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Artsy guys used to be my catnip. Now I didn’t even have so much as a heart flutter. Had Adriana broken my girl parts or something?
He gathered the heavy chain links gently with the mason jars welded into the links along with Edison bulbs for some difference in light. “I’ll come back for my big ladder.”
“Hey, let me help you with that.” Lucky came loping down the slope of grass.
“How’s the boat coming?” I asked.
Lucky unhooked the ladder from Jensen’s truck, then grabbed his own long ladder. “Good. Just was breaking for some chow. Mason told me to head to the kitchen when I got the grumbles.”
I hated to ask since he’d been working all morning on the boat, but his height would come in handy. “Would you mind helping us with the tree?”
“Sure.”
Jensen gave me a hopeful smile. “Maybe I could get some food too?”
“You most certainly can. Tell you what. You guys start and I’ll go get you some food. Anything you hate?”
“Pickles.”
I blinked. “Okay. I think I can work with that.” I laughed. “Lucky?”
“Nope. I’ll take his pickles even.” He waggled his eyebrows.
I shook my head. “Maddie knows what I want.”
“Maddie’s here?” Jensen’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he stole a glance at the big tree beside the dock.
“Sure is. She’s helping out. You okay with that?”
“Yeah. Definitely. I mean, sure. No problem.”
Lucky glanced at me then the kid with a snort. “C’mon, loverboy. Let’s go.” He held the two ladders, one in each hand at his sides.
Jensen flushed, but he followed Lucky up the hill to the path. I resisted the urge to check on my kid again. She’d be fine for the few minutes it would take for me to hit the kitchen.
I patted my pocket to make sure my phone was there and sent off a quick text to Maddie to let her know where I was going.
Just in case.
The lunch rush was in full swing as I veered off toward the restaurant while the guys headed for the tree. I smiled at a few regulars I was starting to recognize. The ever-present Mrs. Duncan who was always asking questions about the MJ2, a few older dudes who came in and split a club sandwich every day.
Most restaurants didn’t allow shared plates, but Mason wasn’t that kind of guy. In fact, they often sat at one of the best tables in the dining room.
I sneaked around Patty Duncan before she could see me and threaded my way around the tables. It felt good to not knock into everything anymore. At the end of my pregnancy, I’d been a walking nightmare of clumsiness.
I was just heading into the kitchen when I caught Mason leaning over something on the bar with Gillian pressing into his arm. She had her hand on his back, and I had the strongest urge to rip it off at the shoulder and beat her with it.
Where the hell had that come from?
I shook it off and pushed my way through the swinging door. Jackie was the chef on duty until Henry came in for the late shift. Her squad of minions deftly took part in the ballet of a well-run kitchen.
“Hey, guys. Can I put in a ticket for our two-day laborers?”
Food had to be accounted for in said well-run kitchen.
“Yeah, go ahead. Mase gave me the head’s up.”
I went back outside and found Esther and flagged her down. “Can you put some sandwiches in for me for the guys helping outside?”
