Chapter 3
Chapter Three
Over the next few hours, whenever she wasn’t helping her own customers, she found her attention split between watching over her sisters, and trying not to stare at the man across the aisle.
Travis and his friends appeared to be having a great time as they talked with the young men and women who stopped at their table.
The already matched couples moved along quickly, but the singles stayed and talked.
Some even filled out the form before moving on.
Each time she found herself watching him, Lottie forced herself to turn away. As she did, she reminded herself that she did not have the time or energy to devote to a new relationship, even if a temporary Daddy could be just what she needed.
After glancing at her sisters to make sure they were all right, Lottie turned back to check on whether she needed to refill any of her display.
“Eep!” she squeaked when she found Travis standing in front of her table. “Can I help you?”
Travis grinned as he looked over her table. “I’d like a dozen lollipops and a stack of business cards, please.”
“Any special color or flavor?” she asked as she grabbed one of the bigger treat bags.
“No, just a variety. I thought we would give them away to people who filled out the application, along with a business card so they know where we got them from. Do a little cross-advertising for you, if you’re interested.”
Lottie blinked. “That would be so great. Thank you.”
Pulling out a box of lollipops, she pulled two of the six different colors and slid them into the bag. Adding a stack of business cards, she handed the bag over the table. “There you go.”
“What do I owe you?”
“Nothing,” she said, making note of the gift and that it was an advertising cost.
“Horse-hockey,” Travis said as he studied the table then pulled out his wallet. “You’re not making any money if you give all your inventory away.”
After taking the bag from her hand, he laid a bill on the table and walked away.
Lottie picked it up and shook her head. It was way too much money.
After tucking the bill into her money bag, she looked across the aisle into Travis’s bright-blue eyes and mouthed, “Thank you.” He nodded with a grin before mouthing, “You’re welcome. ”
Travis returned several times during the afternoon, each time buying a dozen lollipops and leaving money. When she tried to argue about taking it, he frowned and said, “No, little girl. You’re here to make money selling your treats.”
“Then you should at least get a discount since it looks like you’re going to be my best customer,” she said, adding several extra candies to the bag.
“How about joining me for dinner tonight?”
Lottie took a deep breath before shaking her head. “I’m sorry, I can’t. My sister and I have to head home tonight. As the oldest, it’s my job to watch over them and keep them safe.”
Travis looked at the booths she waved toward before turning back and softly asking, “And who watches over you?”
Lottie sighed before she said, “I watch over myself. But I am hoping to talk Tilly into going to Comfort Food, that new diner just down the street, because I don’t think either one of us will be in the mood to cook when we finally get home.”
Travis studied her for a moment. “I hope you can. Maybe I’ll see you there.”
The rest of the afternoon passed swiftly and by the time the customers filed out and the day ended, she was tired and hungry and ready to call it a day.
After meeting with her sisters to confirm that Carri would be all right spending the night guarding their booths, Lottie followed Tilly out of the convention center. They were nearly to their car when a dirty, disheveled man rushed toward them.
Lottie watched in horror as the man grabbed Tilly’s arms and yelled, “Give me money!”
Before she could react, a large, uniformed man she recognized as the one who’d stopped at Tilly’s booth several times during the day stepped between them and forced the man away from her sister.
“Are you all right?” She wrapped her arms around Tilly and held her tight.
“I think so,” Tilly answered softly. They moved closer to the car as another security guard joined the first. A few minutes later, two police cars raced into the parking lot.
Once he turned the man over to the police with instructions that made it sound like he was more than just a security guard, the man turned his attention to them.
“Are you two okay?” the man asked as he approached. “Tilly? Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. Thanks for rescuing me again.”
“I’m sorry about Bob. He’s been diagnosed with early-onset dementia, but refuses to allow anyone to help him. We’ll keep him secured for the weekend so hopefully he won’t bother you again.”
Tilly nodded and pulled out of her arms. “As I said, thanks again. This is my sister, Lottie. We’re going to that new restaurant, Comfort Food, for dinner. Would you like to join us?”
Wondering who this man was and why he seemed so interested in her sister, Lottie stepped half in front of Tilly, crossed her arms and glared at him. “Are you stalking my sister?”
“Excuse me?” He appeared shocked by her question.
“You apparently stepped in this morning with this Bob person. You stopped by her table a half-dozen times during the day and you don’t appear to have a Little girl.
And now you’re saving her again from Bob, so I have to think you’re stalking her so you can be her hero or something.
So the question stands, are you stalking my sister? ”
The man looked like he was trying not to laugh. He then ignored her and turned his attention on Tilly. “Would that be such a bad thing if I were stalking you?”
Lottie was stunned when Tilly blushed as she shook her head. “No, I don’t think it would be a bad thing.”
Since Tilly was apparently drawn to this man, it was up to her to make sure he was good enough. “Would you like to join us for dinner? That way we can get to know you better.”
The man blinked and stepped back. “I’d be honored to have dinner with two such lovely ladies. I’ll follow you, if that’s all right.”
“That’s fine,” Tilly said. “We’ll see you there.”
Travis looked around the restaurant as soon as they walked in, hoping Lottie and her sister had not changed their minds about where they were eating. Sam and Paul were flirting with the hostess when he saw Lottie. He watched as she crossed the room.
Stepping away from his friends, he hoped they did not mind if he ditched them. After all, why eat with men he saw several times a week when he could get to know a lovely Little candymaker?
“Hi,” he said when she stopped a few feet away.
“Hello,” she replied, sounding nervous even as she looked into his eyes.
“Shall we get a table alone, or would you rather eat with my friends? Or we could eat with your sister.”
Please say alone, please say alone.
“Alone, if that’s all right with you.”
“That’s perfect. Let me tell the hostess.”
When his friends ribbed him about asking for a separate table for two, Lottie stared at his friends as if she knew them but couldn’t figure out from where.
When the hostess returned from showing Sam and Paul to their table, he pointed at an empty booth across the room from both his friends and her sister. “Can we have that one over there?”
“Certainly, sir,” the hostess said as she picked up two more menus.
“Thank you.”
Returning to Lottie, he placed his hand in the middle of her back and guided her to their table. “Come on, sugar, our table is waiting. And think of five questions you want to ask me. Questions that you will also have to answer.”
“Only five?”
Travis chuckled when she sounded almost disappointed. “Five to begin with. I’m sure we can find more to talk about based on those first five.”