with his fingers—“big.”
Foster points at me, seething. “You’re a dead man.”
“I consider you four to be sons, and I just learned way too much about all of you.” Simon shakes his head, then looks at me again. “Anyway, just thought you’d maybe want to go say hi to your girl since you’ve come in here every day looking for her.”
My eyes widen, and he laughs.
“I know you like my pizza, but not that much. Plus, it was really funny when you ordered a dessert pizza, then looked around like she would come running at the sound of sugar.”
I glare at him, because I didn’t look that desperate, I’m sure.
Simon beams at me, enjoying my response like a dad embarrassing his kid. “Well, hope you boys enjoy your breakfast. I’ll check on you in a bit.”
He takes a few steps away, then turns around.
“Oh, and Sully?” He points to the other side of the restaurant. “Table six.”
Like I’m some dog he commanded, I stand.
Porter and Foster make obnoxious noises I can’t quite decipher, my focus solely on my mission.
“Who is Thea to you?” Winston asks again.
“A girl.”
“No shit,” he says. “But who is she to you?”
I cast a glance back at him. “That’s what I’d like to know.”
Slice Five
Thea
“What’s that on your shirt?”
“Seriously, Dad?” I pucker my lips in annoyance. “I’m not a little kid anymore. No way I’m falling for that just so you can flick my nose.”
He grins, lifting his shoulders. “Suit yourself.”
“What is taking your brother and Frankie so long?” My mother tries to peek over the back of the curved booth we’re in, but she’s too short to see anything. I feel her pain. Unlike Jonas, I did not inherit my dad’s height. I got stuck with the short legs from my mom.
My dad peers around, then sighs. “Shit. They were stopped by Blythe and Randy. Those two chatterboxes will keep them for hours if someone doesn’t step in.” He tosses his menu down and pushes to his feet. “I’ll go rescue them.”
“Don’t tell your dad,” Mom says as soon as he’s out of earshot, “but that Randy is a looker. He can stop and talk to me for hours.” She waggles her brows.
“You hussy!”
“Oh, please. You know I’m head over heels in love with your father. The things that man can do to—”
“I swear to god, Mother”—I hold my hand up—“if you finish that sentence with anything even remotely sexual, I will scream.”
She tucks her lips together, trying not to laugh. “I was going to say to my heart with one look, but it’s interesting to know your mind went directly to something sexual. It means you’re thinking about sex.” She smirks. “Courtesy of your new boyfriend, perhaps? How’s that going?”
Just great, Mom. He hardly ever talks and doesn’t smother me with affection because—oh yeah, he doesn’t exist.
I can’t break her heart with a truth bomb like that. She worries about me being too overloaded with the shop and never finding true love like she and my father did.
Truth is, I wouldn’t mind finding someone to spend the little spare time I do have with. I’m just not seeking it out because I know it’ll be nearly impossible to find someone willing to put up with my hours when we’re so low on manpower. When I signed on to be the manager for the second location of Schwartz Auto, I didn’t realize it would be this exhausting. I get now why my dad was always coming home late, always missing dinners and working on the weekends. We’re the only shop on the island. It’s great because we have no competition, but that’s just it—it’s just us. When we’re busy, it’s all hands on deck, so managerial stuff gets put aside, and that leaves me coming to Slice on the weekends to catch up. We’re finally rounding out the end of the tourist season, so we should be slowing down soon. I can’t wait—this summer has been brutal.
Much to my chagrin, my love life—or even just hooking up—is on the backburner.
This is damn unfortunate because my window to find a date for my brother’s wedding is getting smaller by the day.
I need a date for the shindig. I can’t show up alone, especially now that I’ve insisted on being marked down for a plus-one.
I smile brightly, aiming for the dopiest totally-in-love grin I can muster. “Things are…” I sigh to sell it. “Amazing. He’s amazing.”
“Good. I was worried the asshole might have done a number on your