I was invited to his brother Blake’s engagement party by Harper, Blake’s fiancée. She’s a sweetheart and a loyal customer of mine. I love her to death.
She’s my friend, and I don’t have many of those.
But it’s shitty luck that she’s marrying Blake because that means that I’ll have to be very careful to pick and choose which invitations I accept from her. I don’t wish to be anywhere I’m not wanted.
“Holy shit, this salad isso good,” Harper says with a moan. She sits back and closes her eyes, enjoying her mouthful of salad, and it makes me smile.
My friend is pregnant, and she’s been craving this particular meal every day.
I finally stopped charging her for them. They don’t cost me much to make, and I didn’t want her to go broke.
“So good,” Ava, Harper’s best friend, echoes. “Like smack-my-ass-and-call-me-Sally good.”
I snort out a laugh and shake my head. “I’m glad you like them. I’m thinking about adding artichoke hearts to that one. What do you think?”
“Yes.” Harper nods enthusiastically.
“No.” Ava wrinkles her nose. “It’s the texture for me. I can’t do it.”
“Maybe I’ll offer it as an add-on.” I wink at them and leave them to their lunch. I clear off a table and wipe it down, then head back behind the counter.
My full-service restaurant offers breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Everything is gluten-free, including the bread and pastries, and it’s safe for anyone with celiac disease to eat here.
Including me.
The food is pretty good, if I do say so myself.
And I try to rotate things through with the seasons. Now that summer is ending, I’m starting to come up with ideas for fall, but clearly, that salad that Harper’s in love with will have to stay forever.
My phone pings in my pocket with a text, making me scowl. Only one person ever texts me these days, and I only keep my phone on me for emergencies.
Pulling it out, I sigh at the message.
Unknown Number: I need two grand.
I keep blocking her number, but she just gets a new one. It’s constant. And exhausting. She knows she’s only supposed to email me, but she doesn’t care.
She’s not good with boundaries.
Without replying, I block this one, too, then shove the phone back in my pocket.
“You okay?” Christy asks with a frown.
“I’m great. Just a spam text.” I shrug and get to work filling an order for the shrimp tacos that came in through the take-out app. “Hazel’s coming in at noon today, and Tandy said she’d be in at four to help with dinner.”
“Actually, Tandy just called.” Christy winces. “She was doing cartwheels with her niece and sprained her ankle.”
I close my eyes and sigh in resignation. “I’ll call Erica in.”
“Erica is at Yellowstone with her boyfriend,” Christy reminds me. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll stay.”
“You’ve been working doubles all week.”
“So have you, boss lady.” She winks. “It’s fine, I can use the overtime. I have my eye on a pair of shoes that will most likely maim me and make me bleed, but they’reso pretty.”
“Then it sounds like you need them.” I pat her on the shoulder. “Thanks for staying. I’ll stay, too, and the three of us will be good to go. I have three new hires coming in throughout the month, as long as they don’t back out on me. They all want different hours, so I can stagger them throughout the week. I don’t think we’ll have much of a shoulder season, but I’m not complaining about that.”
“This is exactly what this town needed,” Christy says. “It’s different and fresh, and the food is amazing. So it doesn’t surprise me that we’re busy. Tandy feels so bad since she knows Erica’s gone.”
