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I pick up two menus and seat my sisters as far away from Noah as I can, but the restaurant isn’t that big.
“You’re crazy.” Posey picks up the menus from the table I took them to and walks toward Noah.
Nikki groans and follows. Posey positions them to the side of him, on the inside of the restaurant because they know my family doesn’t get the primo spots by the windows.
“Please tell Frank to hurry, the baby is kicking because it’s starving.” Nikki rubs her belly.
“How does Logan handle you?” Posey asks, looking at our sister’s belly in disgust.
“You just wait. One day you’ll be complaining while your husband can just sit there next to you, eat whatever he wants without heartburn, not need help standing up, and not need anyone to tie his shoes.” She sounds as if she’s ready to cry, so I give Posey a look over Nikki’s shoulder that says to cool it with her.
Posey picks up her menu. “Goat cheese omelet? When did you put this on the breakfast menu?”
I clear my throat. “A while ago.”
So far, Noah is busy staring out the window while glancing at his phone every so often. He doesn’t have a meal in front of him and I suppose I should really go say hello. What kind of innkeeper would I be if I didn’t?
“Mandi, breakfast?” Nikki says.
“You’re not her wicked stepsister,” Posey says.
“That would be me!” Chevelle comes in wearing her running gear and sits down next to Posey while staring at Nikki’s stomach. “Whoa, I think you grew five inches since yesterday. Ouch!” She looks at Posey and rubs her leg. Luckily, she seems to have understood the message. “But you’re as radiant as always. You can’t buy that natural glow.”
Nikki shoots Chevelle a small smile, but I know deep down she’s wishing us all horrible pregnancies.
“Check out the hunk,” Posey says, eyeing Noah once more.
“Eh, I’m not much of a ponytail girl, but those muscles look like they could rip that shirt in half.” Chevelle stacks the containers of jam, making a pyramid like she always does. Soon the creamer will be the second level.
“His name is Noah, and although Nikki’s declared that Mandi can’t marry him, I figure she can sleep with him and have some fun.”
Chevelle repositions her blonde ponytail. “Why can’t she marry him?”
“Because Nikki’s naming her baby Noah, so I guess that goes for all three of us,” Posey says. “As if finding a man in our small town isn’t hard enough, we need to scratch all Noahs off the list now.”
Nikki looks at Posey as though she wants to fork out her eye.
“Let me go get you some coffee and muffins.” I pat my sister’s shoulder and head into the kitchen, thankfully without Noah spotting me.
“Damn it!” Rachel, one of the servers, screams and runs over to the faucet.
Francois rings the bell that an order is ready, and I spot a goat cheese omelet on the plate.
“Can you take Rachel’s order? She burned her finger because even though I told her not to touch the pan, she did. I think we need to hire smarter people.” Frank, a.k.a. Francois, rolls his eyes. He’s never been happy with one person I’ve hired.
“Which table?” I ask.
“Five, and I have an order of pancakes for that table too. Hold up.” He positions another plate beside the omelet.
“How are you, Rachel?” I call.
The sous-chef, Nadia, is next to her. She shakes her head. “Let me get some Neosporin and a Band-Aid for her. Then she’ll be good.”
“And by then my food is cold. I do not want a bad review, Amanda. If I get a bad review, I leave this place.” Francois smacks his spatula on the grill.
“You threaten to leave every day.” I pick up the dishes, knowing I have no chance of getting out of this. “I’ve got it.”
I walk out of the kitchen and Nikki looks up with hopeful eyes, only to give me her worst death glare once she realizes I’m holding someone else’s order.
