Page 97 of Singled Out
I’d just finished taking orders from Dean and Lisa when another group coming in the door caught my eye. I felt a pang in my chest at the sight of Max with Danny in his arms. Next to them were Max’s mom and his brother, Levi.
I couldn’t imagine why Max was here when he knew the odds of me working were high. Biting down on my lip, I turned my focus to another party to get their drink orders, fighting hard not to pay attention to Max’s family as they walked behind me.
I heard Max greet Dakota and missed the drink orders I’d asked for. Had she known her whole family was coming?
“Getting busy early today,” I told the customers, flashing them an overfriendly but distracted smile. “I’m sorry, can you repeat those?”
I wrote down their beverage requests and asked if they were ready to order food.
“We’ll need a bit,” the grandfatherly man said.
“Let me know if you have any questions,” I said, hoping they’d give me an excuse to stay put for a bit longer.
When they merely nodded, I headed toward the pickup window behind the counter to see if any of my orders were up. I made a point of not looking in Max’s direction—he was sitting on this side of Dakota, his family lined up on the stools between her and my dad, who sat on the end—and felt self-conscious and flustered instead of like the competent veteran server I was.
“I think that’s mine,” I told Patrick as he picked up the platters.
“I got it for you, sweets,” he said, winking.
Which left me off-balance as I tried to avoid looking at the man behind me whose presence I found nearly impossible to ignore.
Orders. I’d just taken orders from two tables. Put the food order in and get the flipping drinks, Harper.
The Dawson family and Cambria were engaged in a lively conversation I did my best to tune out as I poured juices, coffees, and a hot water for tea, then scurried away to deliver them.
As I straightened from serving the last beverage, the little counter bell to get service during slow times obnoxiously rang repeatedly. I turned toward it, expecting to see an unsupervised kid. My mouth fell open when I realized it was Max, standing at the end of the counter, near my dad, staring right at me.
“Hey, everyone,” he said loudly.
I froze where I was, unsure what was going on, not knowing what to do. I glanced to the kitchen window to gauge Monty’s reaction. My boss had a smile on his face and gave Max a thumbs-up. What the…?
“Sorry to interrupt your breakfast,” Max continued as the customers gave him their attention. “I’ve got something important to say.”
I realized Dakota was staring at me, so I gave her a look that said, What is going on?
I couldn’t read the smile she sent me, and then I couldn’t think about it anymore because Max said, “Harper, would you mind coming over here?”
Beyond confused, I walked toward him, hoping to end the disruption before someone complained.
“Hi, Max,” I said, acting as unbothered as possible as I came up next to him, my insides shaky.
Everyone at the counter had their gaze locked on me.
“I, um, have some tables who need to order,” I told him.
“I’ll handle your tables for a few,” Patrick called out.
“What’s going on?” I asked Max, darting a look at my expectant dad and starting to get the idea that everyone knew what was happening except me.
“I need to get some things off my chest,” Max said, still at broadcast-to-the-whole-restaurant volume. “I screwed up and I want to rectify my mistake.”
“I’m at work.” I glanced toward the pickup window again, but Monty stood there watching us like everybody else.
“Hear him out,” my boss said.
“As my sister so aptly told me,” Max said, “I was a big dummy a few nights ago. I messed up.” He let out a self-effacing chuckle. “I’ve been messing up for weeks, actually.”
My heart raced, and I tried to catch my brain up.