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“Let me guess… three tacos. One chicken and two steak. And Mom you’ll have two tacos one chicken one pork.”
Dad clapped, and Olivia inhaled deeply. “You’re a natural,” he said.
“I’ve been going to dinner with you my whole life, and you always order the same thing.”
“Take the compliment, Livvy,” Dad said.
“Compliment taken. I’ll go put these in, and they should be out in ten.”
“We’re in no rush,” Dad said. “We can even stick around and give you a ride home.”
Ending the night squished into a golf cart with both her parents was the last thing she wanted. She’d been waiting all day to have Shane alone again, so they could have a repeat of their earlier kiss. Her parents would put a definite monkey wrench in that plan if they decided to stick around.
“I’ll grab a ride from someone.”
“What time will you be home?” Dad asked.
It depended on how long she’d be attached to Shane’s lips, assuming he’d want a second round. “I’m not sure.”
“Closing time is ten, so once you square everything away, you shouldn’t be home later than eleven.”
“I might want to stick around with some of the crew and have a drink.”
“So, midnight then?”
“I don’t know. Maybe.”
“I don’t want to leave the door unlocked if I go to bed.”
“Then don’t. I have a key.”
“John Andre will get upset and think someone is breaking in if the lights are out.”
Olivia let out a loud sigh. “Dad, I will be home when I get there. I will be quiet, so I don’t wake you, Mom, or John Andre.”
“Rick.” Mom rested her hand on Dad’s and leveled him with a look. She didn’t say anything, but the look was enough to derail Dad from the conversation.
“Just make sure to lock the door and shut the outside light off.”
“That I can do,” Olivia said and cut a quick glance at her mom with a grateful expression on her face.
Olivia loved her father more than anything, but the man could drive her batty. She was twenty-five years old, but he still felt the need to treat her like she was a kid.
“I’m going to go put your order in.” She hurried away from the table, checked on her other customers, and headed to the bar for a quick chat with Shane while she waited on table five’s drink order.
“You look stressed,” Shane said.
“My parents can drive me a little crazy.”
“Parents are good at that. But take it from someone who knows, one day you’ll miss it.”
Pain flashed in his green-brown eyes, and her heart broke for him. She couldn’t imagine what it was like to lose a parent, let alone two. At times her parents made her question her own sanity, but she’d be lost without them.
“I know I would,” she said. “But when you’re in the midst of it, it’s hard to let yourself remember that.”
He placed the drinks for table five on her tray. “Trust me, I know. My mom was a royal pain in my ass.” He laughed, and it was beautifully pure. “She was always on my case about something. Now I know it was out of love, but damn if it wasn’t annoying as hell.”
Olivia nodded. “What’s love without a side of annoyance?”
