“You’re welcome. The food here is really good. Something I appreciate since I’m not great at cooking. Breakfast foods are my sweet spot. Trust me, if I was cooking for you, you wouldn’t be saying thank you.” Her cheeks warmed immediately as she set the plate down. Why had she said that? Why would she be cooking for him?
Will didn’t seem bothered by it. He picked up a fry, lips quirking. “Not one of those people who think the way to someone’s heart is through their stomach?”
Lexi set a few extra napkins on his table, picked up his glass. “Sure. That could work. As long as it’s not my food they’re serving up.”
Will laughed, the sound more enjoyable than the smell of fries. That was saying something since she was getting hungrier by the second.
“I’ll be right back.”
Two guys walked onto the patio, seated themselves at a table forsix. Six people ordering food at once was a lot. Though they could just be table jerks—a specific type of customer that sat at much larger tables than they needed.
“Be right with you,” she told them. Hurrying to the bar, she ordered Will’s refill then grabbed her pad and pen off the tray. She shoved them in her apron pocket—basically the waitress version of a fanny pack. She envied the waitresses who, despite wearing the apron and having notepads and pens, didn’t need to write stuff down. Her memory had become as sedentary as the rest of her life.
Leaving the tray, she took Will’s soda to him, asked how everything was.
His gaze sparkled with amusement she didn’t understand. “Delicious. Thanks.”
“No problem.”
She hurried away, her heartbeat racing at the thought of those guys being joined by four other people.You can do this. You’ve done it before. Step by step. Take their orders, deal with the rest as it comes.
“Hi, guys. I’m Lexi. How are you today?” She pulled her pad out of her pocket.
The darker-haired guy slid his sunglasses to the top of his head. “Better now,” he said, winking at her.
It took effort to keep her eye roll internal. She didn’t mind a little flirting, but cliché, cheesy lines weren’t her favorite.
“We’re good. How are you?” the red-haired guy asked.
“Can’t complain.” Not at the moment, anyway. With a wide smile, she gestured to the rest of the table. “Are you expecting others?”
The dark-haired guy shook his head. “Nope. Just us. We’ll have two of whatever is on tap and on sale.”
So, just table jerks. Relief whipped through her. Two-top table? She could handle that. Once she got them settled, she could even handle another. It was just the all-at-once that stressed her out, flusteredher, made her feel like she was running in four directions simultaneously with no view of the finish line.
“Sounds good. Be right back.”
They picked up the menus and started talking about a concert they’d seen. Lexi glanced at Will. He was already looking her way. Their gazes locked and he sent her a soft smile. Her shiver had nothing to do with the temperature.
“You good?” She mouthed the words more than said them.
He nodded. Lexi was hyperfocused as she returned to the bar, ordered the drafts. More customers had shown up. The music could barely be heard over the chatter. Other waitresses served large tables of four or more.Not a competition.Brett saw her at the bar, handed one of the busboys a bin, saying something to him before coming to fill her order.
“The other sections are getting slammed. Next table needs to be yours,” Brett said, pouring the beer.
“No problem,” she said, pleased she sounded confident. “I’ve only got the two tables. I’m ready.”
He nodded, set the beer on her tray. “You’re getting better at this, Lexi. Don’t let yourself get flustered.”
“Thanks.” He really was a nice guy. He’d given her plenty of chances to get this right. Channeling the girl she’d once been, the one who’d tackled every obstacle like a hurdle in track, she straightened her shoulders. She had this.
The two guys ordered a plate of nachos and a basket of wings, which made things even easier. They kept their flirting to a minimum and Will looked perfectly content munching on his fries, reading his book. When the wings-and-nachos order came up, she took it out to the table, noticing their beers were low.
“Awesome. Thanks, cutie. We’ll take a couple more beers. Too bad you can’t join us,” the dark-haired wannabe Casanova said with another wink.
“Can we get some side plates, too?” the other guy asked.
“Of course. Be right back.”
