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“Aren’t you going to seat them?” Lexi asked, as she stood beside me behind the display case that was next to the counter where she busied herself checking out a line of customers.
Lexi was one of my role models. She’d made this pie shop into something amazing, and she did it all on her own, with a new baby in tow. Now she had three kids, two of them twins, and three husbands, and yet somehow, she still managed to run a successful business and spend quality time with her family.
Never mind that she was beautiful on top of all of that, with her long, auburn hair and eyes the color of blue velvet.
“Oh, is somebody waiting?” I asked, trying to sound as if I hadn’t noticed anyone standing near the podium. “I’m adjusting the case for the new pies.”
“The case is fine. It doesn’t need adjusting. Is something wrong, Connie?”
When I gazed up at her from bended knee, trying to focus on the pies, she looked concerned for me. I should know better than to change my behavior. If anyone would notice, it would be Lexi. She and I had become good friends over the last couple of years, and we could read each other’s moods easily.
“Nothing’s wrong,” I told her, as I shifted the pies around, pies that didn’t need shifting.
“Someone will be right with you,” she told the guys, raising her voice a bit to carry over the sound of the enthusiastic morning customers already seated at the tables.
We were almost at capacity earlier than usual, and only had one four-top table left, and it was a pink booth. We had both pink and black booths, depending on their location. Somehow, seating these three hunks in a pink booth caused me to want to giggle, but the rest of the tables were two-tops along the wide, far, black-and-pink-striped wall, and even those were filling up fast. The other side of our restaurant wasn’t open yet. We usually kept that for the brunch crowd, which started to arrive around nine thirty. It was only a little after eight right now and from what I could remember about these three, that was way too early for them on a Sunday morning.
Now Lexi glared down at me. “If nothing’s wrong, Connie, could you please seat them? You can fiddle with the display case later.”
I had no choice. There were other folks waiting right behind them, so at least I wouldn’t have to linger at their table if these guys from my past wanted to make small talk. I had a job to do. People depended on me. I couldn’t be bothered with estranged friends who disappointed me at my most vulnerable time.
Also, I had short hair back then that I’d streaked with white blond and pink, so maybe I’d be lucky, and they wouldn’t recognize me.
I grabbed three menus and made my way towards them, greeting other customers who were already seated as I went, trying my best to not make eye contact with the men from my less-than-stellar past.
It didn’t work.
“Hey, Connie,” Rascal said, his voice sounding lower than I’d remembered it. “We were hoping to find you here.”
So much for thinking I looked any different.
I finally made eye contact with them. “Rascal. Wow. It’s been a while. Luke… Josh. We only have one table left, and it’s a booth. Will that be okay? I take it you’re all here for breakfast and not to buy a pie?”
I tried to sound as professional as possible.
“Sure, but we were also hoping to talk to you,” Rascal said. He appeared even taller than I remembered him. Back then, he was at least a full foot taller than me, now I’d have to add a few more inches on top of that. I was only a mere five feet two inches tall. A little squirt, as they used to call me. I liked it when I was a kid, not so much now.
“Um, it’s too busy for any chatting right now,” I told him, hoping that would be the end of it. “But I can certainly seat you for breakfast.”
“If that’s what it takes for some of your time, then yes. Breakfast sounds good,” Luke said, standing between Rascal and Josh. Luke was a good three or four inches shorter than the other two and because of that, and a few other reasons, he’d always been my favorite. As a group, we’d thought he would shoot up when we’d least expected it. His dad was about six foot five, but he’d taken after his mom, who was more my size. Probably why I’d identified with him more. We shorter folks had to stick together.
Not that five feet ten inches was short by any means but compared to Rascal and Josh, he was the runt of the litter, so to speak.
I gazed at the other people standing behind them in line and said, “I’ll be right with you.”
My voice broke as I spoke. Not only was I shaken about seeing them, but it was causing a physical reaction. They were so damn hot, that I knew if I lingered around them for too long, I’d be forgiving all their past deeds and jumping into bed with them… all three of them. A concept I never would’ve considered when we were younger, but I’d changed my opinion on group partners because of all the successful foursomes we had living in Cricket. Even my cousin and best friend was in a polyamorous relationship with three men… three adorable men… and she seemed happier than I’d ever known her to be.
But was it for me?
I didn’t know and wasn’t about to find out with these three deserters from my past, despite them being drop-dead gorgeous.
I turned on my heel then and walked to their table. Fortunately, I’d worn a stacked heeled bootie today, so it gave me a little more height. Being so much shorter than them only added to any intimidation I might be feeling.
Knowing they were following me seemed surreal. After all this time, after everything that had happened in this town, to its citizens and to me, now they walked back into my life.
Why?
That was the question of the moment. Why now after all this time?
