Page 256 of Where We Stay

Dean pulls back, looking offended. “Rude.”

Across the table, Logan is already interrogating Jerry.

“So, Blair actually bar-tended with you?” he asks.

“For years,” Jerry confirms, taking a sip of his whiskey.

Dean turns toward me. “You’ve been suspiciously quiet about this.”

“There’s nothing to tell,” I insist.

Jerry laughs. “That’s a lie.”

I narrow my eyes at him. “Choose your next words carefully.”

Rory immediately sits up straighter. “Oh, I want this story.”

“So do I,” Dean’s mom adds, smiling across the table.

Jerry looks entirely too pleased with himself. “During her first week at the bar, some guy grabbed her ass.”

Dean’s expression changes instantly. “Who?”

I place a hand on his arm. “Relax. This was years ago.”

Jerry points across the table at Dean. “See? Exact same reaction.”

Logan laughs. “What did she do?”

“She broke his finger,” Jerry answers.

The table falls silent.

Then Rory bursts out laughing. “You what?”

“It was an accident,” I argue.

Jerry stares at me. “You bent it backward.”

“He touched me.”

Dean looks at me with an expression far too close to pride. “You broke his finger?”

“Barely.”

Logan is already losing it. “How do you barely break someone’s finger?”

“He still had nine good ones,” I point out.

Knox lifts his glass toward me. “Remind me never to piss you off, Blair Bear.”

“You piss me off every time I see you.”

“Fair.”

Dean’s dad laughs into his wine. “I like her.”

“Thank you.”