Two Bar Mitzvahs Read Free Page B

indecipherable message. Now her anger threaded through it made sense—we Michaelsons had a touch of Irish fire flowing through our veins.
    “Good,” I replied to John. “Book it again. And don’t change a thing unless you hear directly from me. I don’t know what the fuck is going on, but that wasn’t us who called you.”
    “Okay, man. Great to hear.”
    Yeah. Because pissing off a vendor at the last minute didn’t lose only a huge deposit—it threatened our reputation with a reliable supplier.
    Kristen texted me again.
     
    We good?
     
    I took another deep breath, trying to calm the fuck down, and typed a reply.
     
    Yeah. Crisis averted.
     
    But had it been? I didn’t believe in coincidence, which is how other people might explain Madison popping into the picture on the same day we got anonymously fucked with. Growing up together, I’d witnessed rare moments of her manipulation. Never thought I’d be at the receiving end of it. But a stunt like this had her MO written all over it and was typically her weird way of getting attention.
    Initially, I hadn’t planned on responding to Madison. But now it was clear that avoiding her wasn’t the answer. Confronting her was.

3
The Benefits of Disclosure
    Dinner that night was at my place, like it was every Monday. After a long afternoon of straightening out emails and starting on Loading Zone’s second-year business plan, I walked through the front door.
    My mouth watered the moment I inhaled. “Oh my God. What is that?”
    Hannah texted an hour ago to say she was heading over to make dinner and wanted it to be a surprise instead of the usual, where I played kitchen assistant to her chef. I dropped the keys to my bike in the front entry bowl and followed the scent.
    When I stepped into the kitchen, she glanced up from the stove. A smile lit up her face. “How do you feel about bacon bison barbeque burgers?”
    I grinned, walking over to her before wrapping my arms around her. “Like I just fell in love with food without ever tasting it.”
    She leaned up and gave me a soft kiss. “Grab a plate. Mase was just about—”
    “—to steal all the damned burgers for himself.” My roommate walked in as he interrupted her. “Jesus Christ, Hannah. Are you trying to ruin us for all other food?”
    He tried to press in as Hannah transferred the burgers from the grill top to a platter, but I palmed a hand on his bare chest and pushed back. I stared at the shorts barely hanging on his hips, scowling. “Put a shirt on, idiot. Show some respect.”
    His eyes narrowed, but he glanced at Hannah and nodded before disappearing down the hall.
    I dropped my face to her ear. “Sure you still want to come over to cook for these heathens?”
    The front door opened and slammed shut, the other heathen arriving. “Holy shit!”
    Hannah and I laughed at Ben’s shout. She nodded. “I love hanging with the guys. You included.”
    What a lucky fucker I was. I had a great girl who liked hanging with the guys. A girl who liked being one of the guys when the table talk turned…well, guy.
    I grabbed the burger platter and brought it to the table already set with four plates, napkins, and silverware. French fries were in four small bowls at the corner of each plate. I set the burgers next to another platter piled high with toasted buns.
    Ben barged into the kitchen, took one look at the table, and tackled Hannah into a bear hug. “I think I love you.”
    Her brows shot up. “Only think?”
    Mase returned with a faded T-shirt on. “He knows he loves you. But Cade’ll beat the shit out of him if he comes on too strong.”
    I shrugged as I opened the refrigerator. “True.” I slid beer bottles between the fingers of each hand and brought four of them to the table.
    Manners were lost as everyone sat and it became a free-for-all. We grabbed buns, forked burgers onto them, and loaded up with mustard, tomatoes, lettuce, and onions.
    Hannah nudged me with her elbow. “I can break away