Page 37 of Love Me Boldly

She chuckled and shook her head. “Don’t get mad because I look after you, sweetheart. Life’s handed you enough to deal with. You like him, though. I can see it.”

I gave her the driest expression I could muster. “He’s all right.”

His kisses were far better than all right. His sense of humor was superior, and he never seemed bothered by the fact I didn’t seem impressed with him. Which meant I was becoming a better liar, frankly, because so far I hadn’t seen or learned anything about him that wasn’t impressive.

She rolled her eyes and closed them. I was pretty sure she was praying for my soul, or for hers, so she didn’t respond to my sass. “I’m forty-two, not ninety, and even then I’m pretty sure I’d still have eyes to see how good-looking he is. It’s okay to live a little and have some fun. You know that, right?”

As she asked, she tucked wisps of my hair behind my ear.

In theory, I knew what she was saying. In reality, well, life hadn’t given me a whole lot of chances to do whatever I wanted.

“I hear you, Caroline.”

“Good. Get their orders and then get yourself a break. You’re off the clock for an hour.”

I gave her a look I’d learned from her. Probably why she didn’t seem fazed by it. “When am I ever actuallyonthe clock?”

“Perks from being part-owner. Now git.”

“I’m gittin’, I’m gittin’,” I teased her, accentuating our southern mountain drawl, but that was only to avoid the whole part-owner comment.

It was in my mom’s will that I took her half of the restaurant. Considering we had no idea if Mom was dead or alive, it wasn’texactlymine, but Caroline considered the fact that Mom had abandoned all of us as worthy enough for me to have it.

The problem was I didn’t want it. I didn’t want Caroline’s life, and there was no way I could stay in Deer Creek. If the locals knew Caroline wanted to give me ownership, we’d go out of business faster than a summer flood could take out a bridge. The only bonus it offered was a safety net if I couldn’t find a job right away. Or if something horrific happened. There was always The Grille to fall back on, even if relying on it would destroy me.

I headed toward Graham and his friends, took notice of a new table that’d been seated near them, and inwardly sighed.

Great. I had no doubt the girls at the new table had seen Graham and his friends and requested to be sitting within viewing distance. Hannah, Mia, and Kacey didn’t hate me because my dad killed someone. They hated me because they were the quintessential small-town mean girls…

I ignored them as much as I possibly could while their snickers grew louder, no doubt directed at me in some way and smiled at the guys. Tanner glanced at the girls, then back to me. He was most likely replaying the last time he’d seen me in Deer Creek, being humiliated and then kicked out, because his brows tugged downward.

“Are you guys ready to order?”

“Yeah.” Tanner looked to the table again and then back to me. “You good?”

“Always.” I plastered on a fake smile that Graham read like a book.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. You guys need food, or did you come for the water?”

I went for sass. My backup.

Graham gritted his teeth together.

“Double cheeseburger, extra cheese and bacon,” Eli ordered, “with fries.”

“Okay.” I reached for his menu, but he held it away from me.

“And I’d like to know why those girls are glaring at you and have been since you stepped foot out here.”

“Because they’re bored,” I told him, “and I’d prefer it if you drop it.”

That earned me scowls from all three guys, Graham mostly, but they at least complied quickly enough.

By the time their order was done, Caroline had come out and helped the girls, allowing me to breathe a sigh of relief as I headed to the back. Order entered, I took off my apron and went back to Caroline’s office.

There, I rested against the wall, eyes closed, apron balled into a fist.

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