Page 26 of Summer with the Single Dad

Luckily, his brothers all nodded and grumbled their agreement.

Bennett exhaled another sigh of relief and let the tension flee his shoulders by way of an exaggerated roll and side-to-side neck crack.

Chuckling, Dom slapped him on the shoulder and squeezed. “Were you nervous about having this conversation with us? You’re sweating like crazy.”

Bennett chuckled. “Yeah, a little. I know you’ve all cultivated relationships with customers—and suppliers—and it’s not going to be easy to have these conversations with them. It’s easier for me to say it from the back of the house, but you’re all going to feel the brunt of it being front of the house and in the kitchen.”

More head bobs and grunts of agreement echoed through them.

“I’m sorry I didn’t consult with you first about the fryer,” Wyatt said with a hangdog expression. “Next time I need a new piece of pricey equipment, I’ll let you know first.”

“Me too,” Clint added. “About the brewery equipment. You’re the money guy. I should let you handle the money.”

Bennett’s mouth couldn’t muster a smile. He managed flatly pressed lips, that was it.

“Can we sit down together today and go through the menu?” Wyatt asked, his jovial expression gone, replaced with one of serious concern. “I know we need to up our prices, but charging close to fifty bucks for an entrée makes me want to vomit. It just feels wrong. I know it’s not. I know it needs to happen. It just feels wrong.”

Bennett nodded. “Of course. Come by my office later and we can sit down and go through the meals and come up with suitable price increases.” He glanced at Dom out of the corner of his eye. “You too.” Then he shifted his gaze to Clint. “And don’t think you’re getting off the hook. Our beer flies off the shelves. We can stand to charge more.”

Clint stared at the ground and kicked a rock, nodding. “Yeah, I know.”

They reached the bottom of the hill that led to their houses, but none of them went up. Their work day officially began. A delivery truck was already there and Burke, Wyatt’s head chef, was helping the delivery driver unload. Wyatt jogged away from their line to go help.

“You okay?” Dom asked, fishing keys out of his pocket so he could open up the pub.

“Yeah. Glad to finally get that woe off my chest.”

Dom mimicked Bennett’s grim smile, nodded, and headed to the front door of the pub. That left just Bennett and Clint.

“I am sorry I bought that equipment without running it past you first.” Clint kicked a baseball-sized rock off into the bushes. The parking lot was gravel, but a big rock like that could damage someone’s tire. “I need a few other pieces of equipment. Not immediately. It’s not life or death, but I’ll submit the purchase request to you and then you can go from there. Sound good?”

Bennett’s smile twitched at the corner of his mouth. “Yeah, sounds good.”

The crunch of gravel beneath car tires pulled their attention, and they moved over to the side so a vehicle from the cabins could drive through.

It was Justine.

Bennett’s heart rate kicked up, seeing her behind the wheel. She had the same understated ponytail fixed at the back of her head and appeared to just be wearing a simple gray hoodie. Obviously, he couldn’t see what she had on for pants. That didn’t stop his mind from racing though.

He smiled and waved at her, which prompted her to slow down and roll down her window.

“Where are you headed?” he asked.

“I’m going to go do some more exploring. Another hike, and maybe check out some of the other beaches. I also need to go buy some cake ingredients.” That last bit of info pulled her lips into a demure smile.

“Oh, don’t buy anything. I have enough of all of it. You offering to help is more than enough. Come up to the house and I’ll give you what you need.”

Even though it wasn’t meant to be suggestive, she must have interpreted it that way because her cheeks grew pink and she broke eye contact with him. “Anyway, I should let you get to work. Enjoy your day, Bennett.” She nodded at Clint and then pulled away, her window rolling up in the process.

“What the hell was that about?” Clint asked, all-knowing smiles and glittering eyes.

Bennett grumbled. “She’s offered to help bake cupcakes and cakes for the end-of-year funfair. When we ran together today, she told me she likes to bake and decorate cakes too. That’s all.”

“That’s all?”

“Yes, that is all.” He scoffed. “I have to get to work. And so do you. Go work, Clinton. Make us some money.” Then, with his conflicting emotions, Bennett trudged off to his office where he couldn’t get the image of Justine’s pink cheeks out of his head. Her hair was so straight and so silky. He could just imagine what that ponytail felt like slipping through his fingers. And all he wanted to do was tug it. Tug it and guide her mouth to his.

Fuck, he needed another shower.

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