Page 7 of Can't Help Falling in Love
The waitress straightened and looked back and forth between her and Will. “Would you like a drink as well?”
Will smiled, laying his forearms on the table. He’d nudged his plate forward. “Oh, no thank you. Lexi and I like to share everything.”
Understandably, the waitress only looked more confused. She drew out the word “Okay…”
Taking Will’s plate and the glass, she headed back into the restaurant. She’d probably tell her boss and he’d have another reason to question hiring her.
Left as alone as they could be with the patio filled up and Lexi’s past a couple of tables over, she leaned in.
“I’m so sorry,” she whispered.
Will was obviously a genius because he put his elbow on the table, bending his arm so it acted as a shield of sorts but made it look like they were just completely into each other.
“For which part?”
Lexi’s nose scrunched up. There was a lot to choose from. “I just need a minute. I don’t want them to know I work here.” She tilted her head to the side ever so slightly.
Will’s eyes crinkled around the corners when he was amused.Noted.
“I cracked that code, thanks.”
Reese returned like some sort of speed-waitressing champion, leaving side plates and happy customers in her wake. She took all of the orders and left baskets of house-made tortilla chips to tide people over. She wasn’t even sweating.
Stopping at Will’s table, she dropped off the soda. “Two straws,” she said, one pierced brow arched.
Will laughed out loud and handed her a credit card Lexi hadn’t even seen him pull out. “Perfect. Thank you.”
“No problem.”
Oh, but there was. So many problems. Lexi didn’t know what to say as she sat there trying to figure out how to undo this moment. Reese returned what seemed like seconds later with the credit card receipt.
“Brett’s on his way,” she said urgently.
“Shit. Shit. Shit.”
“We don’t like Brett?” Will asked conspiratorially, signing the receipt, then returning his card to his brown leather wallet. Lexi noticed the faint monogram:WMG. She wondered if it was his initials or the brand.
Way to be focused. Because that’s what really matters right now.“Brett’s my boss.”
“Uh-oh,” Will muttered.
That was the understatement of the century. Lexi stood abruptly. Will followed suit. Reese stepped back. Jackie looked over, her drink partway to her lips just as Brett stepped outside.
“Oh no, you’re leaving?” Jackie set her drink down and dug around in a purse that probably cost more than Lexi’s entire collection of jewelry.
“You’re leaving?” Brett’s irritation was crystal clear.
Jackie stood, and headed over with a card in hand. “You call me. I’m having an engagement party tonight. You have to be there. No excuses. If I don’t see you, I’m coming to find you. It’s been way too long. See you tonight.” She smiled up at Will, pointed at him. “You too.”
Lexi spun around, her heart a jackhammer in her chest.
Time for a new nickname. She was officially Alexandria the Cursed.
Three
Will knew, on some level, that it was wrong to be enjoying himself so much. After slipping on his lightweight coat, he grabbed his book, tucked it under his arm, and put one hand gently on Lexi’s shoulder. The woman, tall and lanky with a gorgeous mass of wavy hair piled like the Leaning Tower of Pisa on her head, was what his youngest sister would call a hot mess. He’d never understood the term before. Or realized it didn’t tell the whole story. She might be having a bad day but that smile, the steely determination to keep going—those things were extremely captivating.
He knew only the bare minimum. Her name was Lexi, she went scary pale when she was nervous, she didn’t want to talk to the women at the other table, and waitressing wasn’t one of her special skills.
