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6

Alistair

Julian approached Liliana and wrapped his arms around her from behind, and I felt an intense urge to separate them immediately.

He had been glued to his phone almost the entire day. I was on the verge of snatching it away and tossing it in the trash. As we began exploring the museum, he started another call.

"Can you get off the phone for just five seconds?" I glared at Julian, arms crossed. "You can't be closing car deals over the phone."

He hushed me and turned away to finish his conversation while Liliana discussed a wire sculpture with our grandfathers.

"I'm not dealing cars," Julian finally retorted after hanging up. "I have other business matters to attend to, you know."

I clenched my teeth. "Yeah? So that was your dealer?"

"Lay off, Alistair," he snapped, glaring at me.

Taking a deep breath, I turned to focus on the art, trying to calm myself down.

Julian had always been a heavy drinker and used drugs casually. His occasional marijuana use didn't bother me much—it hadn't really impacted his life negatively. But when he used cocaine, he turned into a real jerk and began slipping up. I wondered if he had gotten back into that, or something worse.

There was a time when he got blackout drunk every night, not remembering what he did or how he got home.

By some miracle, he managed to get clean and back on track. He had been doing really well for a while, but I feared he might have relapsed into his old habits.

When I looked over at him, he still had an arm around Liliana's waist and checked his phone five times in just a few minutes.

"That's the ugliest thing I've ever seen," Grandpa remarked about an abstract painting dominated by browns and blacks. I couldn't disagree.

Julian tried to explain its artistic value as if he were an expert on art. He sounded pretentious, and Liliana's expression indicated she felt the same.

Then Julian kissed her, and I wanted nothing more than to step between them to ensure it didn't happen again.

I had planned to take Grandpa back to the senior center once he got tired. I had a meeting with Benedict later in the afternoon, but I had scheduled enough time for a leisurely outing.

But I wasn't sure I could last. Being around Julian and Liliana together was driving me absolutely insane.

I needed to get out of there fast.

When Julian ignored Liliana, it irritated me. When he paid attention to her, I wanted to pull him away. The only thing keeping me there, aside from seeing Grandpa happy, was being near Liliana.

If Julian hadn’t been around, I could have pretended they weren’t a couple. Maybe then I could have made it through the day.

"I've got to meet Benedict at the bar, but I had a great time, Grandpa," I said, giving him a hug. Leaving early felt awful, but it beat staying and watching Julian kiss Liliana. The guilt of leaving was easier to bear than that.

"Can you get him settled?" I asked Julian, who was already on his phone.

Julian nodded but held a finger to his lips, signaling me not to interrupt his call. Probably his drug dealer again. I wanted to knock the phone out of his hand, but I held back and turned to Liliana instead.

"It was really nice seeing you again." I placed my hand on her shoulder, realizing I hadn't considered what she might need. "Do you need help getting James settled?"

I might have been hoping for something that wasn't there, but she seemed disappointed. "No, I've got it. You go ahead to your meeting."

"It can wait if you need help," I regretted not asking before saying I had to go. "A few minutes won't make a difference."

"I'm fine, but thanks. And Julian's here," she took a deep breath and exhaled quickly. I think she knew Julian might as well have not been there at all. She gave me a small, sweet smile. "It was really great to see you too."

I walked to my car, frustrated with myself. But mostly frustrated with Julian because it seemed like he didn't realize how fortunate he was to have a woman like Liliana.

--

“What do you think?” Benedict asked, sliding glossy photographs across the bar and running his fingers through his beard. “I know it doesn’t look like much now, but this area could be our taproom, and here could be for merchandising—T-shirts, can cozies, keychains, that sort of thing.”

We were seated at my bar, Benedict with his folder of photos and documents spread out. He had taken pictures of a property he believed would be ideal for the brewery we’d been discussing for months.

“It looks promising,” I replied, though my mind was elsewhere.

I couldn’t shake thoughts of Liliana and how good she had looked at the park, how nice it had been to be close to her again.

And how irritated I was that Julian was dating her.

It should have been me.

Fingers snapped in front of my face, snapping me back to the present. “Hey, Jake. Am I losing you?” Benedict chuckled.

“Sorry, man. It’s been a long day.”

“Clearly. How’s your grandpa doing?” Benedict asked.

He assumed my day had been long because of my grandpa. I’d known Benedict most of my life, and I’d shared with him about Grandpa’s declining memory. He’d even joined me a couple of times on visits.

“About as well as can be expected. Spirits are high though. He was fine.” I took a long sip of beer and sighed. “Julian and his—his girlfriend were there too. And her grandpa.”

Benedict nodded knowingly. I hadn’t really talked to him about Liliana, but he knew Julian almost as well as he knew me. “Is Julian causing trouble?” Benedict asked with a smirk.

I shrugged. “Isn’t that what little brothers do? Let me see those other pictures again.”

I flipped through the photographs, wanting to change the subject and get my mind off Julian and Liliana. Unfortunately, another topic I didn’t want to discuss surfaced.

“How soon do you think the divorce will be finalized?” Benedict inquired. “Not to rush things, but I know it’s holding up your plans. You can’t really commit to this until you know how the financials will shake out.”

I ran my hand through my hair. “I was hoping I wouldn’t have to sell this bar, but my wife’s lawyer seems to have the upper hand.”

We both chuckled bitterly at that. Benedict had been divorced for a year and understood the challenges of navigating such situations.

“Until the sale is in motion, with a firm offer on the table, I won’t know what I have to work with. I can secure financing, just not sure how much.”

We continued discussing my financial situation for a bit. Then, a text popped up from Julian.

"Thanks for helping us get them back to the nursing home, bro. Appreciate it."

"That cheeky little shit," I muttered, showing Benedict when he raised an eyebrow. "He really got on my nerves today."

I texted back.

"I told you I was leaving. Could have said something if you could pry the phone away from your ear for two seconds."

Benedict and I resumed our conversation until another text came through from Julian.

"We should do this again in a week or two."

Watch him alternately ignore Liliana and then hang all over her? Not a chance in hell.

"We'll see," I replied, leaving it at that.

As long as they were together, I figured I'd probably have to keep my distance. Hanging out with one of them and our grandpas would be fine, as long as they didn’t talk about each other the whole time.

But I wasn't sure I could trust myself alone with Liliana. It had been tough enough not to confess my feelings at the damn food truck when she noticed my missing ring.

"Man, I'm going to miss this place," Benedict said suddenly, looking up at the ceiling. "I mean, it'll still be here, but it won't be the same if it's not in your family. Are you going to tell Dave?"

"I already did. He understands." When I inherited the bar from my grandpa, he'd insisted on being kept in the loop about everything. It had been his pride and joy, a business he’d built from scratch. But as he got older, he became less interested in the details. What was once his life's work had become a relic of the past. "He agreed it was a shame, but understood it's what I had to do."

"I'm glad he's taking it well." Benedict raised his glass. "To The Cliffside Bar. I hope whoever buys it keeps the place classy."

I toasted to that and hoped for the best.

"Hey, when it sells, we should throw a party. A big send-off, you know? The regulars would love it."

I agreed. And as much as I knew I should steer clear of Liliana, I couldn't help but want her there. To see the bar that Grandpa and I had poured our hearts into and transformed into something special.

Damn it, she's not yours.

My brief excitement about the party soured as I imagined Julian there too, drinking too much and kissing the girl I wished could have been mine.

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