Rosita’s was a family restaurant. Paige has been working there for well over a year and she could proudly say she knew all their patrons. The Viking stranger, she hadn’t seen before. She would have remembered. Her girlie parts would have remembered.
“Could I have another?” he asked, placing the wineglass on the counter and sitting on the bar stool.
She nodded. “I’ll bring it to your table.”
“Nah, I’d rather stay here with you if you don’t mind,” he said sheepishly. “I got stood up. A blind date I was forced into by my mother. My pride can’t stand being at that table anymore.”
Paige laughed at his resigned grimace.
“That’ll teach me to come visit my parents,” he continued. “Or succumb to their plotting. I’m Nick.”
“Paige,” she introduced herself, refilling his glass.
“Nice to meet you, Paige. You guys are busy for a regular weekday,” he said motioning to the patrons dining. “This is the first family restaurant I’ve seen with bouncers.”
Paige giggled, glancing at Sean and Zack, James’s colleagues. “They are not bouncers. They are friends of the owners.”
She wasn’t sure what had happened, but James had told them yesterday Elle was going to be away for a while. Tate wasn’t up for taking on the restaurant, so Paige, Tim, and James were it. Which suited her just fine. She loved working there; she had no problem stepping up to the plate.
Since then, James had been coming in at opening and staying around until Zack or Sean or both would arrive and he could go home to Tate and their son. Cole and Max were constantly dropping by too.
“Good. I’ve not been to Boston for some time. Wasn’t sure if this had turned into gang territory while I was away.”
Thank God he hadn’t come yesterday. James had turned up with some dude with his face tattooed, Maori style, and with two-hundred-forty-pound, heavily tattooed Mike Haddican.
“Where have you been?” she asked Nick.
“Officially? Working on a sea platform. Unofficially? Escaping my parents. But really, can you blame me?”
Nick was funny. Damn refreshing to meet someone who wasn’t intimidated by her looks.
“Love the pictures. You took them?” he asked after a while of chitchatting.
“One of the owners did. Elle Cooper,” she replied pointing at a photo with Elle in it.
“Some are shocking. Others are dead scary,” he said.
“I know, right?”
“This could be a great venue for my parents’ wedding anniversary. Who should I talk to about organizing that? Oh and I’d definitely want this Elle to take the pictures. And to customize them like this one,” he added nodding at the shot of James’s wedding with Jack’s face covered in black. “I have several relatives I don’t like.”
Paige laughed. “She’s taking some time off but I’m sure we can accommodate your parents’ party.”
“When is she getting back? Their wedding anniversary is in two weeks.”
“I don’t think she’ll make it.”
“Such a pity. But I’m looking forward to seeing the new pictures she’ll add when she gets back. She seems to keep busy.”
Yes, she did. There was something about Elle that called out to people. She’d been away from the restaurant for just a couple of days and almost every diner had asked about her.
He was about to say something, but a patron interrupted and they got sidetracked.
“Would you let me buy you a drink after your shift ends?” he asked once they were alone again.
“So I’m your backup date. Not too fond of playing second chair.”
He smirked and threw a glance to the table he’d been sitting at. “You’re first chair, honey.”
“I don’t know,” she faltered, finding herself touching her choke collar. She was not in the habit of picking up dates at Rosita’s.
His smile was big and unthreatening. “Come on. We could go dancing. What do you say, you in?”
Elle was sick and tired of staring at the ceiling.
Soundly asleep, Jack had his arm over her stomach, and she tried disentangling herself without disturbing him. She’d moved maybe an inch when suddenly a powerful leg trapped her.
“Where are you going?”
“Can’t sleep. I’m going to the living room for a sec.”
He didn’t loosen his embrace. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong. Can I borrow your phone? I swear I won’t call anyone. I’ll just check my messages.”
The silence was deafening. When he finally spoke, his tone was full of disapproval. “That’s what you did with your other lovers? Did you leave Kai in your bed and go to your computer to write to me if he didn’t exhaust you? And did he let you? Because I won’t make that mistake. You’re in my bed, you’re not leaving it. You’ll be too exhausted to even think about it, much less to write to some other guy.”
Kai had never been in her bed, but she didn’t feel inclined to appease Jack, not while he was back at pretending to be master of the universe. “Fine. Let’s fuck. Exhaust me.”
“Not yet. I asked what was wrong. I expect an answer.”
“Can’t sleep. It’s not a crime, last time I checked. Oh wait, maybe on Planet Cyborg it is, used as you are to barking orders and being obeyed. But guess what? I’m not one of your soldiers.”