would have had no tooth enamel left after ten cups.”

At that, even Lani joined in, her shoulders shaking until she was doubled over at the thought. “I’m sorry. I had no idea.

We made it almost thirty years without you telling me the lemonade had no fucking sugar.”

“That’s how much of a ride-or-die I am for you, cuz.”

“Mmm-hmm. Gas me up till the wheels fall off, Keke.” Lani wiped her eyes, kissed Kendra on the cheek, and gave BJ a high five

over the bar. “I’ll text you when I get home,” she called over her shoulder as she headed toward the front door. “BJ, you

make sure she gets to her car safely please.”

“Of course.” He shrugged.

“Good.” Lani wiggled her fingers and walked out.

Kendra heaved out a massive breath and turned to BJ. “What do you have left to do?”

“Uh, one more load of glasses and I’m supposed to bring up a couple of boxes from downstairs. You?”

“I’m just going to settle the till and I need to inventory which simple syrups I’ll need to make when I come in tomorrow.

I think we started to run low on the rhubarb one.” She tapped her chin with her finger before walking around the bar and squatting

to check the mini-refrigerators.

“You may be short on the mint syrup as well.” BJ’s deep rasp made Kendra shiver as she realized how close behind her he was.

She took a look at the bottles and stood, closing the fridge.

Turning, her arm brushed against his chest, and her cheeks warmed.

“Thanks,” she whispered, turning back toward the register tablet, hitting a few buttons before the cash drawer slid out and a receipt of sales began to print.

She didn’t dare look at him; as a kid, her family teased her because her face expressed everything she thought and felt.

She’d lost at poker too many times to believe anything different. “Should be done in a few.”

“Me too.” He hung his towel to dry and brushed past her gently, his body grazing her backside.

The contact sent a jolt through her body. Kendra glanced at him over her shoulder, her eyebrow arching. “You feelin’ on my

booty, Benji?”

BJ glowered at her. “Ain’t nobody gettin’ fresh. And it’s Ben or BJ.”

The growl in his voice sent a shiver down her spine. “Mmm-hmm.” She eyed him as he headed toward the cellar and went back

to counting cash, grabbing Post-it notes to notate tips for each member of the service team. On each one, she wrote the person’s

name and the amount, folding the Post-it around the money to keep each amount separate. She rubber-banded the receipt, the

tips, and some large bills together with notes for her brother just as BJ came upstairs with the last box of wine. He grunted

as he set it down on the counter and pulled back the flaps.

“Hey, can you put these in the fridge? I’m going to make sure the windows and the back door are locked.” He gestured toward

the back.