“Why is that?”
I cleared my throat. “Well, she kind of made him sick with blowing her onion breath on him. I thought it was a genius plan.”
Kate shrugged nonchalantly. “What can I say? The guy deserved it. As soon as we had a break, I ran right out to the snack machine and grabbed a bag of Funyuns. They weren’t the healthiest things to eat, but the look on his face was priceless when he got a good whiff.”
Cooper belted out a laugh. “Holy shit, that’s awesome. I wish I could’ve seen it.”
Evan and I had both sat there and watched it all play out. Kate offered to let me eat some, but I wasn’t about to do that to him. The only thing I practiced on him was my hand placement. We both practiced mainly on the mannequins. “It was hilarious,” I added. Before Evan and the other players could join us in the parking lot, I took a step toward my car. “So, do I meet you here tomorrow, Kate?” I asked hurriedly.
She shook her head. “No, you and Lara are going to come over to my house for breakfast. I can fill you in on everything then. Is that okay? I know you need to get to work.”
I nodded. “Yeah, that’s fine. We’ll be there.” As quickly as I could, I jumped in my car and pulled out of the parking lot. Evan stopped by Kate and Cooper and waved at me when I drove past; I smiled and waved back. The feelings in my stomach returned and I tried to ignore them, but I couldn’t. Evan sparked something inside of me that I had thought was dead. It scared the living hell out of me, but it was also exciting.
—
It was late afternoon by the time I got to the restaurant, and, thankfully, I beat the dinner crowd. I sent Lara home and joined Grayson at the bar. He poured me a glass of wine and winked beneath an auburn brow, his emerald eyes reminding me so much of Austin’s. “Why do you insist on being here twenty-four/seven? I’m perfectly capable of handling this place on my own,” he informed me. “I am co-owner, after all.”
I took a sip of wine and glanced around the restaurant. “It’s the only place I feel a connection to Austin. This was his dream.”
Reaching over, he grabbed my hand and squeezed. “But you have dreams as well. Make sure you don’t forget that. Austin would want you to be happy.”
I squeezed his hand back. “I am happy. Today was a good day. And don’t worry, I’m going to be spending some time away. Being with Kate and the team today was refreshing.” Change was always a scary thing, but being with the players made me feel alive. I laughed more with them than I had in a really long time.
“Hello, hello,” a voice called out. I turned to see Delaney bouncing through the door, already dressed in her black skirt and white button-down with her long brown hair pulled back in a low ponytail. She was a senior in high school, trying to save money for when she headed off to college.
“How was school?” I asked her as she passed.
“Eh, so-so. It’s the beginning of the school year, so not much is going on just yet. I’m going to put my stuff in the back and clock in before I’m officially late.” She rushed off to the back and disappeared.
Smiling, I turned back to Grayson. “I’m glad Lara hired her. I was a little nervous when I gave her the reins on bringing in more staff.”
“See, I told you. Everything can be handled just perfectly without you here.”
“What about you? Don’t you want a life outside of this place?”
“I do,” he said, pouring a little more wine in my glass, “but my time will come. I like being here with you…and with Lara,” he added quickly.
“Ah, I see.” By the look in his eyes, I finally understood what was going on. No wonder he always wanted to stay late and help Lara close up the restaurant.
“And before you say anything,” he grumbled, “I’ve kept my distance from her since we work together. Besides, she’s hard up over that douchebag motocross racer.”
Tilting my glass, I drank the rest of the wine and winked. “I think she’s decided to move on. Just be careful if you choose to make a move. If something were to happen, it’d make it awkward on all of us.”
He sighed. “That’s why I haven’t done anything about it.” I guess I could see why he would grow attached to her. They were always together. After he wiped off the counter, he focused on the door. “Are you still seeing Dr. Parker?” he asked.
“Yeah, why?”
He nodded toward the entrance. “Because he just came in.”
Quickly, I turned to see Philip walking through the door, dressed in a pair of jeans and a plaid button-down shirt, his dark hair mussed. “I’ll be right back.”
“No rush,” he added as I left the bar.
“Wow, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you look so normal,” I joked, glancing up and down at Philip’s clothes.
“My last patient canceled so I was able to go home and change. I do have a life outside of my practice,” he said, chuckling.