Mary’s lips curled into a sharp smile. “I guess capitalism never sleeps, huh?”
Tristan didn’t seem offended. He just chuckled as if she had somehow complimented him. “It’s a good thing I don’t mind staying up all night.”
Lydia’s eyes widened, like she had stumbled upon a unicorn. “Wow.”
“So, how bad is it?” Tristan continued, his gaze traveling down to Lizzy’s rain boots.
“Oh, it’s fine.” Lizzy pushed some hair away from her face, suddenly much more aware of her sodden overalls and old Stone Roses T-shirt. “Just the basement. And some electrical work. And our fridge.”
“Do you need any help? I could pitch in.”
Lydia made a strangled sound, something between a laugh and a prayer to heaven.
“No, we’ve got it under control,” Lizzy said, forcing a smile. “Thanks, though.”
“Sure,” he replied. It was that tone again, like he had read some hidden subtext in the conversation. Then he took a step back toward the door. “Well, when you’re done, I was going to head over to Donato Lodge tonight. Apparently they didn’t have any damage, so Hank’s throwing a ‘Survived the Storm’ party. Maybe I’ll see you there?”
Lizzy opened her mouth to answer, but Lydia beat her to it again.
“Oh, you definitely will,” she purred.
“See you tonight, then,” he replied with a smile.
Lizzy’s cheeks flushed as she watched him saunter through the door and out of view.
“Parasite,” Mary murmured.
Donato Lodge was already bursting when they arrived later that night. With Mary still banned and Kitty at home working on her business plan, it was just Lizzy, Jane, and Lydia who faced the thumping beats of tonight’s band. The dance floor was packed, but thankfully the bar wasn’t as mobbed, so Lizzy and Jane found seats, while Lydia disappeared into the crowd.
“You’re late!” Piper exclaimed from behind the bar, already placing their usual drinks in front of them.
“You’re lucky we made it at all,” Lizzy moaned.
“The basement at the bakery flooded,” Jane explained.
Piper winced. “Is it bad?”
Lizzy pushed a few strands of wet hair from her face. She had taken a long shower when she got home and washed her hair twice, but she felt like she could still use another one. “Well, I just spent the past eight hours covered in flour and rainwater. Possibly raw sewage. So it’s not great.”
“We saved Mom’s leggings, though,” Jane said, her voice heavy with forced optimism. “And Dad thinks we should be back up and running in a couple of days.”
Lizzy took a sip of her beer to avoid offering her own opinion, which was that they’d be closed longer than that. But those realities could wait until tomorrow. For right now, she had beer and Tater Tots and a very intense guitar solo being performed onstage.
She turned to stare at the band, which seemed to include guitars, drums, bagpipes, and a lead singer dressed in a football jersey and oversized sunglasses.
“What’s going on up there exactly?”
Piper pointed to a poster behind her emblazoned with the wordKorndogg.
Jane looked confused, while Lizzy asked, “Do I want to know?”
“Korn meets Snoop Dogg.”
Lizzy laughed, but the sound was lost in the music. She was about to ask her friend how her dad found these acts, but stopped when she suddenly felt someone looming at her side. She turned and found Tristan there, smiling down at her.
“Hello there,” he said. His gaze slid down her old Duran Duran T-shirt to her jeans and back up again as a wry grin pulled at one corner of his mouth.
She smiled back. “Hi.”
