The Promises We Keep (Made for Love Book 1) (44 page)

Dinner is delicious and the company is even better. A few of our friends, from church or from school, meet up with us at an Italian Bistro. We occupy a table that can accommodate all fifteen of us and we proceed to talk too much and laugh too loud. It
’
s perfect and I wouldn
’
t want it any other way.

Sarah, who has decided to be our guide as we discover the realm of alcoholic beverages, insists that we start the night with something sweet. She orders us Moscato wine to go with our dinner. Addie and I both enjoy our glass and proceed to feel our first tiny buzz. Wanting to pace ourselves, we drink water until we head to Cooper
’
s. Since the Italian Bistro isn
’
t too far from the pub, our group decides to walk to our next destination. The night is a warm one and I enjoy the stroll, my hand tucked inside Sonny
’
s the whole way.

As soon as we arrive at Cooper
’
s most of the girls decide to head to the restroom before getting settled at the bar. I choose to stay with my hottie and snag any available seating we can for our group, which has shrunk a little bit since dinner. Sarah calls out that we should try and snag some space at the actual bar; when Sonny, Jack, Hammy, Claire and I make our way further inside, we notice that there just happens to be four chairs right smack-dab in the middle of the bar. Claire says we should grab them
—“
Birthday girls can sit and the rest of us can steal stools as they become available, or snag a nearby table.
”
I obey and Sonny sits in a stool beside me, saving it for Addie.

“
Oh, my gosh,
”
I gasp, suddenly feeling like the most insensitive and terrible girlfriend in the world.
“
Sonny
—
is this okay? I mean, does my drinking tonight bother you?
”
I know that he doesn
’
t drink because he hates alcohol. His dad is an alcoholic and he spent most of his childhood living with a drunk who was barely a father. I know that he goes out with Hammy and Jack and they have drinks, sometimes, but I
’
m not them
—
I
’
m not his roommate or his best friend, I
’
m his
girlfriend
.
How could I not think to ask this before?

“
What? Sweetheart, it
’
s your birthday, you can do whatever you want.
”

For a moment, I
’
m temporarily distracted by the fact that he just called me
sweetheart
. I like the way it sounds
—
but I shake the thought away and refocus on our conversation.
“
I understand it
’
s my birthday, but I
’
m here with you and I don
’
t want to make you uncomfortable. I don
’
t know why I didn
’
t think to ask you this before now. I
’
m sorry,
”
I mutter, pulling my eyes away from his as I look down at my fidgeting fingers.
I honestly can
’
t imagine what it was like growing up for him
—
but I know him now. I know that parties aren
’
t his scene and the pub is the only bar he ever goes to and that
’
s probably because all of us love it so much and because the pizza is fantastic and there are games that we can play. But I
—

“
Hey, look at me,
”
he demands as he reaches out and wraps his fingers around my waist. He doesn
’
t speak until my eyes lock with his.
“
You
’
re not my dad. You
’
re not addicted to the drink. It
’
s your twenty-first birthday
—
I totally expected that you would drink tonight.
I
’
m
the one who
’
s here with
you
. I fully intend on having my eye on you, keeping you hydrated and making sure you
’
re fed. I want you to have a fun night but I also want to try and prevent you from having a hangover tomorrow. You and I have a date and I don
’
t want you to have any excuse to back out.
”

I smile at him as I grip his shoulders and pull us closer together.
“
You
’
re amazing. I would never back out on a date with you. Not ever.
”
He responds with a kiss and when he pulls away, I have to remind myself that we
’
re in a public place so that I don
’
t lean in for more.
I might not be addicted to
the drink
, but I can
’
t say that I
’
m not addicted to those lips
.

“
Addie?
”
calls an unfamiliar voice. I look around for my sister before I realize that whoever spoke thinks
I
’
m
Addie.

I turn to glance behind the bar and identify the carrier of the voice right away
—
I can tell because he
’
s looking right at me, his eyebrows knit together in confusion. I pull my hands from Sonny as I take in the stranger
’
s features; curlyish hair that
’
s just short of shaggy, brown eyes framed by thick eyelashes, a chiseled jaw with a goatee.
A goatee
…
“
You
’
re Roman,
”
I say with a soft gasp of recognition.

“
Uh
—
yeah.
”
He looks from me to Sonny and then back at me.
“
How much have you had to drink?
”
he asks suspiciously.

At first, I
’
m confused by the question, unsure whether or not I should be offended, and then I remember that he thinks I
’
m Addie. I laugh and shake my head at him and am about to introduce myself when Addie and Sarah come up behind me. Sonny offers Addie his stool before he makes himself comfortable behind me. When I look back at Roman his eyes are wide and his eyebrows are lifted in surprise.

“
Hey, Roman,
”
greets Addie. I laugh some more as he looks between the two of us.

“
Avery?
”
he asks me. I offer him a nod. He folds his arms across his chest and arches an eyebrow at my sister.
“
You
’
re a twin. You didn
’
t tell me you were a twin.
”

“
I didn
’
t?
”
Addie laughs now, too.
“
Whoops.
”

“
Hey, handsome.
”
Sarah calls for Roman
’
s attention as she sits between Claire and Avery. I smile at the two of them as he responds. Last week, she let the term of endearment slip and he didn
’
t even bat an eyelash before he answered with,
“
hey, gorgeous.
”
They haven
’
t used each other
’
s names since. Sarah swears up and down that she doesn't like him like that, but I barely believe her.
Barely
.

“
Hey, gorgeous.
”

“
How about a round of birthday shots for our girls, here? Oh, and make them the chocolate cake ones!
”

“
You got it. How many?
”

Sarah takes a quick head count before Roman starts concocting shots.
“
Eric! Hey, can we have this round on the house?
”
He gives her a look that says he thinks she
’
s crazy before she starts begging.
“
Please? As a
happy birthday
to your favorite waitress under five foot two and her stunt double?
”
I laugh as he looks over at Avery and me and we both flash him over-the-top grins to try and weaken his resolve. It works.

“
One round,
”
he says, lifting a single finger.

“
Yay! Thanks, Eric,
”
cheers Sarah with a clap.

“
Thank you, Eric,
”
Ave and I call out as he shakes his head and makes his way to the other end of the bar.

Our drinks are made and delivered in no time. Sarah lifts her glass and we all follow her lead
—
Gray and Beck holding up their water glasses.
“
Look at our men,
”
I whisper into Avery
’
s ear.
“
Staying responsible for us.
”
She winks at me before Sarah starts to speak.

“
A toast
—
wait, I made the first toast with the wine. Someone else needs to make this one.
”