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BARRY: I like that plan, but another time. Yeah?
ADDY: I love you.
Fuck, that hit me in the center of my chest. Since I was sixteen, I’d known I was in love with her. Then that asshat Collin had fucked up everything. He hadn’t known how to handle her, but she’d been in love with him, so I had to step aside. Then Martin came along, which was a total disaster.
But no more. No fucking more. She was mine just as irrevocably as I was hers.
BARRY: I love you too.
I set down my phone, washed my hands again, and got back to work.
Once I was in a groove, time passed quickly.Thank fuck.I couldn’t wait to see Addy again. Hold her. Make love to her. Have her in my bed.
• • •
Near closing time, I heard the alarm chirp. Someone was hungry late.
“Hey,” Tommy said to whoever it was, greeting them as he’d been trained to do. “Sit wherever you like.”
“Thanks,” a familiar voice said. It was Claire’s friend Missy.
“Be with you in a second.” Tommy held up a finger. Glancing through the pass-through, I saw that he was on the phone. “Just let me finish taking this order.”
Missy wasn’t alone. Claire was with her.
Rachel’s daughter threw off heavy Addy 2.0 vibes. Her friend group gravitated to her. She was the glue that held them together, and she had expressive eyes behind the lenses of her glasses. Her heart was in her gaze like Addy’s was in hers.
It floored me that Collin’s son and Rachel’s daughter were a thing. But then again, we had that cosmic circle connecting all of us. I was fixing the part that went wrong with Addy and me. But I was also going to keep a close eye on the younger generation to make sure they didn’t make the same mistakes we did.
“Hey. Long time, no see.” Tommy strolled to the girls’ table, grinning at his own joke. After all, he’d seen them a few hours ago at Footit’s. “Wanna train first or eat first?”
I wasn’t surprised by this. He’d shared about Claire getting her hand slammed in her locker.
Claire wanted Tommy to teach her self-defense. It was a good idea. I was going to teach Addy a few things too. Vietnamese mixed martial arts was all about using what you had, every part of your body to protect yourself. With Martin being an issue, I wanted Addy as safe as I could make her.
“Eat. I’m starving,” Missy said in a flirty tone. “It looks ... and smells delicious.”
“Got it.” Tommy kept his voice even, not reacting to her. “What’ll it be?”
“Whatever the chef feels like making,” Claire said, easygoing like her aunt.
I grinned. I’d make her the special.
“Yeah, that.” Missy nodded. “For me too.”
“Pop will like that.” Tommy tucked his order pad in the front pocket of his black apron.
“Is your dad the only chef?” Claire asked.
“Yup,” Tommy said with the slight drawl he’d picked up in Dallas. “Can’t afford any more staff just yet.”
Claire’s brow scrunched. “How’d he learn about Vietnamese cooking?”
“From my mom.” Tommy said. “He didn’t just meet her in Vietnam. She’s Vietnamese.”
“Ah, right.” Claire pointed to her temple. “Learned a lot of info today. Still processing. I’m sorry your parents got divorced.”
“It is what it is, and it all went down a long time ago.”
