Page 22 of Risk It All
When Leo delivered a table’s food, he spent a few minutes with them, introducing himself and getting their thoughts. From what I’d heard, no one had anything bad to say. If anything, they were already making plans to come back to ensure they tried everything before the menu switched.
Even though patrons had plates of hot, delicious food in front of them, Leo had their undivided attention. I didn’t miss the double takes or glances he’d get from people while walking past their table, or people stopping him to introduce themselves or pay their compliments to the chef.
“Good thing you had some help getting these limes and lemons cut up earlier,” Louise said with a wink. “We’re gonna need ’em.”
We were both working tonight, and these were some of my favorite shifts. I didn’t mind tending to the bar alone, but having Louise made it more interesting. Plus, I loved to watch how she crafted each drink or added her own spin to it if a customer was looking for something different or wasn’t sure what they wanted.
Oh, baby, there’s nothing average about me.
Leo’s words replayed in my head. The rasp ofbaby. His throaty chuckle.
A flush crept up my neck, and suddenly it felt like a million degrees in the bar. With all the people, it likely was.
“Eliza? Eliza!” What I thought was my name in the distance actually came from my best friend standing right in front of me.
I shook my head, meeting Lily’s eyes. “Oh, hey! Didn’t realize you were right there.”
“Figured.” Her smile widened into a grin, a twinkle ofamusement in her eyes. “I was just saying I think that glass is plenty full.”
The soda glass I’d been filling was overflowing and likely had been for who knew how long. I wiped the sides of the glass with a clean rag to ensure the glass wouldn’t be sticky from the sugar.
Lily leaned in. “What were you thinking about that had you in such a daze?” She blinked innocently. “The new chef? Louise said there’s beendelicioustension in the bar recently.”
I gave Lily a look and then turned to look at Louise over my shoulder, who shrugged. “I’m not in a daze. I’m just in the zone working.” I grabbed a compostable coaster and crossed the distance of the bar to drop off the drink before returning to Lily. With how she had her hands on her hips, I knew she had questions for me. She was all sunshine and baked goods until she meant business.
“Okay, I’ve let you avoid this long enough.”
“Avoid what?” I asked, playing dumb.
“You know what, and I’m not leaving until you tell me more about this tension and what’s going on between you and Leo. Well, that or whenever the food gets to our table.” She nodded toward the booth with Gabe and Hal. “But if that’s the case, then I’m coming right back after dinner.”
Due to Gabe’s asshole father, Gabe hadn’t had much of a relationship with Hal up until recently. Hal had kept up with Gabe’s life and accomplishments as much as he could and even had his photos all over his house and hardware store. It wasn’t until Gabe visited Golden Falls last winter for the building sale that the two reconnected. Now, they were inseparable and making up for lost time.
“Okay, but how adorable do they look together?” I asked Lily, genuinely meaning it, but if it distracted her from our current conversation…I’d take the win.
She beamed. “I truly can’t get enough of it. We’ve beenhaving dinner with Hal at least once most weeks, and then Gabe stops by the hardware store over lunch whenever he can.”
I knew Gabe was the right guy for Lily after witnessing how he was always thinking about what she needed, and that was only further confirmed when I saw how he was with Hal. Hal deserved the goddamn world. I would do anything for him—everyone in this town would.
Hal had lived in town his whole life. Another person who was a steady constant in my life. So had his late wife Vera.
More love. More loss.
“Gabe’s been spending time with Wes and Cooper, too,” Lily added. “Oh! Weren’t they here with Leo last week?”
I hummed in response. “When Leo cock blocked me. The curse lives on.”
Lily tipped her head back with amusement. “I heard about that. Although, he might’ve done you a favor with how quickly that guy ran out.”
She wasn’t wrong.
“You need someone who can hold his own,” Lily added.
“That’s true,” I agreed. As Lily and I talked, I refilled drinks and kept an eye on the people around us to see if they needed something.
“Someone who happens to live across the hall from you and can cook you delicious meals.”
I stopped what I was doing and stared at Lily, unamused. I should’ve seen where she was going with this from a mile away. “Very subtle.”
