Page 58 of Dandelions and Smoke

“Ooo, it’s Lucas,” she says, face lighting up. “I have to take this. Lettie had an ultrasound today, and I need to know how my little Godson is doing.”

She kisses me before waving goodbye to everyone else and hopping away to the back of the cafe. Lucas calls and checks in with her almost every day, and I can tell it means a lot to her—which means a lot to me. I know I gave Blake a hard time after the car incident, but even if they’re still not completely warmed up to the idea of Rory and me dating, neither of them has actively tried to stop us.

They haven’t exactly welcomed me with open arms either, but at least Lucas says hello to me now when Rory and he FaceTime. For a while, it was mostly Rory waving the phone around in front of me, and him acting like there was a bad connection while looking me dead in the face.

Yeah, bad connection, my ass.

They love her, and she knows it. After hearing more from Rory about how awful her childhood was, how lonely and isolating it must have been to have no family and a mother who never showed her the love she deserves, I don’t know how she’s become this bright spark of color in all our lives the way she has.

A pang of sadness cuts through me as I think about it and the person she could have become. Anyone else might have allowed it to bury them, but not her. She’s like that dandelion she once saw push its way through the cracks of a sidewalk—determined to survive.

I lean back in my seat and take it all in, breathing in deeply.

“So,” Billy starts, pulling his chair closer to mine. “You want to tell me about that gift she was talking about?”

With a laugh, I shake my head, and my gaze meets Rory’s as she walks back into the cafe, a smile brightening her face the moment her eyes find mine. I watch as she helps a table, and Tris kisses Levi before getting back to work. While Mark finishes the last of his sandwich, Ainsley laughs at something a customer says over at the register. Billy’s attention snaps toward her the second he hears it. Bristling, his posture turns rigid as he takes in the man standing in front of Ainsley.

“Who’s that?” I ask, not recognizing the guy, though he looks subtly familiar.

Immediately, Billy goes back to his sandwich like he wasn’t throwing daggers five seconds ago at the man with his eyes.

“No one,” he grumbles.

“Oh, that’s Alex Marquez,” Mark says, putting a theatrical exaggeration around the man’s name, giving it an air of superiority.

Noticing my confusion, Levi turns to see the man walk out with his to-go order.

“That’s the architect Callie hired to help me with the rebuild of the house,” he says, jutting his head toward where the guy gets into a two-million-dollar Koenigsegg sports car. “He’s the one who designed the waterpark they’re installing at the Frosty Mountain Resort.”

“If you can afford that guy, you don’t need this job,” I tease, noticing how everyone but Billy laughs.

“Callie’s family can afford anyone they want, and lucky for me, this is her dad’s way of apologizing for the electrical fire.” Levi shrugs, grateful but not overly impressed by the man’s high status.

Shifting my shoulders, I turn toward Billy. “I take it you’re not a fan?”

Billy scoffs, wiping his mouth with a napkin and throwing it down onto his plate.

“That pompous city boy?” He jerks his thumb in the direction of the door. “I barely know the guy, but I know his type, and that’s what I’m not a fan of.”

Amused, I cross my arms. “And what type is that?”

It’s not often that Billy lets anyone get under his thick skin, but I have a feeling this has less to do with the guy and more to do with the woman still smiling behind the counter.

“The type that walks around like his shit doesn’t stink and that he’s some gift from God and we’re lucky to be in his presence. A guy like that thinks he can show up and whatever he wants, he should get.”

“Hmm,” I hum, listening as it all clicks together.

“I mean, the guy does know his stuff,” Levi cuts in, a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth while he runs his knuckles across his jaw.

“Anything or anyone in particular you worried about him setting his sights on?” I ask, poking the bear.

His expression flattens, hardening into a glare. I look over his shoulder, and Levi gives me a wink like it’s two against one. Billy catches it and looks between the two of us, his brows furrowing as he lets out a long breath through his nose.

“Go ahead, have your fun. But remember who is going to be the one responsible for whether your birthday cake says thirty-five or fifty-three.”

“Wouldn’t that be Rory?” Mark chimes in, finally looking up from where he’s been texting on his phone this whole time.

“Right,” Billy drawls sarcastically. “And who do you think Pinky is going to recruit for forced manual labor?”