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“I’m glad you didn’t get stuck. I would have worried.” Her gaze darts my way for a split second. Her cheeks burst with color again, and she tugs at the neck of her hoodie. It boasts the name of her university.
“Me, too,” Roman says.
Rainbow, who started working here a few weeks ago, stops to greet us. Her hair matches her name. She presses her hand to her chest. “Oh, isn’t this so sweet! I love that your dads take you out,” she says to Peggy.
“We’re just friends,” I mutter.
“Of course.” She winks. “What can I get you boys to drink? Coffee? Tea?”
We order drinks and food, and Rainbow flounces off.
“How was the first week of classes?” Roman asks.
“Oh, it was good.” Peggy’s voice is pitchy, and she keeps wringing her hands. “I like my courses.”
“Are you sure? They’re not too stressful? I know how much you loved working with Hemi on the internship last semester. I’m sure it’s a shift being back in the classroom full time.”
Peggy hides her hands under the table. “Oh yeah, it is. But I have a few friends in my classes. Plus, I’m the lead on the gala for my Event Management project. Hemi’s been great about letting me take it over. Just one more semester and I’m done.”
“I can’t believe my baby girl will be a university graduate in a matter of months.” Roman beams with pride.
“I’ll also be twenty-one in a few months, Dad.” Her eyes slide to me, and she bites her fingernail, then checks her phone again. She’s jumpy as shit.
I cough into my elbow.
Roman holds up his hands. “I’m proud of you, honey. You’re all grown up, you’ve almost finished school, you’re living on your own with a roommate. Big steps. How is Rix? Tristan couldn’t get out of the airport fast enough.”
Rainbow drops off our coffees and tells us our food will be out shortly.
Peggy’s roommate and our teammate, Tristan Stiles, have been dating for several months. He lives in the condo units above the Pancake House. “Uh…she’s good.” She checks her phone again. “And yeah, Tristan has no chill after away games. Hopefully Rix makes it to his place before his patience wears out.” She grimaces. “I just need to…” She fires off a message.
Roman’s expression shifts, eyebrows pulling together. “You haven’t caught them going at it in the kitchen again, have you?” He crosses his arms. “He has his own damn place. It’s not fair to put you in that kind of awkward situation. Is that why you’re so antsy?”
She sets her phone down, eyes darting between us. “Oh, uh…yes. That’s uh… They’re really into each other. Like seriously into each other. He kind of forgets himself when he hasn’t seen her in a while.”
Peggy just threw Tristan under the bus. Ice cold, Princess.
“Well, he needs to learn how to control himself in front of other people.” Roman turns to me. “Why don’t you give Peggy her gift? I’m sure it’ll make her feel better.”
Fuck. I’d hoped he would forget I brought it along.
“Dad, seriously, can you not call me that? I’m not channeling my inner eighty-five-year-old. Call me Hammer or Aurora.”
I’m pretty sure Aurora is her middle name …
“Peggy is a nice name,” Roman protests.
“Not when people expect me to have blue hair or use it to come up with horrible nicknames. Like when I broke my leg in grade seven and they called me Peg Leg Peggy, or when some asshole in grade nine called me Peg-Me Peggy for an entire semester.” She rolls her eyes.
Roman holds up a hand and coughs. “Point made. Give Aurora her gift, Hollis.” He elbows my arm.
It’s my turn to sweat. I set the bag on the table. “You can open it later.”
She stares at it like it’s a bomb, not a glittery blue gift bag stuffed with white tissue paper. “What is this for?”
“It’s a thank you for taking care of my cats. And making sure my towels made it to the dryer,” I say pointedly.
Her gaze lifts, and her cheeks flush a deeper pink.
