Page 16 of The Ex Next Door (Charming, Texas #8)

Busy, and serving drinks one after the other, at first she didn’t recognize the man seated at a table in the bar section with two other men.

“Hey there, I thought that was you.”

On second glance, she remembered Paul, who’d worked with Rob at his first tech job.

She and Rob ran into him a few times at some of the corporate gatherings.

He always seemed to be a bit inebriated at the events, with some beautiful blonde hanging on him.

Privately, Rob told her he thought Paul had a drinking problem and a few months later when he was let go, everyone wondered if he’d said something to the wrong person in a moment of drunken stupor.

She and Rob made it a practice never to have more than a single glass of wine at corporate parties.

“Guys, this is Rob Holloway’s ex-wife, Amy.” He waved his arm to the other two men seated with him. “These are some of my buds.”

“Well, it’s nice to meet y’all.”

“You been working here long?”

“Just a couple of weeks.”

“If you don’t mind my saying, that Rob is an idiot to let you go.” He gave a smarmy smile. Some women found his type attractive. Very smooth, usually wearing silky Italian suits and driving a BMW. “I always thought he was a jerk.”

Amy was not one of the women who found Paul attractive but she smiled anyway.

“Well, thanks. Nice of you to say. What can I get y’all?”

She took their drinks and placed them with Declan, then went to her next table. Throughout the evening, she noticed Paul getting loopier and drunker as she kept serving him beer.

“Don’t worry,” one of his friends said. “I’m the designated driver.”

Still, Amy worried. Obviously, Paul might really have a drinking problem. She’d seen a lot of people get happy after drinks in the two weeks she’d worked here but none that had to be rolled out of here. Yet his buddies were simply encouraging him, as if having a driver was all that mattered.

Amy caught him swaying a bit on the way to the restroom. “Paul? Um, do you think maybe you’ve had enough to drink tonight?”

“Why do you care?”

“I care because you’re my friend and I’m worried you’re drinking too much.”

“Aw, Amy. You’re so sweet. Tell you what, I’ll slow down.”

He did not. Worse, he got a bit looser with his hands. He kept putting them on Amy even after she asked him nicely to stop. Once, a hand on her back, then lower to her waist. The last time he touched her hip.

It was his friend that finally intervened. “Paul, stop. You’ve had too much to drink and you’re making a gall-darn fool out of yourself.”

“Screw you. Amy and I are friends and she likes me touching her.” He regarded Amy. “Don’t you?”

“Is that why she keeps removing your hands?”

“You don’t know what you’re talkin’ ’bout. You’re bootiful, Amy. You know that?” Paul pointed and slurred his words. “Maybe we can finally go out now that Rob dumped you.”

“Is there a problem?” Suddenly Declan was behind Amy, towering over the group.

“No, we’re leaving,” said the friend. “Let’s go, Paul.”

“I’m not leaving. I still have this drink to finish.”

“Let’s go,” Declan said, hooking a thumb to the door. “You’ve had enough tonight.”

Paul scowled. “I’m not going anywhere until Amy says she’ll go out with me.”

Paul’s friend scrubbed a hand down his face. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“What? She’s beautiful!” Paul yelled. “Rob’s an idiot. He took my job, and he had a beautiful wife, too, and now he dumped her.”

That’s it. If Paul said dumped one more time, she was going to throw a glass of water in his face. Dump was an ugly word, a word that should only be used when attached to the word “truck.”

Paul’s friends moved to the door and one of them held it open.

“I’m not asking again,” Declan said.

Suddenly every eye in the bar was on them. Amy wanted to shrink and disappear. Somehow, she hadn’t handled this right. She should have stopped serving him much earlier, but she thought she’d sound like a mom telling this grown man he had to stop drinking.

Why did grown men still need mothering?

“Who the hell died and left you in charge?” Paul stood.

Everything happened fast after that. It almost looked like Paul was flying, as if he didn’t need his legs because his body was propelled forward on its own. But it was Declan behind him, lifting him, carrying him, shoving him forward and out the door.

“Sorry about that,” said the designated driver before he shut the door.

“I’m sorry. I should have stopped serving him.”

“You didn’t know, now you do,” Declan said, his hand on her shoulder. “Are you okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine. Does Paul do this a lot?” He’d said Rob took his job, something she hadn’t heard about before and wondered whether it could be true.

“Seems to be only when he’s with his buddies that he gets tanked.”

“I’ll be ready for him next time.”

“Hope he left you a good tip. You deserve it after dealing with him.” Declan hooked his thumb back to the bar. “I better get back.”

The rest of the night went smoother, and a few of the patrons even asked if Amy was okay.

A group of senior citizens called themselves the Almost Dead Poet Society and were among her biggest defenders.

Amy knew all of them from the occasional poetry readings they performed at the Once Upon a Book store in town.

Mr. Finch worked the register as a volunteer, and Amy was a regular who probably kept them in business. Naomi devoured books.

“I saw Declan propel him out that front door like he had wings,” Patty Villanueva, Valerie’s aunt, said.

“Declan is the one you want in this kind of situation,” Mr. Finch said. “He won’t tolerate that kind of behavior.”

Of course, they all wanted to know how Amy was doing after “that Rob” left her.

“I’m glad to see you working here,” Lois, Mr. Finch’s wife, said. “You’ll meet someone new in no time at all.”

“Honey,” Mr. Finch said. “Maybe she shouldn’t be in a rush. Take your time, dear.”

“You’ll need someone who loves children, of course.” Mrs. Villanueva dug through her purse. “I’m sure I know someone .”

It had come to this now, Amy getting fixed up by these cute senior citizens.

“That’s okay, I’m going to sign up for those dating apps when I’m ready.”

“The dating apps?” Mrs. Villanueva went hand to heart. “Oh no, you’re liable to meet a serial killer!”

“Or one of those people who pretend they’re someone they’re not,” Lois said. “Like a prince.”

“Anything else I can get you?” Amy said brightly, after serving their soda and iced tea.

She had to keep moving even if her feet were slowly assassinating her.

As usual, Declan’s inspirational talk later that night made her feel as though she’d provided Paul with a valuable service instead of being the one to serve him one too many. Debbie complained about tips, as was her habit, and Declan made her feel better.

“If someone drinks too much? Your own damn fault. I ain’t your mama. We provide a service here but it’s not day care.”

“But I know him,” Amy had said. “He lost his job and he said it was because of Rob.”

“I seriously doubt that,” Debbie said. “Some drunks have a way of feeling sorry for themselves and then it’s everybody else’s fault.”

“Debbie’s not wrong,” Declan said.

He’d heard it all since working here.

Amy simply nodded. “I’ll do better next time. I hate that he must be so unhappy with his life.”

“It’s not up to you. Even his friends couldn’t stop him,” Declan said.

“Y’all, I gotta go.” Debbie took one last bite of the onion ring on the appetizer platter he’d served them. “My old man is waitin’ up for me.”

“Have fun.” Declan waved.

“I should go, too.” Amy stood a few minutes later.

“Hang on.” Declan covered her hand with his own. “I’ll walk you out.”

“All right. I may as well wait for you.”

She waited while he cleaned up the area, put the tray in the kitchen and said good-night to some of the staff in the back.

He held open the door so Amy could walk out first. “Maybe I should follow you home. Unless you were going somewhere else first?”

“No, but what are you worried about? Do you really think Paul is out here waiting for me?”

“Just playing it safe.” He scanned the almost empty parking lot, which Amy had to admit made her feel better.

There were a few stragglers, as the lot was shared with the boardwalk, which stayed open later than normal in the summertime.

But almost everyone would be headed home now.

She wondered if David and Naomi were sleeping or if Rob had let them stay up too late.

Since she’d had to work, they’d checked in with her earlier and both sounded happy.

They’d gone swimming at the complex pool and later mini-golf.

It was good, she reminded herself, that her kids were okay and not homesick.

She didn’t want to raise children who were incapable of functioning without her.

At least the silver-bright quarter moon felt like a comfort to her soul.

Because if nothing else, she and her children were sleeping under the same moon tonight.