Page 87 of You Found Me
His face froze as he read the card.
“Well? Who’s it from?” Emily asked.
“It’s from Storm and Lucy.” Mason sounded stunned. He looked up and searched the crowd until he found Ward.
The guitar had cost a small fortune, but every penny had been worth it to see the disbelief and surprise in Mason’s eyes.
“Wow. This is…wow. Thank you,” Mason said. “I…seriously, man. Thanks.”
Ward dipped his chin in acknowledgment. “I had a few birthdays to make up for.” The guilt that had seized his heart over the last hour eased a little. He raised his mug in salute. “To Mason. Happy birthday.”
“Happy birthday!” and “To Mason!” rippled through the crowd as everyone toasted his little brother.
“Told ya.” Della’s breath tickled his ear again. “It’s not too late.”
Her hands tightened on his arm, and he relished how warm and soft she felt against him. It was an unexpected comfort to have her there beside him.
Rule one, he had a feeling, was already shot to hell.
Chapter Fifteen
Della walked into the first minimum-wage job she’d ever had wondering what the hell she’d been thinking.
She deeply regretted the life choices that had led her here. All of them. She should never have agreed to this. What did she know about waiting tables? Nothing. Absolutely nothing.
She smoothed the white Sevens T-shirt Ward had produced from a closet somewhere and glanced around, nervous butterflies winging away in her belly. “Where’s your dad?”
“Not sure.” Ward pointed at the bar. “Check in with Cherry. She’s his right hand.”
He started to walk away, but she grabbed his hand. “Where are you going?”
“The corner booth.” He flashed a lopsided smirk. “Let me know when you’ve had enough. We can fake an illness or something.”
He turned her loose and sauntered away. Between his jeans, black polo shirt, and the laptop bag slung casually over his shoulder he looked like a professor.
Nobody would ever know he was secretly an agent of torture who was taking a ridiculous amount of delight in what was sure to be her humiliation.
“I’m not quitting,honey bear,” she told his retreating back.
She was sticking this out for the week she’d promised Ralph, or until he asked her to leave. Whichever came first.
His fingers twitched, almost like he was flipping her off.
“Jerk,” She muttered. Fine. She was a professional performer, dammit. How hard could it be to pretend to be a waitress? All she had to do was bring people food and drinks and smile.
Without a crowd, Sevens seemed larger than it had during the party. Mirrors behind the bar helped. So did the wall of windows along the back that revealed the courtyard beyond. It was a charming, welcoming space all of her sisters would love.
Maybe some day she could bring them here.
The place was empty except for a tall, dark, fantastically muscled guy pouring ice into a bin behind the bar, and a short, curvy, motherly looking woman frowning at the register.
That had to be Cherry.
“Okay, Lucy, get your ass in gear and figure this out,” she whispered to herself. She crossed the dining room to the bar with her head held high and a light bounce in her step.
She could do this. She could.
“Hey, new girl.” The ice man’s smile could have sold sand to a camel. “How you doing?”