Page 77 of Taming Waves

I laugh. “Anson cheats.”

“I knew it. Nobody’s that lucky,” he says.

“I’m surprised Parker didn’t warn you,” I say as the waitress sets our plates in front of us. I grab the ketchup from the middle of the table and shake a generous amount onto my potatoes.

“Parker wasn’t there,” he says as I pass the bottle to him, and he does the same.

“He wasn’t? That’s odd.”

He had requested the night off for it … unless he had other plans—plans he didn’t want to disclose to me. Suddenly, I lose my appetite.

“Are you okay?” Jake asks with a mouthful of food.

“Yeah,” I reply, shaking off the sick feeling in my stomach.

His brow furrows. “Are you sure? You went pale on me.”

I force a smile. “I’m sure. I’m just not used to eating this early.”

“We’ll have them pack yours up. You can take it to Whiskey Joe’s and have it later,” he suggests.

“Speaking of Whiskey Joe’s, you promised me some information,” I remind him.

He swallows and takes a sip of his juice. “I did.”

“Well, don’t keep me in suspense,” I prompt.

“A birdie told me that Van is moving to Tennessee after the first of the year to take the general manager position at one of the Cartwright speedway clubs,” he says.

“He is?” I gasp, shocked at the information.

“Yep. Which means that Brew will need to hire a new GM at Whiskey Joe’s, and the name at the top of his list happens to belong to my favorite redhead.”

“What?”

“If she’s interested, that is.”

Of course I’d be interested. The general manager position includes an office, a salary increase, and much better work hours.

“I’m guessing she is?”

“Yes,” I declare excitedly.

“I thought she would be,” he says, winking at me.

“That’s why Brew was talking to Parker yesterday morning. He wanted to see if Parker could help out a bit longer if you guys can’t hire and train two new bartenders by the first of December.”

“Parker knows?” I ask.

He shakes his head. “No, I don’t think Brew gave him details, just asked about his schedule.”

“Wow. I’m just … wow. I don’t know how I’m going to keep this news under wraps and pretend not to know.”

He smiles wide. “Brew knows I’m telling you.”

I raise a brow. “He wanted you to tell me and not him? That’s odd.”

“Nah, I just begged him to let me be the one.”

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