“Hi. Take a seat, and we’ll be right with you.” Arlo’s voice pulls my attention away from Luca. Arlo’s worked for my mom for close to a month now, and he fits right in like he’s never not been here. He’s a couple of years younger than I am, but I don’t know much about him outside of that. He seems to be entranced by Jasper, though, who just offers him a megawatt smile and heads to a booth.
“Hey, Arlo,” I say, nodding at him as I follow Jasper. Before I get too far, I turn back and look at him. “Can you let Ma know I’m here?”
He blinks at me a couple of times, his eyes leaving mine only to look behind me at Jasper again. Poor guy. Barking up the wrong tree with that one. Oh well. I sit down across from Jasper, hoping that Luca will come over and take our order. He doesn’t.
Arlo comes around from the back, making his way over to our booth. “Your ma said… uh, she said she’ll be out in a bit. Can I…” His eyes dart to Jasper, and I fight a grin. “Can I get you guys something to drink?”
Jasper glances down at his menu for a second, then back to Arlo. “Whatcha got, sweetheart?”
He’s a menace. He knows damn well what we’ve got. Arlo nibbles his bottom lip, a flush rising on his cheeks. “Pepsi products, water, iced tea, lemonade.”
“I’ll take a water.”
With a nod, Arlo turns back to me. “What about you, Austin?”
I study the two of them for a second, then shake my head. “I’ll have the same. I think we’re ready to order.”
After we rattle off our orders, Arlo races off, his cheeks still flaming.
I don’t even have time to tease Jasper before Luca is standing at the edge of our table. “Hey. What are you doing here?”
“We were hungry,” I say with a shrug, my heart thrumming at his proximity. Jesus, what is happening to me?
Luca narrows his eyes. “I don’t believe you. You wanted to check in on me.”
I mean, that’s true too, but that’s not the only reason. Okay, so it’s the biggest reason, but he doesn’t need to know that.
“You’re not wrong,” Jasper drawls. Way to sell me out, asshole. “We were supposed to be getting a drink, but here we are.”
“That’s not the whole truth,” I interject, trying to save face. Honestly, I can’t lie to Luca, though, so I sigh. “Okay, yes, I was worried.”
Luca rolls his eyes, but there’s a smile tugging at his lips. “Alright. Fine. You wanted to check on me. I’m fine.”
“I can see that.”
“Well,” Luca says, glancing between Jasper and me. “I’ll let you guys get back to it.”
Jasper shifts in his seat. “Wait, I was wondering if you’d be interested in some self-defense training?”
Luca’s eyes light up in excitement. “Really? Do you know anyone around here who does it?”
“I do,” Jasper says with a smile.
“Who is it?” Luca asks.
Jasper’s warm chuckle makes me smile. “Me. I do.”
“Oh.”
Oh? What does that mean? “You don’t have to. You can think about it,” I rush to assure him.
“Definitely,” Jasper agrees. “The offer is on the table.”
When Arlo shows up with our drinks, Luca backs away from the table. “He’s nice,” Arlo says, setting my water in front of me. “I think your mom is trying to set us up or something.”
Something hot and aching rushes through me, my stomach twisting with what feels like jealousy. “Oh?” I say, laughing to try to cover it.
Arlo shrugs, flushing when he glances at Jasper from the corner of his eyes. “Yeah. I’m not sure either of us is interested, though.”
