Page 39 of The Way We Win

Without a word, he turns and walks back to his table.

“That’s what I thought,” Dylan says to me.

“Did you get him?” I lean in to speak in her ear.

“Let’s do this!” Craig hits the music, and we serve the rest of the line.

Tonight he starts off with “Fire Woman” by The Cult, and three of the waitresses hop onto the small bar with him to dance, rolling their hips and clapping their hands.

“I love this song!” Rachel skips up to where I’m standing behind the table with Dylan handing out spoons and cups of vanilla ice cream.

“Get up there!” I nod to the bar. “Unless you’re brave enough to try this chili from hell.”

She shakes her head. “I’m getting some for Liv’s mom, but I’m too scared.”

“I don’t blame you. I’m not sure my intestines can handle it.”

The music slides into “Great Balls of Fire” by Jerry Lee Lewis, and my eye catches the outside double doors opening. Then my heart jumps to my throat when Jack enters the room with Garrett at his side.

Their brows are lowered, and they seem to be having a serious conversation. But as soon as Craig sees Garrett, he’s on the mic. “Sheriff Grizz, we’ve got a 10-33 on the bar—immediate assistance needed.”

Garrett breaks into a laugh, and he holds up a finger before disappearing into the kitchen. Jack is left alone at the door, and of course, he looks straight at me.

A hint of a smile lifts one corner of his mouth, and I can’t move. I can barely breathe.

“Allie,” Dylan bumps my hip. “You’re holding up the line, girl.”

Garrett dances into the room again in his own blond Sandra-Dee wig, shaking his ass and going straight to the small bar. Female whistles and catcalls ripple through the room, and an old Judas Priest song starts.

In a single move, Garrett hauls his six-foot-four frame onto the small bar with the dancers, and everyone cheersas they fill the makeshift dance floor in the cleared-out center of the dining room.

It breaks the spell Jack has on me, and I return to handing out spoons and cups of ice cream to the waiting line. They all slip a few dollars into the tip jar, but it’s all volunteer. Dylan doesn’t make anyone pay for Dare Night.

Liv walks in behind Jack with Gigi on her hip, and she gives him a nudge. He smiles in response, saying something so calmly, it makes me wonder if I’m the only one who felt that earthquake when our eyes met.

Gigi bounces her little arms up and down like she’s trying to keep time with the music. The last daring client takes a bowl of Pepper X chili, and Dylan puts the lid on the pot.

“All done!” She crosses her arms, scanning the room. “Where did Oliver go? Did he finish his serving? Is he crying?”

We scan the crowd. Some people are attempting to eat the chili, but most are holding the small cups of vanilla ice cream directly onto their tongues. Others are blowing their noses or blotting their eyes.

“There he is!” I point to a table in the back near Miss Gina and Liv’s mother’s booth.

The cup is in front of him, and he gives Dylan a thumbs-up.

“That’s right, you little curmudgeon.” She shakes her head. “He’s too young to act that old.”

“You know he’s got a crush on you.” I help her load up the rest of the bowls and plastic utensils, and I grab the large plastic bin of ice cream cups to put what’s left of them in the freezer. “Now that he’s eighteen, he probably thinks he has a shot—if he can get Logan out of the picture.”

“He can get over himself, because I’m a very happily married woman.”

I laugh as I follow her to the kitchen, which leads us right past where Liv and Gigi are standing with Jack. Swallowing the knot in my throat, I force a smile.

Jack and I’ve never been awkward around each other, even ifI have been crushing on him hard since the day we met. He has always treated me like any other parent, much to my dismay…

Until he let the mask slip, and I got a peek behind that sexy curtain.

“There you are,” Dylan yells over the music. “It’s about time you came for dinner. Want some Pepper X chili?”

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