Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 90098 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 450(@200wpm)___ 360(@250wpm)___ 300(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 90098 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 450(@200wpm)___ 360(@250wpm)___ 300(@300wpm)
Knowing he had to get to work, I had to wrap things up. This hadn’t been my plan anyway; I was supposed to reel him in slowly until he had no other option but to succumb to my charms. But here we were. He’d made me fucking talk.
“Look. Go to work,” I murmured. “I don’t wanna freak you out further by throwing details into the mix, but trust me—I got them. I’m not taking any of this lightly, and I know your situation. I know your priorities.”
He cupped my face and kissed me hard. “Trace, the only thing that freaks me out is losing this. Nothing I feel about you is casual or temporary, okay?”
I smiled into the kiss, but my stomach was a fucking mess of frazzled nerves. ’Cause now I had to go all day wondering if he was going to talk himself into this rocky start of what I hoped was the rest of our lives.
“We’ll talk more tonight?” he asked.
I nodded and kissed him again.
“For the record,” he said. “In the time I’ve known you, I’ve set up countless boundaries to protect myself from getting sucked into your world, and I failed each time. I’m not going anywhere because I can’t go a day without seeing you.”
Well, fuck me over, that worked. I let out an unsteady breath, and I mustered a shaky grin. Was this really happening? He was on board? He couldn’t go a day without seeing me?
We stood a chance.
Just parked.
Now I was nervous again.
I pocketed my phone and removed my apron, then signaled to Jamaal. “You ready to take over for a bit?”
He smirked and jerked his chin at his old man and Jerry. “Yeah, I think I can handle this crowd.”
Fair, fair. It was pretty slow at this early-bird hour. About a dozen tables were full, and Jamaal would have one more by his side soon enough. This early in the service, there was no need to make a reservation.
I thanked him and ignored Malcolm’s catcalling. That was what I got for having half jokingly said I was meeting my future man’s family today.
It was important to be confident, right?
Running a hand through my hair, I headed back out into the kitchen, and I made a beeline for the office. I just had to reapply some deodorant. We might have a lull in the service now, but it’d been a busy lunch rush.
I put on a new Clover tee while I was at it too, and then I had to read through our very brief chain of messages from today. To comfort myself—and to overanalyze.
He’d started it.
Cant stop thinking about a fucking Cubs fan.
He’d kept it light and funny, and I’d stupidly gone straight for matters of the heart.
That Cubs fan really liked it when u called him baby.
Luckily, his lunchtime response had unfrazzled most of my nerves.
Ill see you at five, baby.
“See? You got nothing to be nervous about,” I told myself. Except for the part where I really wanted Alvin and Elsie to like me.
Let’s charm the O’Clearys.
I left the office again and stopped by the kitchen. “Petey! We good on my Sox burn?”
He grinned. “Oh, absolutely. Everything will be ready in ten.”
Perfect. We couldn’t celebrate Ben’s birthday without taking a shot at the Sox.
I pushed the door open and spotted Ben next to the host’s desk right away. Since he’d picked up his family immediately after work, I didn’t have to feel bad about being in my work clothes too. And next to him, his mother and Alvin. The guy really took after his old man, only he was much shorter. He did look younger than his eighteen years; his features were still boyish but not overly so. He wore glasses too, and a curious expression.
I grabbed three menus from under the bar, then headed their way.
Don’t be nervous, don’t be nervous.
I was nervous.
As if on cue, I heard my sister making chicken noises in my head, and that actually helped. I’d never struggled to make friends. I was well-liked. Why wouldn’t Elsie like me? She looked like a sweet old lady. She kind of reminded me of my grandmother on Ma’s side. In appearance, at least. My grandma was a real introvert, and she only left her house in damn Milwaukee for Thanksgiving. But she was nice and looked the way a grandma should look, with the white hair, the big glasses, the glossy “but ergonomic” shoes, and the purse. Just like Elsie. She might even be shorter than Alvin.
Ben spotted me and fired off a sexy smirk, though I detected a hint of nerves too.
We were in this together, but I was going to let him lead the way. We’d barely talked, so I doubted he’d say anything about us to Elsie and Alvin.
That would be weird.