“Okay. Have it your way. Sleep with her and get it out of your system. It wouldn’t be the first time.”
Hank clenched his jaw until it ached and injected as much sarcasm as he could into his voice. “I don’t need your advice on who to sleep with. You’re my publicist, not a counselor, remember?”
A sound from the couch told him Bethany was awake.
Elizabeth didn’t seem fazed by his bitterness. “Yeah, and as your publicist, I’m advising you to let the woman alone and get back to your career in LA. This attraction you feel is the thrill of the chase. It will only last until you find the next challenge. You know it as well as I do. You’ll break her heart.”
“Hey, I gotta run.”
“Wait, where will you be tomorrow?”
“I don’t know. I’ll text you in the morning.” Before Elizabeth could press him for details, he ended the call.
He turned to see Bethany standing in the kitchen, sandals in one hand, hair tousled, and eyes wide.
“Why didn’t you wake me up? It’s midnight.”
He strolled toward her with a grin. “You didn’t turn into a pumpkin.”
She did not return his smile. Instead, she dropped hersandals and slid her feet into them. “I gotta go. Thanks for dinner.”
“Beth, wait. I’ll take you home.”
A car horn beeped outside, and they both turned toward the sound. She shook her head and hurried toward the door. “No, Travis is here. Bye, Hank.”
Before he could stop her, she opened the door and dashed from the house.
What had she overheard?
Hank scooped up the white sweater that had slipped from her hands when she’d run. He brought it to his face and let the scent of lemons surround him.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
“We’ve got more orders than normal,” Travis announced. He entered the kitchen with a stack of dirty dishes, which he set on the worktable, and slips of paper he’d scratched the orders on, which he handed to Bethany.
Bethany glanced at the papers. Her stomach roiled and twisted like a pot of boiling acid. “Angel here yet?”
Travis shook his head. “She’s sick. So’s her mom. Mitch Williams is by himself in the store next door. But the three boys from yesterday are here.”
“Oh, great. Send them in, would you?”
“I will, but they look like they haven’t eaten in months. I came in to get them breakfast.”
“Okay. Did you call Rosie?”
Travis loaded plates with heaping piles of scrambled eggs, hash browns, and sausages before carrying them toward the door.
He called over his shoulder, “Yeah. She’s got a job cleaning this morning. It’s a big house and the owner’s letting her bring the girls. She can’t help us this morning, but they’ll come once they’re done.” He slipped through theswinging doors, and Bethany closed her eyes for a moment. Her head throbbed as if angry gremlins with hammers were pounding on her temples. Served her right. What an idiot she’d been last night, drinking too much wine, falling asleep on Hank’s couch, and then waking up to thathorribleconversation.
She opened her eyes to see Travis was back with another stack of dirty dishes and more yellow slips of paper.
“Are you okay?”
Bethany nodded and said a silent prayer to get through the rest of the day without tossing her cookies. “Yeah. Just tired.”
“The table closest to the front window wants two breakfast specials as takeout and a dozen donuts. Oh, and Sam’s here with Gypsy. He’s asking for you.”
Bethany came from behind the worktable and wiped her hands on a blue-striped towel. “Okay. Why do you look like you’re ready to tell someone off?”
