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“Yes. We have a lot of people who’ve signed up,” she said, sitting up. She loved this part of her job. She got excited whenever she could help a business harness success.
Okay—it wasn’t precisely her job. These days, she was more of a glorified gopher. But she’d get back there again, especially now that she was on the radar at the firm. Robert telling her a promotion was in the offing had been momentous.
She shook off all of that and focused on what was at hand: helping Chris with Clancy’s. “I’ve compiled a list of questions for people to ask, to break the ice, and I have everything else set. All you need to do is serve lots of drinks.”
Chris faced her. “You really think this is going to work?”
“Yes,” she said confidently, buoyed by the scent of bacon wafting up from Lottie’s skillet. Bacon made everything better. “There’s no reason it shouldn’t.” She paused, wondering if she should bring this up.
“What is it?” he asked.
She smiled. He always could tell what she was thinking. “I think it might be a good idea to work on a financial plan. I wonder about asking Alice to take a look at it. She’s a wizard with numbers.”
“Okay,” he said quickly.
Rachel studied him, puzzled. “I thought I’d have to convince you.”
“No, it sounds like a smart thing,” he replied, lowering his head as he sipped his coffee.
“Why am I suspicious?” she asked dubiously.
He shrugged. “Because you have trust issues?”
Rachel studied him. “You’re acting like you did in high school when you liked Jenny Carver. Do you like Alice?”
“She’s your friend,” he said, suddenly giving his coffee cake a lot of attention.
“Oh my gosh,” she exclaimed. “You like Alice.”
Chris pointed at her. “If I decide to ask her out, I’ll do it myself. Don’t say anything.”
“Like you said nothing about the ‘handsome foreigner’?” She made air quotes.
Snorting, Lottie set two plates in front of them, filled with scrambled eggs, sausages, bacon, and pancakes. Rachel would have wondered at the magically appearing food if she didn’t know her grandma always kept premade pancake batter in her fridge. “Stop bickering, children, and eat.”
“Yes, ma’am,” they both replied automatically. Grinning at each other, they lit into their food.
Coming back with a plate for herself, with smaller portions, Lottie sat down like a butterfly settling on a flower. “So tell me about the speed dating.”
“It’s a dating technique where you get a few minutes with someone to get to know them before moving on to the next person,” Rachel said.
“How is this different than what men have been doing since the dawn of time?” Lottie asked.
She blinked. She didn’t have an answer for that, so she looked to Chris for help.
“She has a point,” Chris said, hunched over his plate as he ate with his usual enthusiasm.
“You youngsters are always making things more complicated than they are.” Her grandma shook her head.
“With speed dating, you don’t have to spend that much time with someone you don’t want to,” she explained. “You vet them before actually going out with them.”
“Hmm.” Nodding, Lottie wiped her mouth delicately. “Maybe I should join in then.”
“What about Mr. Vargas down the street?” Rachel asked. “I thought he’d asked you out.”
“That old coot?” Her grandma made a gagging sound. “He just wants another wife to cook and clean for him. I told him I needed someone who had a little fire left to keep me warm at night.”
“Well. That’s my cue to go.” Chris pushed back from the table, shoveling the last of his food in his mouth as he took his dishes to the sink. He washed everything, putting them on the dish rack to dry, and then came back to the table. Leaning down, he kissed Lottie’s cheek. “Thanks for breakfast, Lottie.”
