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“There,” he says, handing my phone back to me. “Now you have my number. So if you want to come into the restaurant, or…I don’t know…go jet skiing again, just shoot me a text.”

I nod as I look down at the phone in my hand. And then a laugh bursts out of me.

“Ryder ‘Hot Waiter’?” I ask, raising an eyebrow as I hold my phone up. “Is that seriously how you just listed yourself?”

Grinning shamelessly, he slides his hands into his pockets with a shrug. “I didn’t want you to confuse me with the other Ryders.”

And maybe it’s the hot sun, or maybe it’s Ryder’s presence, but I hold our eye contact as I admit, “There are no other Ryders.”

Something flashes in his eyes at that, something I like way too much. When he speaks, his voice sounds like it’s been scraped over the rocky beach.

“Good.”

7

RYDER

I make it two days before I text her.

Ryder: Hey, it’s Ryder. The incredibly attractive man who waited on you hand and foot last week.

Vanessa: I’m sorry, that doesn’t ring a bell. Do you have the wrong number?

Ryder: I doubt it. Isn’t this the stunningly beautiful woman who bought me a drink?

Vanessa: Definitely the wrong person.

Ryder: …alright, that’s enough of that game. Do NOT make me have to show you how hot I think you are.

Vanessa: Ryder…

Ryder: See? You made me break character.

Ryder: Now that I’ve successfully broken the very thin ice… are you busy tomorrow afternoon?

Vanessa: No. Why, what’s up?

Ryder: I’d like to cash in on my previous mini golf idea

Vanessa: That sounds like a lot of fun, I’d love that

Ryder: Okay, now I kinda AM wondering if I got the right number

Ryder: Quick, what beer did you send me at the bar the other night?

Vanessa: Honestly, I have no idea. I just told her to get you a refill of whatever you were drinking.

Ryder: See, it’s a testament to how badly I want to see you again, because you didn’t even answer my question and I already know I’ll meet you wherever you want.

Vanessa: Why don’t you tell me which mini golf spot, and I’ll meet you there

Ryder: Done. I’ll be there at 7, if that works for you.

Vanessa: Perfect

I'm not ashamed to admit I beg more than one—technically, four—of our employees to take my shift the next day. I want to take Vanessa mini golfing at night, but I don’t have a night off for another week, so bribery it is. By the time I get one of the waiters to take my shift, I owe three shifts in return.

Worth it.