Page 44 of Get Lost with You
Jilly scooped up a bite. “Rookie. You need to up your sugar tolerance, that’s all.”
Laughing again, he realized he’d done a lot of that since he got back.
“What happened with Liam and Leo?” Seeing the bar split in two had struck a chord in him. A sad one. Like Beckett, he’d gone to school with the twins and they’d been tight for a bit; played sports together, hung out.
Jilly frowned. “No one really knows, honestly. You know them; they’ve always been more than twins. They were best friends. Brothers’ used to be my favorite place to hang out the few times I came back to visit. It had so much energy and such a great vibe. They got into a fight in the middle of the pub, according to what I’ve heard. I didn’t live here when it happened. When I came home, they’d split it in two. Now, I can’t visit one side without feeling guilty. Most of the town feels the same, so people who know them make an effort to visit both.”
Levi shook his head. “That’s a real shame. I can’t think of what could come between two people so close.”
Jilly shrugged and Levi got lost in thought about his dad. He’d idolized his dad growing up; never could have imagined feeling the way he did now.
He was happy Jilly changed the subject.
“So, you’ve narrowed it down to three trucks. What’s the key difference between them that’s making you unsure?”
He liked her business brain as much as her sense of humor. He was beginning to think there was nothing about her he wouldn’t like.
A few more people came through the door, laughing on their way to their table, but Jilly held his focus.
“Price and size are the key factors holding me up.”
“Are you getting a loan?”
He nodded. “Already did. I have savings as well. Want to come look at them with me?”
She reached over, took a bite of the vanilla, and added somepeanut butter cream to her fork. “Maybe. Things are starting to amp up for the lodge. We’ve got the fitness company’s team coming this week. You’re still okay to do the food for that?”
“Of course.”
“Then we have Ollie’s class coming on an overnight trip to celebrate the end of the year.”
“Do you have the meals taken care of for that?”
The waitress glided by, not looking at them.
“We still need to talk to Shane about it.”
“I can help.”
He wanted to help. He wanted to do whatever he could to be with her more. Plus, the lodge had been fun to work at. He wasn’t sure if it was the space so much as the people.
“I’ll let you know, but if you get the truck, you might be pretty busy yourself.”
He nodded. They chatted about what foods he would serve, he told her about his dad and finding Anderson helping him out. She listened when he talked, her gaze holding his, like she not only cared about what he said, but felt what he felt.
He pushed his plate away, took a large drink of water.
She smiled at him across the table, her gaze lifting through lowered lashes. His chest tightened just from looking at her. Wanting her. She pushed her plate away. “Tell me something I don’t know.”
He leaned back against the padded seat. “Okay. Hmm. The fast-food industry generates over five hundred billion dollars of revenue a year.”
Her expression went blank and then she laughed, picked up her napkin, and tossed it at him. “Not what I meant. Something aboutyou.Something I wouldn’t know from when you were younger.”
He paused, thought about whether or not what he was aboutto say would be embarrassing or endearing. “I once wrote out a mini speech on a cue card to read to Beckett. It was so I could ask you out.”
Her mouth dropped open. “You did not.”
Laughing, he reached out, took her hand, stroked his thumb over her skin, enjoying the warmth that filled her gaze. “I did. Then I found out I’d gotten the scholarship and was leaving.”
