Page 23 of Christmas on Ice
He raised his glass of water and slid from the stool. “I’ll see you in there.”
“See you in there,” I whispered.
Lordy.It was getting harder and harder to pretend I just wanted to be friends with him.
13
Trask
“Mr. Tiggerman!”
I’d barely stepped into Brewski’s on Thanksgiving when I heard Ryleigh calling for me. I traced her voice to a table on the wall that bordered the function room. She stood up on her seat and was quickly steadied by Brenna.
Behind me, Jason snorted. We’d driven over together since Lauren was coming with her brother, who was the Voltage’s equipment manager.
“Shut it,” I warned him as we checked in at the host stand.
“I think the little lady has a crush on you,” he replied.
I ignored him as the hostess led us to a table opposite the long table occupied by Brenna’s family and Ryleigh. I swept the room looking for Kami but didn’t see her.
“Hey, guys.” Brenna waved. “Come meet my cousin Liam!”
“Hey.” I left Jason at our table and greeted the Brewer family. I offered my hand and introduced myself just as Ryleigh launched herself over Brenna and into the man’s lap to try to get to me.
“Sorry, Mr. Liam!” Ryleigh reached up for me, and I hoisted her into my arms. “Auntie Brenna, can I pleeeeeeeeeease sit with Mr. Tiggerman? Or Natasha?”
I glanced back at Jason. Lauren and her brother had just arrived. Behind them, Rurik and his family were settling in at a nearby table.
“Please?” The little girl blinked with an expression that could teach puppy dogs a thing or two. “There are no fun people at my table!”
We laughed. “Is that so?” I asked.
“Yes! They keep talking about Auntie Brenna’s barn. SO boring!”
“Sorry, kid.” Liam shrugged. “I’m only in town for the weekend,” he explained to me. “We need to get it cleared so I can evaluate the structure and draw up plans for the reno.”
“Liam’s an architect,” Brenna explained.
“So Saturday’s the day then? I haven’t heard from Trotter.” I glanced around. “Is he coming today, or did he fly back to Minnesota for Thanksgiving?” That would be a heck of a travel schedule. We played yesterday and had an afternoon game tomorrow.
“He’s coming later. I haven’t asked him yet.” Her cheeks reddened. Maybe Trotter wasn’t as much of a pest as I thought.
“Trask!” My head snapped to Ryleigh, who’d never called me by just my first name before. She grabbed my cheeks and pulled my face so that it was almost touching hers. “Pleeeease can I sit with you?”
A titter of laughter and I felt my own face reddening. “Tell you what. Let’s go ask Natasha’s mommy and daddy if you can sit with them, okay?”
She sighed dramatically. “Okay.”
A few minutes later, we’d pulled our tables together at Rurik’s suggestion to create one larger party. Craig and Svetlana Ward and their daughter joined us. Ava was also in Ryleigh’s class, and the three little girls were soon chattering away.
I craned my neck and finally spotted Kami on the other side of the restaurant. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been here that she wasn’t our server. I caught her eye a few times during the meal and warmed every time her shy smile returned mine.
Finally, during dessert, she stopped by our table. “How’s my girl doing?” she asked Ryleigh but looked in my direction.
“I’m mad,” Ryleigh said matter-of-factly. “So mad.”
“You are?” Kami glanced at me, confused. I shrugged. I’d been deep in conversation with Lauren’s brother and hadn’t been paying attention to the girls’ chatter.
