Page 38 of Set to Love

Zoe

Do you guys need help?

Katie

I’ll put it this way . . . if you showed up, Lina wouldn’t turn you down. We could use the help cleaning and for the dinner rush tonight. Leon’s even “engineering” the host stand.

Zoe

Say no more. On my way.

Katie

Aren’t you at work?

Zoe

Nope. I’m working Saturday.

Zoe

And I’m already in your neck of the woods.

The dots dance on the screen as she adds another message.

Zoe

Do you have a spare uniform shirt? Or should I just wear all black.

Katie

Wear what’s comfortable. I literally threw my black polo over my gym clothes. I didn’t have time to change my pants. It’s been that kind of day.

Zoe

Got it. See you soon. Save me a meatball.

Katie

Channeling your inner Lorelai.

Zoe

You know it.

Katie

Deal.

I set the phone down with a smile, my first one since I saw Aunt Sarah’s name on my lock screen. Knowing that Zoe is on her way will make the next five hours feel a lot less like a mountain and more like a hill.

I take one last bite of cake, shove my feet back into my sneakers, and stand up. My core is still tight, and my ankle is sending me angry pulses, but my work family needs me.

The second I push back through the kitchen door, the noise hits me all over again—clattering plates, overlapping conversations, and the ding of the service bell.

“We just ran out of clean plates! Like, in any size,” Randy says, his voice pitching up an octave in pure panic.

“Wait, there were only two tables left.”