Page 12 of The Main Event

“Well, think about your niece and then multiply her by fifty.”

My stomach bottomed out.

“And that’s not even including the boys who will be there,” Lana added. “They’re a whole other brand of terror.”

“You seem to know a lot about this,” I said dryly.

“Oh, I do.” She was solemn. “I make a lot of money when those parents escape to this bar. Something tells me I’m going to be even busier than normal tonight.”

“Because I’m in charge?”

“Yup.”

“Well, I’ll have you know that I have this under control. There’s nothing to worry about.”

“Yeah. You keep telling yourself that.”

“THIS IS NOT THE PURPLE I ORDERED,”Delilah Stratton screeched in my face two hours later, holding up anapkin and trying to set me on fire with her eyes. Her long dark hair had been pulled up in an ornate bun, and the dress she was wearing looked as if it belonged at a Taylor Swift concert. I had no idea teenagers could show off that much skin without getting arrested.

I studied the girl with what I hoped was a compassionate expression. This was the third meltdown she’d had and only half the guests had arrived. That meant it was going to be a long night.

“And what’s wrong with this purple?” I asked as I took the napkin from her.

“It was supposed to be orchid. That’s clearly not orchid.”

I stared hard at the napkin. To me, it looked to be a purplish-pink color I didn’t recognize. “What color is this?” I held up the napkin.

“That’s clearly iris,” Delilah replied.

“And what color is iris?”

“It’s purple but an entirely different shade of purple!” Delilah stomped her foot on the floor as she was yelling at me to add some emphasis to her words.

When I glanced at Levi, who was tirelessly mixing sparkly purple drinks behind the bar, I found him grinning. “What color do you think this is?” I asked him.

Levi ran his tongue over his lips, seemingly debating, and then he ducked underneath the bar. When he returned, he had a box in his hand.

I sidled over to get a better look at the box. It was a box of napkins, I realized, and right on top it declared the color orchid. “I believe these are the right napkins,” I said to Delilah, relieved to have a win.

The teenager, however, was not appeased. “That is not the color I wanted. Obviously, the napkin people made a mistake.”

And what did she expect me to do about that? “Or the napkins just look different in person than they did in the catalog,” I countered. “Does it really matter?”

Delilah’s eyes narrowed to dangerous slits. “Where is Daisy?”

“Daisy has the night off,” I replied evenly.

“The night off? It’s my party. Daisy helped us arrange everything. How can she have the night off?”

“Something came up,” I replied evasively.

“Meaning you did something to her.” Delilah was having none of it. “I hope you know you’ve completely ruined my Sweet Sixteen. I hope you’re happy.” As if to prove I’d ruined her birthday, she threw the box of napkins at me for good measure before stomping off.

“Well, she’s just lovely,” I muttered as I watched her go. When I looked up, Levi was back to mixing drinks … and grinning. “Why do you think this is so funny?”

“No reason,” Levi replied. He topped off the drink he’d just mixed with purple cherries—I didn’t even know they made purple cherries—and handed it off to the blonde who was busy swooning in front of him. “Here you go, Angel,” he drawled.

“Angel?” The girl fanned her hand in front of her face as she took the drink. “Why are you calling me an angel?”

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