walked up to her stand, cutting off whatever retort Mom had been about to come up with. She turned her attention on me, and her cheeks grew red. “Hey, Jaxon. We haven’t seen you for a while.”
I shrugged. “I’ve been in and out. You got a table for us?”
“For you? Always.” She took my mother’s arm and led her to a table near the bar but kept sneaking glances at me over her shoulder.
I wasn’t being immodest when I said Tiffany was always like that. Rumor had it that she and a few of her pals had a thing for ex-military guys.
Well, it wasn’t really a rumor. I’d heard it from some guys I knew personally.
Mom loved AJ’s, though, and she loved Tiffany right along with it. She even gave her a kiss on the cheek before she sat down. Tiffany smiled at her. “I’ll be right back with your menus and Dustin will be your server tonight.”
“Thank you,” Mom said. “You don’t need to bring us menus. Tell Dustin we’ll have our usual.”
She winked at my mother, then at me. “You got it.”
As soon as we were alone, Mom turned her brown eyes to mine. “So, what enchanting tales do you bring me of the great big world this time?”
“I was gone for two days,” I said.
She arched a brow at me. “That doesn’t change the fact that I haven’t seen you in a week. I don’t even know where you’ve been, which is why I’m asking. Tell an old girl some stories about the world outside of Texas.”
“I’ve told you a thousand times I could get you a seat on a plane anywhere you wanted to go.”
She rolled her eyes. “Did I say I wanted to go anywhere? I just want to hear the stories about where you’ve been. Lord knows, you’ve traveled enough for the both of us.”
“I went to Fiji on this last leg,” I said. “Australia before that. Quit making it sound like I’ve seen the world. You know I mostly see the insides of airports and hotels.”
“Only because you’re not making the most of this opportunity.” She made her eyes big as she stared at me. “You’re thirty-eight, Jaxon. Live a little.”
“I’ve lived plenty, thank you very much.”
Sighing as she shook her head, she spread a cloth napkin over her lap, flattening it before bringing her eyes back to mine. “I’ve always tried to teach you to chase the moments, but you’ve forever been too busy trying to catch the next flight instead.”
“If you knew about half the things I’ve done, you definitely wouldn’t be saying that.” I flashed her a teasing smile. “Have I told you about that bar in Singapore—”
She lifted her hands. “I never said I wanted to know about it. I just want you to have some fun while you still can. You’re no spring chicken. One of these days, you’re going to look like me.”
Mom’s face barely had any sign of wrinkles. Her eyes were bright, and even though she’d never dyed her hair, it was still a rich auburn color. “I don’t see anything wrong with that.”
“You will.” She thanked Dustin when he brought our coffees. Then she turned serious again. “When are you going to start exploring these wonderful places you fly to?”
“Actually, I’ve been thinking of doing just that.” It’d only been for the last fourteen hours that I’d been thinking about it, but it was true. “I got to talking with a man in the airport lounge before takeoff. He’d spent the last two months in Fiji. Seemed to think it was the best place on earth.”
“Fiji, huh?” She dipped her head from one side to the other. “That could be nice.”
“Yeah. The guy kept talking about how beautiful it is, and I think it’d be nice to see it. I’ve done the route now so I might stay for a little bit sometime.”
“You should go,” she said. “Didn’t you say you have some days off?”
“Yeah, but to make it worth my while, I’d have to see about getting some extra days off.” Not that I didn’t have vacation days saved up. I had the damn things coming out my ass. “I’ll check with the airline to see when I can take them.”
“As long as you don’t fall in love with somebody over there, I’m all for it. I need you here with me, and I’m not going to Fiji.”
“Well, that escalated fast.” I grinned at her. “I wouldn’t be going to fall in love