Page 29 of Searching for Love

ChapterTen

It was official. Lucas had been hired to cater Wyatt and Hannah’s wedding. The worry and excitement about getting the menu just right kept him up for two nights after their trial dinner. He’d spent that time writing lists, making plans, and changing plans so many times that his head spun.

He had their preferred dishes from the sample meal he’d prepared for them. The rest had been left in his very capable hands.

Maybe the smell of the newly finished floor downstairs played a part in keeping him up at night as well. Since he and Avery had put the last layer of sealer on it a day ago, all they could do was wait for it to dry.

He itched to move his new tables and chairs onto it but knew better. Avery had informed him that it would be best to wait at least a week before putting anything heavy on the shiny wood floor.

Then again, his sleepless nights could be because he hadn’t been able to get the encounter with his father out of his head. The man had looked comfortable in the store as if he frequented it a lot. But that couldn’t be right.

He hadn’t seen his old man in ten years. Surely he would have heard that the man was roaming around town before then.

He’d wanted to call his mother and warn her that Diego was back, but he didn’t want to worry her. Instead, he’d called his grandfather and informed him of the run-in.

Even though he’d known his grandfather his entire life, Lucas had never been able to read the man’s reactions. However, when he informed him that Diego was back in Edgeview, his grandfather’s reactions were clear.

One of the first things Lucas had learned from him was a few choice words of Spanish. Several of them flowed from his grandfather during that short conversation.

After hearing the older man’s promise that he’d watch out for his mother and Sophia, Lucas relaxed a little. He trusted that his mother knew how to kick his dad to the curb now. She may not have back then, but so much had changed over the years. His mother had changed.

She’d had three other successful relationships after his father had bailed. Three that had ended not due to abuse. Currently, his mother was seeing a man named Graig. Lucas had met the man on several occasions and liked the guy. He was an EMT at the hospital and had two grown kids of his own who lived in Chicago and a teenage daughter who lived with him full-time and was close friends with Sophia. Which is actually how his mother and Graig met. The biggest plus about that relationship was that he treated Sophia like his own daughter, even though he wasn’t technically living with his mother. Yet.

Lucas had hopes that his mother would one day find her happy-ever-after. After all, he was a firm believer that if you spent a lifetime searching for love, you deserved to find it. Eventually.

After dressing and heading downstairs, he walked into the restaurant to find Avery already behind the bar, engrossed in her laptop.

Today, they would be sanding and painting the bar and countertop. He’d picked a bright blue color for the base. The countertop was wood and still in fairly great condition.

He had hopes of having everything else finished by the end of the new week. At least all of the major issues.

Parker and his crew had only a few days left in the building and had even agreed to install electric outlets for hanging string lights outside on the patio.

“What do you think of these?” she asked, not even glancing over her shoulder towards him.

He moved closer and looked over her shoulder. There on the screen were what appeared to be several small black iron tables, each with matching chairs that were all piled up on top of one another.

“They’d be perfect for the patio area.” She glanced up at him.

He winced at the price but then remembered that he would be getting paid for the wedding in under a month and could just stretch out his budget.

“Yeah, they would. Where are they?” He leaned closer to see more details.

“Ruby’s Antiques. I worked at the shop one summer after graduation. I thought I wanted to be an antiquary.” She smiled up at him. “An expert on antiquities.”

He chuckled. “Are there any jobs around here that you haven’t done?”

She tilted her head. “I’ve never been a stripper.” He almost choked on air. “Then again, we don’t have many strip clubs in Pride.” She poked him in the chest. “Jesus, you should see your face right now.” She laughed as she turned back to her computer screen. “There, I asked Ruby to hold these for us. We can drive up there later today if you want?” She shut her computer screen down. “Once we’re done painting this beauty.” She tapped the bar countertop.

Lucas couldn’t help but chuckle at Avery quickly changing the subject.

Her humor was a great amusement to him, and he admired the way her eyes sparkled with mischief. “You never fail to surprise me,” he said, his tone affectionate. “Sounds like a plan,” he replied, already envisioning the patio area of their restaurant transformed with those elegant iron tables and chairs.

With a shared sense of purpose, they turned their attention to painting the bar area.

They spent a few moments sanding the surface and taping off the edges. Before they began, they painted a small area of the bar with the color and used a heat gun to see the outcome.

“It’s so cheerful,” she said, leaning back. “It’s going to be amazing.”