Chapter 4
DALTON
Beep, beep.
Good news: I hired two new girls.
Beep, beep.
I am a rock star.
Beep, beep.
I deserve a raise, big bro.
“Daddyyy, I want ice cream,” Toby screams while running through the house with a train in his hands.
He’s naked, and his hair is a mess, and yet I don’t have the energy to tell him to put on clothes. I’m only now looking at my messages from Lucia—messages she sent the night before, but somehow, I missed them.
“Looks like you already had some.” I look down at Toby’s face and the chocolate sauce that is smeared across his cheeks. “Did you have ice cream for breakfast?”
“I’m Spider-Man. I can have whatever I want.” He giggles, the gap in his teeth looking wider than usual as I stare down at him. “But me want more.”
“Toby, what did I say? You can’t just have—” I pause as my phone beeps, and I don’t bother to hide a loud groan when I see Lucia’s name on the screen again. My sister is going to drive me crazy.
“Spider-Man go …” He runs past me and jumps onto the couch, rolling around in joy as he throws the couch cushions onto the ground.
I debate between picking him up, carrying him to the bathroom and making him take a bath, and calling Lucia. Toby’s sudden screams make my decision for me.
“Hold on, Toby. I’m calling Auntie Lucia.”
I grab my phone and press the button to call my sister.
If she wants a raise, she can earn it. I listen to the phone ring and tap my foot on the white marble floor …
not the best choice of flooring when you have a kid, but then again, I didn’t have Toby when I bought this house.
Toby sits up and peers at me, his wide brown eyes eager as he stares at me.
He loves Lucia, maybe even more than he loves me.
“What’s up, big bro? Need my bank details so you can transfer me my raise? I’m thinking a million should cover it.” Lucia’s voice is way too chirpy for this early in the morning.
“Not in this lifetime.” I grunt and lower my voice so Toby can’t hear me. “Who the hell did you hire? Who the hell told you that you had the authority to hire anyone?”
“That’s two who the hells in a row, Dalton. Might want to change up your language now that you’re a dad. Impressionable young minds and all that.”
“Lucia, answer my question. Who did you hire?”
“Come into the restaurant this morning, and you’ll see, but they are lovely. Izzy met them at the diner yesterday, and they tipped her so well—”
“Wait, what?” My voice is getting louder, and I shift my tone so Toby doesn’t hear how angry I am. “What do you mean, Izzy met them at the diner?”
“Yeah, they are new to town and broke, so Izzy told them they should—”
“What qualifications do they have?”
“To serve at a bistro?” Lucia sounds annoyed. “I didn’t hire them to be brain surgeons at the local hospital. Give me a break.”
“There are many skills that go into being a good server. Plus, I don’t want random strangers in my stuff. I don’t know who they could be or why they are there.”
“It’s fine. They are cool. You’ll see. They’re cute as well.”
“I don’t give a flying fuck if they are cute.”
“Watch your language.” She laughs. “Anyway, it’s too late to be upset. As your manager, I made the decision to hire them and—”
“You’re not my manager. I didn’t hire you to do shit but wait tables.”
“De facto manager.” She pauses. “I can quit, you know, like everyone else, and you can figure it out. Mom and Dad have told me I can come over and spend time with them in Italy, and I’ve always wanted to travel around Europe.”
I want to tell her to go live her best life, but we both know I need her, and she doesn’t get on with our parents for more than one day. She’s their little darling, but they love to run her life. And at twenty-five, Lucia has no desire to be stuck under the parental thumb any longer.
“I’m coming into the restaurant within the hour. These girls had better be good workers. They’d better not be from the local high school either. After I caught Erinna stealing steaks from the freezer, I told you I was done with—”
“When I said girls, I meant ladies, Dalton. They aren’t in high school. They just moved to town. Didn’t I tell you that already?”
“No clue. I’ll see you later.” I hang up before she can annoy me anymore.
“Get your clothes on, Toby. We’re going to Mama’s.”
He jumps up immediately and makes his way to his room.
For a few moments, I can breathe and relax in the silence before the craziness starts up again.
I head over to the sliding doors on the other side of the room and look out at the pool and the ocean in the distance.
In the far horizon, I can see surfers riding the waves into the shore, enjoying the cool air as it brushes their sun-kissed locks across their faces.
The water is cold, the ocean unforgiving, and yet I know they are one with the water.
I miss riding the waves first thing in the morning. That was the only time I truly felt alive.
I look away from the water and head to the kitchen to grab a quick coffee. There’s no point in pondering my old life. It is gone, and for that, I am truly grateful.
“So, this is where we keep the glasses for the water.” Lucia has her back to me, and I watch as she points to the glass trays, apparently giving a tour to my two new employees.
I wonder if they’ve even filled out any paperwork. I wonder if Lucia knows about tax withholding forms and ensuring to get photocopies of their government IDs.
“Oh, the glasses are so pretty,” one of the women says.
I try not to roll my eyes. Who calls glasses pretty?
I take another step closer, grateful that Toby is holding my hand quietly as we stand there.
“Rosie, they look like standard glasses,” the woman next to her says, and there’s something in her tone that makes me freeze.
Do I know this lady? From the back, I can’t tell if I recognize her. She’s got long, straight dark brown hair. She’s wearing jeans that show off her pert derriere and a tight blue top, but from behind, I can’t tell what that shows off.
“They’re nicer than the glasses we have.”
“We don’t have any glasses yet.” The woman laughs.
Suddenly, it hits me. I know that laugh. And I’m pretty sure I remember this woman. The two women I saw at Kettle King were new to town, and the beautiful one I bantered with had dark hair and a tinkling laugh that sounded just like this.
“Fuck,” I mutter under my breath, and I’m taken aback at the irritation in my tone. Like I somehow knew deep inside that this woman would complicate my life.
Did Lucia hire the hot woman with the disdainful eyes to work at my restaurant?
“What did you say, Daddy?” Toby looks up at me, and before I can respond, he goes running toward Lucia. “Auntie, I’m here.”
Lucia and my two new employees turn around to gaze at me, and I see the shock on the brunette’s face as she takes me in.
She looks even more gorgeous than I remember from the night before.
Her striking red lipstick emphasizes her luscious lips, and her skin seems to glow.
Her top shows off the swell of her breasts and the tight curve of her waist, even giving a small peekaboo of her belly button and the tan silk of her skin. I frown as I gaze at them all.
“What’s going on here?” I ask gruffly, watching Lucia lift Toby and hug him.
“Hello to you too, Dalton,” Lucia says sarcastically and takes a step toward me.
“I’d like to introduce you to your two new employees, who are literal lifesavers for being able to start working right away.
This is Sage and her sister, Rosie. Girls, this is my brother, Dalton.
Ignore the scowl. He’s often in a grumpy mood.
He’s like a pit bull; he looks scary, but once you get to know him, he’s lovable. ”
“I don’t know if anyone has ever called me lovable.” I step forward and offer my hand to Rosie first, presenting her with a smile, hoping to put her at ease.
I’m pretty sure I hear Sage whispering under her breath, “Doesn’t surprise me,” but I ignore her.
I find it quite interesting that she’s coming with her fiery personality right away. I would have thought she’d be a lot more congenial, considering I was now the one paying her checks.
“Hi, Dalton. Nice to meet you,” Rosie gushes, having not picked up on the tension in the room.
She shakes my hand graciously, and a wide smile spreads across her pretty face.
I’m struck by the fact that she’s also quite beautiful, but in a less striking way than her sister.
Her dark hair is highlighted with light blond streaks and falls in waves down her shoulders.
She’s definitely a looker, and I know with her personality, she could bring in a lot of men if she were behind the bar.
Maybe I’ll talk to Lucia about training her as a bartender—that is, if I decide to let them stay employed.
I turn to Sage and notice that her eyes are bold and direct as she gazes right at me.
She tilts her shoulders back and lifts her chin up, like she’s a bull and we’re ready to fight.
Interesting. I’m not surprised that she’s looking at me combatively.
I wouldn’t have expected anything less from the confident woman in the bar.
I slowly reach out to give her my hand and plant the fakest smile on my face that I can.
No need for her to know how unsettled I feel.
“Nice to meet you again, Sage,” I murmur as she reluctantly offers me her hand.
She tries to squeeze mine tightly, but it doesn’t affect me in the least. I almost want to laugh at the fact that she believes that her handshake could hurt me in any way.
“I’m sure it is,” she says, giving me a sickly sweet smile that is as authentic as the gold-plated cutlery we give to guests. “You can let go of my hand now.”
“I thought you were trying to play a war game.”
“A war game?”
“Like thumb war or something.”
“As if I would be trying to play …” She looks over at a gawking Lucia, whose eyes are wide with merriment as she watches us banter back and forth.