Page 28 of The Kissing Part
She follows him to the next tray that he’s busy removing. “Do you live in town? I do.”
“Yup.”
“Where at?”
He meets her eyes with a smile. “Why, you want to visit me?”
She looks up at him under her lashes. “Maybe.”
He heads back to the kitchen with the empty tray.
Mackenzie turns to us. “Isn’t he gorgeous? Did you see his tattoo? I’m thinking he’d be a lot of fun.”
“Anyone can get a tattoo,” Harper says drily. “It doesn’t make him hot.”
Mackenzie turns to me for my opinion.
“It would probably be good to know more about him first.”
She waves that away. “Dad hired him, and he vets everyone carefully.”
“Who did I hire?” her dad asks, appearing out of nowhere. I could pick out Owen’s uncle Josh anywhere because he’s an identical twin to Owen’s dad, Jake. Same short dark brown hair with a wave to it, warm brown eyes, and a mischievous smile. Josh dresses casually, mostly in T-shirts and jeans, whereas his twin, Jake, favors designer outfits. They share a similar sense of humor and finish each other’s sentences.
Mackenzie gives her dad a bright smile. “The waiter with the tribal tattoo on his bicep, brown hair. I didn’t catch his name.”
“Harry.”
“He seems nice,” she says. “I know you vet everyone thoroughly before hiring.”
Jake appears next to Josh. “Who seems nice?”
Josh shrugs. “My new waiter.”
“Nice as in ‘can I date him, Dad?’” Jake asks Josh.
“Mackenzie’s an adult,” Josh says. “She doesn’t need my permission to date, but she might want to check in with his boyfriend, my sous chef.”
Josh and Jake exchange mischievous smiles. It’s hard to know when they’re being serious. Harper suppresses a laugh.
Mackenzie parks a hand on her hip. “I know you’re just saying that because you think he’s not good enough for me, like all men.”
Josh puts his hands up. “Don’t shoot the messenger.” He offers his hand to me. “Hey, Shayla, good to see you again. I heard you were back in town.”
I shake his hand. “Good to be here. I love this place.”
He smiles widely. “I do too. You know I worked my way up from bartender to manager to owner. Cooper’s doing the same now.”
“No easy path for Cooper,” Jake says.
“Like you would just hand your kids their future,” Josh returns.
“You have to work hard for what you want,” they say at the same time.
“More Grandpop Joe words of wisdom,” Mackenzie tells me. “He’s got lots of great sayings that Dad and Uncle Jake like to use on us.”
Josh slings an arm around Mackenzie’s shoulders and kisses the top of her head. “Because it’s good advice. Did you wish him and Grandmom Brandy a happy anniversary?”
“First thing.”
