The Last Drop by Layla Reyne

Author:Layla Reyne
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
ISBN: 9781734175325
Publisher: Layla Reyne
Published: 2020-04-03T04:00:00+00:00

By the time they finished at the farmer’s market, then swung by the store where Greg admired Tony’s quick and efficient shopping for the liquor and mixers he needed, then by the butcher shop where Greg was much less efficient, and finally by Port of Call for burgers to-go, it was midafternoon when they returned to a much quieter Dram.

Well, mostly quiet.

“Gregory, mijo, come see!”

“Agree with whatever she says,” he told Tony as they dropped their bags in the kitchen. His father had given him the same advice many moons ago, and where the spitfire standing at the edge of the dining room was concerned, it was gospel.

And his general contractor had delivered one hell of a miracle today. “You do good work, Gloria.”

“Of course I do,” she preened, but the blush on her cheeks conveyed her appreciation of the compliment, which was more than due. She’d saved his ass.

This morning, he had come downstairs to find water standing in one corner of the dining area. He’d feared the entire floor would need to be replaced, no small feat given the reclaimed wood they’d sourced. And no small feat given the custom furniture arriving next week and the staff arriving the week after. If he had to delay, he risked his chefs and servers finding other jobs, risked his soft opening date for the critics, risked his grand opening in time for Pride.

He hadn’t let on about any of that to Tony. The last thing he needed was to spook his beverage director on day one. Greg had called Gloria, and she’d taken charge, rolling up her shirts sleeves and assuring him she’d handle it. Which she’d done, marvelously. The replaced floor boards were a perfect match, the varnish on the entire floors nicely complemented the bar, and the brown paper over the door had been removed, allowing sunlight to stream in through the freshly cleaned stained glass, casting a rainbow of light across the shining floors and bar.

Tony gasped behind him. “Holy shit. I didn’t think it could get more beautiful in here, but it’s…”

Greg glanced over his shoulder. “Perfect.” Their gazes met and held, the same splash of color reflected in Tony’s golden irises. Greg would have broken his no-first-move promise if not for Gloria clearing her throat.

“Manners, mijo,” she teased.

Chuckling, he shifted a step so he could introduce the woman who’d helped make all this possible. “Tony Monaco, meet Gloria Ramos, best general contractor in the city. And all those silver curls”—he gestured at the pile of gray curls on top of Gloria’s head—“are my fault.”

“Esa es la verdad!” She moved past him with a playful shove. “I should warn you this one’s middle name is trouble.”

Tony laughed. “I got that same warning from half a dozen vendors today. Seems to be a trend.” He rested the orange crate on his hip and extended his hand. “Encantado de conocerla, Gloria.”

Greg smiled. He’d overheard Tony conversing in Spanish with several vendors today. No doubt he’d been following his and Gloria’s byplay.

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