Chapter 13
SAGE
“I can’t believe we’ve been working here for a week and a half now.”
Rosie looks over at me as we eat our ham and cheese sandwiches in the break room at the back of the restaurant.
There’s a smile on her face as she chews, and I nod my agreement as I take a bite of my apple.
It’s sweet, tart, and crisp, and it tastes like one of the best apples I’ve ever had in my life.
Even the food here is of a higher quality.
“It does feel surreal, being in Santa Capinari.” I’m still dumbfounded that we live in this magical place and feel like I’m in a dream.
“I love it here more than I expected to love it in this short amount of time. It’s already starting to feel like home.
” Rosie grabs some of the salt and vinegar potato chips from the bag we’re sharing and crunches loudly.
An etiquette teacher would have something to say to her, but I don’t bother.
“I mean, I know it’s not our home yet, and it probably only feels that way because we’re living in Lucia and Izzy’s gorgeous condo, but it’s nice, isn’t it? ”
“Yeah, it’s real nice.” I smile at her and try not to let my thoughts wander. “Their place is really big.” I laugh. “And luxurious.”
When we stepped into their condo on that first night, I felt like I’d walked into an episode of Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous.
The floors were marble, the rugs handwoven from Morocco, the furniture new and comfortable.
They even had floor-to-ceiling windows that looked over the ocean.
And the kitchen was sublime and clean, with a large island that sat four and had visibility to the fifty-inch TV on the living room wall.
“Even the bedroom we’re sharing is huge. I can’t believe they thought it wouldn’t be big enough for us. Maybe they’re just used to really big things that they don’t even realize how lush this place is. I bet you they don’t know what it’s like to sometimes live in the back of your car.”
“We only did that for a week,” I say as I think about how uncomfortable that week was.
I reach over and squeeze her hand. “We’ve had some interesting homes, haven’t we?
Do you remember the time when Mom and Dad had us living in that really cheap motel, and we were sharing a full-size bed, and we had to alternate who would sleep on top of the cushions on the ground? ”
“Yeah, I remember.” She has this sad look on her face. “Most of the time, you took the floor though.”
“I know.”
It was mostly me, but I didn’t mind. It was better than being squeezed up next to my parents, but it wasn’t the most ideal situation. I suppose that’s what happens when your parents are nomads and don’t really have much money.
“At least it wasn’t as bad as that apartment we rented.
” Rosie giggles, putting a stop to the sad trip down memory lane.
“I’m so grateful that Lucia and Izzy let us stay.
And of course, that Dalton didn’t mind, seeing as he’s the one who pays the rent.
” She makes a face. “I can’t believe he didn’t tell us that. ”
“Yeah, I wish I had known he was the one paying the rent before I said we would live there,” I say, and my mind runs to Dalton.
I haven’t seen him since that night. He hasn’t been in the restaurant.
He hasn’t been over to the condo. It’s almost like he doesn’t even exist, but obviously, I can’t forget him.
I can’t forget his gray-blue eyes and the warm way they seem to stare right into my soul, but I am going to forget him because I need to concentrate on Lovestruck and finding a billionaire who can whisk me away to a paradise of perfection.
“It sucks that I haven’t seen Brett recently either.” Rosie lets out a sigh. “I was kind of hoping he’d show up here and ask me on a date or something, but I guess he’s just not interested.”
“It’s okay. You’re going to meet so many other men—much better men. It’s going to be absolutely—”
The door opens, and Lucia walks into the room.
“Hey! Just wanted you to know that Dalton’s on the way. Not that you have to rush lunch or anything. We’re not super busy today. Ooh, and guess what!”
“What?” I ask her, my heart racing.
I can feel a buzz of excitement, but I’m not going to let it affect me. I don’t care if Dalton is coming or not.
“Izzy’s coming to work this evening as well, so it will be all four of us.” She grins. “I think it will be the first time that the whole group has worked at the same time.”
“Oh, yeah, that will be a lot of fun.” I nod and offer her some potato chips.
“No, thanks,” she says. “I just asked Gracie to make me some chicken tenders and French fries.” She grins. “So, I’m going to save my appetite for that super-healthy meal. You know she can always make you anything you want off the menu. We get to eat for free.”
“I know, but I feel bad taking free food from the restaurant, seeing as we’re not paying rent right now.”
“Don’t feel bad about it whatsoever. I understand though,” she says with a smile. “Anywho, I was talking with Izzy, and we were thinking we could all go through each other’s dating profiles and see what we would rate them out of ten.”
“Yay, that sounds like a lot of fun,” Rosie says. “I’m ready to get the dating started.”
“Me too.” I laugh. “That does sound fun. Though is Dalton going to be here all evening?”
“Oh, I doubt it. He generally doesn’t work here much.” She pauses. “Well, he kind of does other jobs to help pay for the rent here and stuff.” She looks down like she said too much.
“What do you mean?”
“It’s just really expensive for him to rent this building and pay all of us.
And I’m sure you’ve noticed the restaurant isn’t super busy.
We haven’t been open very long, and, well, he does other jobs to keep the money coming in.
” She smiles awkwardly. “Don’t tell him I told you that though.
I don’t think he would want me spreading it around. ”
“That’s okay. I suppose he has a lot of responsibilities. What with Toby and everything.”
“Yeah.” She nods slowly. “I never thought that he would ever be a dad and certainly not in this circumstance, but I guess you just don’t really know people until they step up.”
“Hmm, meaning?” I ask her curiously.
“Well, he didn’t …” She pauses again. Her hand flies to her mouth.
“Sorry, it’s not my story to tell, and I don’t think my brother would be happy if I continued this conversation.
” She wrinkles her nose. “And with that, I should go back to the front and make sure that no customers are waiting to be seated.” She smiles and then quickly heads back out of the room.
“What was that about?” Rosie asks me as she munches on some more potato chips.
“I don’t know. I guess maybe Dalton had a one-night stand or something and didn’t know the woman was pregnant.”
“So, I guess he was never married then, huh?”
“I guess.” I shrug. “I mean, I haven’t asked him.”
“I’m not going to ask him either,” Rosie says, laughing. “So, do you think he’s going to bring Brett with him?”
“Girl, get him out of your mind. I very much doubt he’s going to bring Brett.”
Though the truth is, I want him to bring Brett. I haven’t heard anything from him since I gave him the little bit of information I had about my dad, and I want to know if he’s found anything else.
“Do you want to maybe head to Kettle King tonight or tomorrow?” I ask her casually.
Because now that it’s in my mind, I feel like I should do some of my own investigating. Not that I’m going to tell Rosie that.
“Yeah, maybe all the girls will want to go. That’ll be fun.”
“True. Maybe it will be.” I look at my watch. “I should go back to the front and help Lucia, seeing as my break is about to be finished.”
“Okay, I’ll see you in about fifteen minutes. I’m going to call Mom. You want to talk to her?”
“No, maybe next time.”
“Why are you so upset with her, Sage? She really wants to talk to you and …”
“It’s a long story, Rosie. I’ll explain it to you later.”
“You keep saying that, and then you keep not telling me anything. Like, what’s going on?”
“Nothing. It’s just, you know … maybe I just think about our life and how we grew up and how, while I love our parents, I don’t know if they put us first. I feel like they put themselves first. And, yeah, maybe it made us stronger, and we saw the world, but maybe it would have been nice to feel more grounded and settled. ”
“I know.” There’s a melancholic look on her face, and her expression becomes dreamy.
“I always used to hope that Mom and Dad would buy a small little cottage somewhere, and we’d go to a school, and we’d make friends, and we’d go to their birthday parties, and then we’d have sleepovers.
And then we’d go on spring break trips together, and maybe we’d go over to dinner at their house, and they’d come over to dinner at our house, and I’d meet a guy, and he’d be like my high school sweetheart, and then we’d go to college together and get married and live the American dream.
” She blinks rapidly as she looks over at me.
“I mean, it was just a fairy tale, and obviously, it didn’t happen, but I used to think it would be cool if that were our life. ”
“You never said that.”
My heart breaks for my sister’s dream that never came true.
Even though it was my dream as well. Just some normalcy.
Just a place to feel like I fit in. Like I was cared about.
Like I could grow. But we never had that.
We had no one but each other. We couldn’t even take up any real hobbies.
Maybe that was why I got into street dancing.
I could practice anywhere, and it made me feel and look cool.
“I mean, it was okay because I had you, and you were always my best friend. And we went on some cool adventures and saw some cool things, and we always had our time in Coconut Beach. That was always fun, and it felt like we had a kind of home for a little bit.” Rosie’s tone is wistful.
“We’re building our new home now, Rosie.”