I wave my hands in the air. “You don’t need to do that, I’m sure you’re busy.”
“Nonsense.” She grabs a menu and nods her head toward the other side of the room. “Think of it as a welcome home meal.”
Angie has always been generous and I know arguing with her won’t help anything. She won’t let me leave until I’ve eaten. Hell, her brother’s the whole reason my brother has a job. If it wasn’t for the ranch, I don’t know that Miles would have made the best decisions.
“Okay.” I follow her to a table tucked away in a corner. “I hope I’m not keeping you from your customers.”
“You’re not.” She glances over her shoulder to make sure nobody needs anything. “I have a pretty great team working with me. Between Carlos and Eric, I don’t even need to be here half the time, but I like working.”
“Oh, I met Eric the other day.”
Her eyes widen. Though, I don’t think it’s out of shock. Maybe in how the interaction went. “I bet that was an experience. Sorry for however he may have offended you. I take responsibility for him as his employer.”
“He was perfectly nice. Everyone keeps telling me I should watch myself around him, but I didn’t see any red flags.”
She nods toward the menu for me to look over. “Give it time. He really has the best of intentions. He just thinks he has to know everyone’s business.” She taps her chin, lost in thought. “Actually, I think he’s given input on a lot of my friend’s relationship problems and they’ve all managed to have healthy, strong outcomes.”
Those words stop my menu perusal. “Oh, no. I’m not interested in any relationships. It’s actually the last thing I need in my life right now.”
A server comes to take our order keeping whatever Angie was about to say at bay. I give my order, pretty much what Peter picked out for me the other day. He wasn’t wrong, the wings are delicious and I bet they taste even better when they are fresh from the kitchen and not being delivered.
Moments later the server sets down two glasses of sweet tea. I unwrap the straw and place it inside the glass before taking a drink.
“I guess this means you’re done following Peter around like you did when we were kids.”
Now I’m choking. Angie gets up and pats me on the back until my coughing is under control. I swear to God she waited for that exact moment to pose the question.
“You good?” She asks. At my nod she moves back to her chair.
“You make it sound like I was some sort of lovesick puppy.”
“Weren’t you, though?” She shakes her head. “I’m mostly shocked he and your brother never picked up on it.”
“It was merely a childhood crush.” I close my mouth as the server sets our food on the table and quickly backs away. “One that is completely gone.” Maybe if I say it enough, it’ll be true. “Besides, dating isn’t even on my radar. And when I decide to put myself out there, I have some requirements.”
“This should be good.” Angie grins, waiting to see what I have to say. Even though she’s the same age as Miles and Peter, she’s always treated me like a friend. She never looked at me as the annoying little sister.
I pick up a wing and dip it in ranch before taking a bite. Anything to delay my response. It doesn’t help. Her arms are crossed on top of the table, and she is laser focused on me.
“I’d prefer for them to have at least one child.”
“Why? That seems like the exact opposite of what most people want.”
Spoken as someone who doesn’t have kids. “Because they know the struggle of being a single parent, and won’t get mad if I end up having to shift plans around.”
She nods. I’m glad she gets it. “What else?”
“I don’t want them to be someone we grew up with.”
“You realize most people never leave this town, or they do and come back.” She waves her hand in my direction to prove her point. “So that may be harder, but there are new people coming to Asheville for a taste of that small town life.”
“Which is just as well.” I shrug and take another bite. “I have enough to worry about with getting Alexandra settled and finding a job.”
“True enough.” She agrees. “Is she riding the bus home from school?”
“Nope. I’m picking her up. I don’t want to throw too much at her with it being her first day.”
Angie glances at the clock on the wall. “Well, you may want to leave in the next fifteen minutes. There’s nothing that creates a traffic jam in town quite like the school pick up line.”
