“Welcome to La Passarelli. I’m Lisa, the owner. Table for one?”
The place was packed. Photos of Lisa and a woman who appeared to be her mother were on the walls, along with other family photos. Frank Sinatra crooned softly on the radio, and each table was filled with happy, laughing people enjoying family style meals. Red and white checkered tablecloths and green ivy completed the scene.
“Actually, my sister just came in. She was meeting some friends?” I started to scan the room for Bailey and the pimply-faced kid and his sister.
“Oh! Of course. I should have known. She looks just like you. Follow me this way.”
As I watched her walk ahead of me, I wondered how Lisa spent every night in those high heels. Her feet must have been a mess.
We walked around tables and squeezed through tight corners. I saw Bailey sitting next to a dark-haired girl and a guy with brown hair, who had his back to me.
“They’re right over there,” Lisa said. “Your server will be with you shortly.”
There was something strangely familiar about the brother. I couldn’t see his face, so it must have been something in his body language or demeanor.
Honestly, he reminded me a little bit of…
And then he turned around. “Ryder?”
“Paige?”
Of course. Of course I would run into him looking like this. Between the wet sweatsuit I was wearing, my ridiculous hair, and no makeup, I looked like I’d just come out of the ocean sporting a terrible hangover.
Ryder, on the other hand, looked so sexy I could die. He wasn’t wearing his jacket, but instead had on this black Polo shirt that hugged his biceps. I wondered how often he got to the gym, because guns like that don’t grow on their own.
I couldn’t see under the table to see his pants, but he had a five o’ clock shadow thing going on that made me instantly wet. I wanted to rub that beard all over my—
“What are you doing here?”
Twenty-One
Ryder
I hated to admit it, but Lily’s friend Bailey was nice. She seemed intelligent and had a lot more class than most of the other girls I’d seen Lily hanging out with. Pretty, blonde, and you could tell she came from a good family with a lot of money. I was glad they’d met, although I’d never gotten the full story of how it happened that Bailey was at some random Mexican market in North La Playa.
Looking around the cozy restaurant, I was glad that Lily had suggested coming here. I’d told the other guys that I’d be getting to the concert before it started, but after they set up the security perimeter. We weren’t primary security, just backup to the LPPD. The police often called us to help out for major events like this because of our long history with the community. Between the fun runs and other events, Padre had done a good job of keeping a good relationship with the police. The bribes helped, too.
Lisa walked past us to get to the kitchen and stopped to say hi. “I can’t believe how beautiful you are, Lily,” she said. “You’ve become a proper young woman.”
We didn’t come to La Passerelli very often, but when we did, Lisa treated us right. Her husband had died of cancer and she’d raised two boys on her own while running the restaurant. She’d become friends with Padre, and then we started having Lily’s birthday parties here.
We were supposed to be meeting Bailey’s sister, but she was parking the car or something. The last thing I needed right now was some babbling blonde older sister telling stories about pilates class or whatever chicks were into these days.
Honestly, the only woman I found myself wanting to talk to these days was Paige, but I hadn’t seen her since I’d talked to Sofia. In fact, I thought it must be my imagination when I heard her voice. “Ryder?”
“Paige?”
“What are you doing here?” we both asked at the same time.
“You guys know each other?” Bailey asked.
“Oh my god. Your sister is that waitress at Tiny’s.” Lily looked shocked.
We were all shocked. Somehow, Paige’s sister and my sister had managed to meet and become friends!
“What a small world,” Paige said as she sat down next to her sister.”
As soon as I saw them side by side I saw the resemblance. Bailey looked exactly like what I imagined Paige did at sixteen.
