Running Home to You (The Running Series) (41 page)

I look around and see and it’s fully staffed, running like a well-oiled machine.  Reese has line cooks at every station and it looks like our food is ready.  “Hey, Reese.  Can I give you a hand?”

“Yeah, can you go get the waitresses to bring out the food?  We’re serving buffet style.  Marcus set up a few tables in the back corner.  He said he couldn’t get anyone to sit down long enough to eat, so we improvised.  I hope you don’t mind.”  On one of the prep tables are serving dishes filled with Panini sandwiches, fried chicken sandwiches served on homemade waffles, and a variety of focaccia pizzas.  She’s really outdone herself.

“No, I don’t mind at all.  I’ll go get the wait staff to set this all up.  Meanwhile, you go clean yourself up and get your ass out here and join us.  The line cooks can handle the few customers we have left.”  Reese looks down at her filthy uniform and begins to shake her head.

“I can’t go out there like this, I’m a mess!” She grumbles.  “My hair is a disaster and just look at me.”

“Go in my office and get a clean staff shirt.  I have makeup in my purse that’s locked in my desk.  I’ll pull it all out for you.  Put your hair up in a bun, and shut up already.  I’m not arguing with you.  Got it?”

“Okay, once everything’s out of the kitchen, I’ll get ready.”  Reese is making the final checks on the food before it goes out.  “Thanks, Jette.  You’re a good friend.”

Marcus and I make quick work of getting the food out to our guests.  Evan and I walk around, making sure everyone has plenty of food and drink.  Once we’re satisfied that our guests are well taken care of, we fix ourselves a plate and find a small empty table away from the fray.

Evan sits right next to me and pulls my chair close to his.  “I told you all I wanted was a nice quiet dinner with just the two of us, and damn it, that’s what we’re going to have.”  He places one hand on my knee and begins to eat with the other.

“I give it five minutes before someone finds us.  You’re the man of the hour.  You don’t really expect everyone to leave you alone for that long?” I run my fingers up and down the hand he now has resting on my thigh.

With a smirk on his face he confesses, “I told them all to give me ten minutes alone with you.  We should have at least that long.”  Evan gives me a sweet kiss.  “Did I give you a proper thank you for all of this?  I still can’t believe you did it.”

“Yes, you did,” I tell him.  “Eat your dinner before it gets cold.  You can thank me again later when we get home.”

He stares at me with a serious look on his face.  “Oh, I’m going to thank you over and over again.”  Evan hasn’t taken his eyes off me.  I put down my fork, get up from my chair and sit on his lap, straddling him.  He puts his hands on my hips and I nuzzle up to him.  I close my eyes and inhale his manly scent.  “I love you, Juliette.  Every day, I love you more.”

“I love you, too.  And I’m so proud of you.”  I look at his beautiful, perfect mouth, and then press my lips against his. 

“Congratulations, Evan!”  Emmy shouts.  “I didn’t get to talk to you all night, but I wanted to come by and tell you how excited I am for you.”

Emmy has such a sweet look on her face.  She is genuinely happy for Evan.  I slide back onto my chair to give Evan a chance to talk to her.  Evan stands up and leans down to give her a hug.  “Thanks, Emmy.”  She looks so tiny in his arms, it’s almost comical.

“I’m sorry.  You two were ... eating dinner.  I should leave you alone.  It’s just that you always have so many people around you, I didn’t know if I would get another chance to tell you.  That’s all.”  Emmy turns and walks away, waving her hand in the air as she hurries over to Adam. 

While Evan and I finish our dinner, we chat and talk about our night.  “So, Callie told me about the tickets to Hawaii.  Giving her all those gifts was pretty amazing.  She’s going to use the tickets to celebrate her tenth anniversary in February.”

“Just to be clear, I didn’t know at the time how things were going to turn out between the two of us and I didn’t want the tickets to go to waste.”  He looks at me with a touch of sadness and regret.  “When the season’s over, I’m taking you away.  So start thinking about where you want to go, Running Girl.”

“Someplace far away that no one will find us.” 

Evan smiles and nods his head, “Sounds great to me.”

He takes me by the hand and leads me back to the bar where we rejoin our friends.  By now, everyone is mingling together, laughing, and having fun.  Reese comes out from the back at the same time, looking amazing.  She picked a t-shirt that’s just a hint too small for her, so it shows off her cute little figure.  Her beautiful bronze hair is arranged in a messy knot at the base of her long neck.  She quickly gets the attention of all the men in the room.

Evan takes Reese around and introduces her to our guests.  Shaun’s eyes light up when Evan introduces them.  He offers Reese his chair and orders her a Red Zone.  Derek does not look happy at all as he makes the drink and hands it to her.  “Let me know if you need anything else,” he tells her, leaving his hands on her glass just long enough that their hands touch when she reaches for her drink.

I turn to ask Evan if he just witnessed the same thing, and when I do, I’m shocked by what I see.  Standing near the door talking to Emmy with a drink in hand is Ryker. 

No Strings Attached

I
can’t imagine what Ryker is doing here.  Emmy is showing off her new tattoo, courtesy of Ryker’s artistic interpretation, but that can’t be the reason why he’s here.  Emmy may be a hopeless optimist, but even she wouldn’t dare invite him here tonight. 

When Evan sees the pained expression on my face, he turns to see what I’m staring at, and his jaw drops.  “What the fuck is he doing here?” Evan growls.

The expression on Ryker’s face quickly changes when he sees Evan.  The hostility between the two is unmistakable. 

“No idea,” I tell him truthfully.  “We are open to the public, you know.  Maybe he just came in for a drink.  He knows the staff’s schedules.  I’m not usually here right now.  We’re supposed to be out to dinner, remember?  I’m guessing he came by to see Emmy and Reese.”

Evan scowls at me, not satisfied by my answers.  “Well, I don’t like it.”

Before either one of us can do anything about it, Ryker spots us sitting at the bar, and makes a beeline directly for us.  He puts out his hand.  “Congratulations, Evan,” he offers. 

“Thanks,” Evan responds curtly.

“I just stopped by to check on my girls.”  There’s something confrontational about the way he said
my girls
.  I hope he doesn’t include me as a part of that guild.  “Listen, Jette, I was wondering if I could talk to you?  It will only take a minute.”  Ryker steps away towards the kitchen and he obviously wants me to follow him.

I turn to Evan, “I’ll be right back.  If I’m not out in five, come get me.”  I can tell by the look on his face that he doesn’t want me to go.  “Don’t worry.  Trust me.  I love you.”

“I do trust you.  It’s him I don’t trust.  You have exactly four minutes.  Go.”  Evan looks down at his watch and I know he means what he says.  If looks could kill, Ryker would be ten feet under by now. 

“Ryker, what can I do for you, tonight?  It’s a little busy out there, you know.”  I do my best to let him know that he only has my attention for a limited amount of time.

“Big Mac has you on a pretty short leash, I see,” he says sarcastically.

“No, not really.  Don’t confuse caring for controlling,” I correct him.  “Why do you feel like you need to say things like that?”

“You’re right.  That’s not why I wanted to talk to you.” 

“Good.  What’s up?”

“I didn’t get to see you after that night at the bar last week and I just wanted to make sure you were okay.  I’ve been worried, that’s all.”  There is real concern in his eyes.

“Well, there’s no need to worry.  Everything is fine.”  He looks at me sideways, raising his eyebrow and smirking.  “Seriously,” I tell him.

“That’s good to hear.”  He chuckles sarcastically, but at least he got the hint. 

“Is there anything else you wanted?  I have a busy party to get back to.”

“Well, I was wondering how the business is going.  Is Reese using all the techniques I taught her for keeping the kitchen running smoothly?  There’s a pretty big crowd out there tonight.”

“She’s doing an excellent job, actually.  I’m glad I have this chance to thank you.  You really worked a miracle in here.  Our ticket time is down to fifteen minutes.  The customers are happy and the staff is, too.  Thank you for all you’ve done.”

“You’re so very welcome.  I’m glad to have been of service, ma’am.”  He grins.  “If you’re ever in need of assistance, I hope you’ll call me.”

“Thank you, again, Ryker, but I’m sure we’ll be just fine.  And by the way, thank you for stopping by Evan’s and returning my sweater.  Where did you say you found it?”

“You dropped it in the parking lot at work.  I thought you’d want it back.  Besides, I was curious about that big old beach house you all keep talking about.”  He pops a few bits of chocolate in his mouth, eying my reaction.

“Funny, Evan said you found it at the bar.”

“He’s confused.  I said I found it the other night, that’s all.”  He says it with such conviction, I almost believe him.  “How have the female customers been?  Have there been any more non-paying customers loitering around?” he asks, genuinely concerned.

“No, it was just that one time.  It’s not a regular occurrence.  It usually happens the day after Evan’s been in the news and it only lasts a day.  The locals are pretty good.  They leave him alone.  It’s mostly the Benny’s that are a hassle.”

“Benny?” he asks.  I forgot he’s not originally from here.

“Yeah, Benny.  Have you seen the
Benny Go Home
bumper stickers?”  He nods.  “Well, Benny stands for people from Bayonne, Elizabeth, Newark, and New York.  Basically, the tourists who come down here just to cause trouble.”

“Well, I’m not from the shore.  Does that make me a Benny?” Ryker asks.

“That all depends on where you grew up,” I explain.

“Well, I grew up in Pennsylvania, near the Poconos.  It’s a great spot for romantic getaways, you know.”

“Nope, sorry, you don’t qualify.”  He’s making me feel uncomfortable, so I try to change the subject.  “So let me ask, are you here to see anyone in particular tonight?” I ask, wondering if he’s really here for Reese or Natalie.

“No, just checking in on my crew.  Making sure they didn’t forget everything I taught them,” he says as his eyes scan around the kitchen.

“I know you and Reese were getting pretty tight.  I thought maybe ...”

“Nope.  Not my type.  Besides, there’s someone else,” he says, looking directly at me.

“That’s great, Ryker.  I didn’t know you had a girlfriend,” I tell him, genuinely happy to hear it.

“I don’t.  She’s with someone else right now.  But it won’t last.  I just hope he doesn’t break her heart too badly.”

Just as I’m about to respond, I hear the kitchen door swing open.  I turn my head and see Evan walking straight towards us.  The smile immediately evaporates from Ryker’s face, replaced by a look of pure contempt.

“Juliette, sweetheart, everyone’s looking for you,” Evan says as he places a kiss on my forehead.  “Are you finished up with everything in here?” he asks.  I can tell by the tone of his voice that there is only one correct answer.

“Absolutely, Evan.  Let’s go.”  I wrap an arm around Evan and place a hand in his back pocket, making sure that there is no question where my loyalties lie.  “It was nice seeing you again, Ryker.”

“Sure.  Talk to you soon, Jette.  Take care of yourself.  I’ll be around.”  Ryker is undoubtedly trying to get underneath Evan’s skin, but Evan’s not biting.  He just places a loving arm around me and walks me back to our party.

Evan takes me to a quiet corner of the restaurant, away from the crowd.  “I hope you made it clear that this was his last visit here, Juliette.  The last thing we need is some cowboy coming in here trying to stir up trouble.”

“I can’t ban him from the restaurant, Evan.  He has friends here, remember?  I don’t see what the big deal is.”  Evan looks at me like I just grew another head.

“No big deal?  You can’t be serious, baby.  I thought Emmy was the one who sees everything through rose-colored glasses.  He wants you, Juliette.  You have to see that now.”

I just roll my eyes.  “Who cares?  My heart is already taken and I’m pretty sure it’s mutual.”  I give Evan a kiss.  “I love you, sweetheart.  Forever.”

“I love you, too.  Just be careful around him, promise?”

“Promise.”  I wrap my arms around his neck.  “Take me back to our party.  I want to get you drunk so I can take advantage of you later.”

“Oh, there you are!” Emmy calls out, followed closely behind by Adam.  “Come on you two.  Save it for later.”  Emmy grabs both of us by the hands and drags us to the bar.  Evan shrugs his shoulders.  Sometimes it’s just easier to go along with Emmy rather than fight it.

Marcus is locking the front door and it appears the last of our customers have left for the night, including Ryker.  Emmy pleads, “Marcus just sent most of the staff home for the night.  It’s just us Jette.  Can we clear a few tables to make a dance floor?”