“I dunno, you haven’t handed me a menu yet,” I tell her with a smile.
She huffs while handing it to me and starts to walk away.
“Hey, I don’t wanna ruin your day, but could you bring another? My date will be here soon.”
Lexi’s mouth pops open. “Amelia’s coming?”
I shake my head side to side.
“If you’re seeing someone else, God help you, Weston Alexander Grady, Iwillgrab a knife from the back and find a new, creative use for it.” Her face flushes when she says it, and I hope she’s not getting excited about harming me physically.
“No, no!” I decide to go with protecting the nads rather than the element of suspense or a life-threatening surprise. “My mom is meeting me here soon.”
“Oh.” Lexi’s frown relaxes, brows removing themselves from her eye sockets, and a smile comes out instead. “How lovely!” Turning on one sneakered foot, she scoots off to tend to another table.
Looking over the menu, I take in the staple diner dishes, mostly burgers and handheld sandwiches, though with some twists that feel a little more sophisticated than I expected to see. Back when this place was owned and operated by the Weiss girls’ father when we were all growing up, it was pretty much nothing but grease on the menu. Roasted red peppers and arugula on a steak sandwich with some fancy sauce definitely wasn’t there.
There’s also a whole salad section that’s not just a handful of lettuce with a couple tomatoes on top, that I have a strong suspicion was Rory’s doing.
I’m still marveling over the presence of a candied walnut and strawberry salad when my mom sits down in front of me. The menu is so tall, I didn’t even see her approaching over it.
“Mama.” Jumping up from the booth seat, I dash around the table to give her a hug.
“Hi, baby boy,” she says, eyes crinkling with warmth in the corners. That smile that never fails to come out when she sees me makes an appearance, and I give her one back, loving how her face lights up when I do. I may not be stoic and dependable like Wyatt, but dammit I make my mom happy.
Lexi hustles back to the table, hair messier than it was before somehow, cheeks splotchy and even redder than when I last saw her.
“You good, Lex?” I ask her.
“It’s always a great day at Heights Bites,” she says, biting the words out.
“I’m not sure if that was supposed to be a joke or a threat,” I say.
“Be nice,” my mom says, giving Lexi the mom look. “Now, dear, are you getting enough sleep? How about your water intake? Have you had your hormones checked recently?”
“I’m just fabulous, thank you so much, Mrs. Grady.”
“Yes, clearly. That’s why you forgot that for almost twenty years now, it’s Mrs. Suarez.”
Lexi stomps a foot, head tipped back to the ceiling as she breathes deeply.
“Of course. Sorry about that. Are we ready to order, Mrs. Suarez?”
“You were going to bring a second menu,” I remind her.
A squeal gets strangled in Lexi’s throat as she masks a murderous look with a terrifying smile, and she turns to run off again.
“Actually, never mind,” I tell her, calling her back before she can get anywhere and we never see her again, or she spits something poisonous in our food.
My eyes flit to my mom’s for a second. “You good with whatever?” I ask her, and she nods.
“Whole menu looks great. We’ll take whatever the chef recommends, both of us,” I tell Lex, and her nostrils flare out, jaw clenching, but she nods once. “Just no pine nuts for my mom. She’s got an allergy,” I say as she takes the menu from my outstretched hands, and she’s gone.
Good thing this is the only restaurant in town—aka our only choice if we aren’t cooking it ourselves—and every customer in here has known Lexi for decades, able to grant her a little grace, because that attitude she’s sporting isn’t about to win anyone over.
“Well,” my mom says, folding her hands on the tabletop. “This place is quite charming. A lot different than I remember it.”
Taking in the place, I have to agree. Soft light bounces off of the pale pink walls Amelia and I painted—nearly white, just a hint of color—with a muted tiled floor, a smattering of booths and tables, the tabletops a faux ceramic that gives it a grounded vibe. It’s a cute spot.
