Page 6 of Give My Everything
She bites her bottom lip. “I’m wondering if I can be taken off the schedule for the last week of the month.”
My eyebrows rise. “The entire week?”
Hannah nods. “Wyatt said he has a surprise and he won’t tell me what it is, but he wants me to take a week off.”
I let out a low chuckle. Leave it to my younger brother to be a closet romantic who whisks his girlfriend off on a week-long vacation.
“I know it’s last minute, and if you can’t make it work, I totally understand. I can always trade some shifts and we can do something shorter,” she says, her words coming out in a rush.
I have to bite back a smile at her nervous rambling.
I love my brother, but I never would have pictured him with a girl like Hannah. She’s all soft and sweet and caring, always willing to go the extra mile and accommodate others. I’ve only had her on staff for three months, but I can already tell she’s going to be the best employee I’ll ever have—hardworking, thoughtful, positive.
Wyatt always seemed like the kind of guy who would live his bachelor life for as long as he could, so his commitment to her and how much he loves her…it was definitely a surprise.
A happy one, of course, but a surprise nonetheless.
I’m not usually a fan of surprises. It means I’m not adequately prepared or haven’t thought through all the possibilities.
With Hannah, though, I’ll make an exception.
Because they really do seem happy together.
“Hannah, it’s fine,” I say, resigning myself to keeping Ingrid on for a few more weeks at minimum, regardless of whatever other shenanigans she might pull in the future. “I’ll make it work. Go on your trip with Wyatt.”
She beams at me. “Oh my gosh, really? Thanks so much, Ben. Seriously. You’re the best.”
I shake my head and give her a grin. “Just don’t tell any of the others. I don’t want them to think I’m getting soft.”
Hannah giggles. “Oh come on. I’ve seen you with Ivy—I know you’re a big softy in there.”
Her mention of my baby sister—hersister, too—has me rolling my eyes. “You don’t get to pull the Ivy card, okay? Not fair.”
She stands from her chair and picks up her purse off the ground.
“Your shift over?”
Hannah nods. “Yeah. I’m just the early rotation today. Eleanor and I are going to the movies tonight.”
I’ve noticed Hannah and Eleanor have gotten close, but I didn’t realize they hung out outside of work. “Well, have fun.”
“Thanks again, Ben.”
With that, Hannah heads out the door, and I turn back to look at my computer screen, at the financials from this quarter and the purchase orders for ingredients and alcohol.
What a tangled web our lives are. How strange this summer has been.
And now, with this potential tangent with Remmy, it’s just going to continue to become much more convoluted.
CHAPTER2
REMMY
Julia stares at me from the doorway to my bedroom as I slowly fold my laundry. She’s had this same expression on her face ever since I moved home a few weeks ago, the first true time I’ve been back under her watchful gaze since I left for college.
“I promise I’m not trying to take your job from you,” I joke. “I just…started to enjoy doing it, alright?”
She lets out a huff and continues down the hall, mumbling in Spanish—something that sounds suspiciously like “Crazy girl, I’ll never understand you.”
