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The two reluctantly pulled apart. Righting his suit coat, the boy smoothed a hand over his dark hair. His lips were tinted with his date’s red lipstick. “How about two glasses of wine, my good man?”
Hayden reined in his snort and clasped his hands in front of him. “May I see your ID, sir?”
The boy patted a hand over his jacket pocket. “I, uh, guess I forgot my wallet in the car. I’m good for it.” He looked at the girl. “You want white or red, baby?”
“Red sounds good. The blonde tossed her long hair behind one bare shoulder and giggled. “Something bubbly and sweet.”
“Be right back.” Hayden grabbed two wine glasses on the way to the soda station. “Two glasses of red bubbly,” he said less than a minute later as he set two Shirley Temples in front of them. “Drink up!”
“Why are there bubbles?” After sampling the drink, the boy nearly spat out a mouthful on the white linen tablecloth. “What are you trying to pull, dude? I asked for redwine, not soda.”
“The young lady asked for something bubbly and sweet, sir. We’d both be in trouble if I served alcohol to minors.” Hayden smiled. “Enjoy your dinner, and please let me know if you need anything else.”
“He’s strict,” the girl whined as Hayden walked away.
Sue, one of the other servers, a single mother with two kids, joined him in the server’s station. “Hey, Hayden. I’m slammed tonight. Can you take Table 11 for me?”
“No problem. I’ve got it covered.”
“Thanks. You’re a lifesaver. Party of two. Carole just seated them.”
Hayden headed toward the table but slowed his steps when he spied a woman with long, wavy, dark brown hair.Violet.When she turned her head, the sight of her beautiful profile shot his pulse sky-high.
Arriving at the table, he gave them a polite nod. “Welcome to Bella Roma. I’m Hayden, your server tonight. Can I get you started with something to drink?”
Violet looked up at him. “Hayden? Hi.” She eyed his uniform. “Do you work here?”
The guy with her sized him up.No worries, man. I’m not your competition.He looked vaguely familiar, but Hayden couldn’t place him.
“Part-time, three shifts a week, including Sunday evenings.” An MBA didn’t mean squat working for a small, independent radio station. Chuck paid him what he could, but the restaurant tips and the soccer coaching gig covered the majority of his bills.
And allows you to indulge your passion at the radio station.
Not long after, Hayden delivered their drinks and took their dinner order. Violet’s smile was softer than usual.Great.Now she pitied him. He turned in their order and stayed busy with his other customers. The young couple at Booth 9 were feeding each other lasagna.Precious.
“Hayden.” He turned, surprised to see Violet standing behind him.
“Sorry, but you probably shouldn’t be here in the server’s station.” Not that he minded. She looked beyond amazing in her pretty pale blue dress. Her high-heeled sandals ate up some of their six-inch height differential, more noticeable at the station when she wore flats.
“I won’t stay long,” she said. “Look, if you’re embarrassed, there’s no reason.”
“I’m not embarrassed, Violet.” At a rare loss for words, he blew out a breath and resisted running a hand through his hair. The owners of the restaurant frowned on touching one’s hair—on the headorfacial—while on duty.Rightly so.
“Hey.” Violet touched his hand. “If you could see me on any Tuesday, Wednesday, or Friday from nine until eleven in the morning, you’d be surprised by the company I keep.”
Hayden shook his head, confused. “Is this true confessions?”
The corners of her lips curved. “I have a part-time job walking five dogs from three families, all neighbors in the Hillcrest area. Prudence the Poodle doesn’t like being lumped in with the mutts, but she could stand a healthy dose of tolerance.”
He whistled under his breath. “Five? That’s a handful of leashes.” Maybe one of these days he’d ask if she could take on a rambunctious puppy named Haystack, but he’d hold off for now. He hadn’t mentioned his dog to Violet yet, and the pup needed to learn some manners first.
“I guess you could say I’ve mastered a method tomymadness. I also clean two houses and one office on Saturday morning.” Violet’s brown eyes were soft and kind. Empathetic.“We do what we have to do—”
“To feed our habit.” Laughing under his breath, Hayden glanced around them. “Not that I’d want anyone to overhear me say that in case they misunderstood.” His gaze met hers. “Thanks.”
“Anytime.” She smiled. “I’ll see you tomorrow morning at the staff meeting.”
“Right.” He watched as she walked back to her table.What a woman.Too bad Violet still only considered him the annoying guy with the radio show immediately following hers.
