Page 19 of Wicked Attraction

“Fuck you, my food is not greasy. Or bar food.” His reddish-blond brows dipped into an angry vee that made me smile.

I grabbed an oversized tray and made my way to the window. “Nachos,” I snorted.

“Short rib nachos with a homemade, creamy queso,” he growled.

“Chili cheese fries,” I repeated the order as I loaded another plate onto the big monstrous tray.

“That’s fucking ground bison, not some shit quality beef,” he grunted at me. “Homemade chili, little girl.”

I laughed because it was easy to goad Sean to show off his Irish temper. “My bad,” I shot back and rolled my eyes. “And finally, mashed potatoes with…soup?”

“Lamb shank shepherd’s pie, thank you very much. I wouldn’t expect a little girl from the wrong side of the tracks to understand.”

I laughed again and shook my head. “Wrong side of the tracks? I grew up on Snob Hill, thank you very much.”

It didn’t matter what went on inside the house of horrors. I wasn’t trash, whatever else Sean thought. “Sounds to me like you’re the one overcompensating for something.”

He smiled. “I’m happy to show you, Mo. Anytime.”

“You couldn’t afford me.”

With my tray loaded, I didn’t wait for the chef’s response, not while I had a rowdy table of four waiting for gourmet bar food to soak up some of the booze they’d been drinking for the past few hours.

“Hey, boys. Hungry?”

“Starved.” The blond with the dimples was a big flirt and gorgeous to boot. Flirting with him was no hardship, and it was just the distraction I needed for the rest of my shift. Jasper kept himself scarce, which was exactly what my mind and my heart needed after a long fucking week.

“That’s good because I got a ton of food here for you to enjoy. The Nebraska game will be starting soon.”

Blondie with the dimples grabbed my wrist, and I didn’t break any of his fingers because he was playful, not aggressive.

“Have a seat, beautiful, and share my nachos with me.”

“Can’t. I’m on the clock. You wouldn’t want me to get in trouble, would you?”

“No,” he sighed and let his shoulders fall in disappointment. “But I would love to buy you a drink or more when your shift is over.”

“Hey, waitress, more drinks over here.”

I looked over my shoulder at the group of husbands doing their best to prolong their time away from their wives and kids and sighed. “Thirsty football fans await,” I told blondie with a mildly disappointing smile.

“I won’t forget,” he called after me while I dodged a dozen sets of hands, all reaching out to grab my ass.

Men. Get a few drinks in them, and they forget all their manners and home training. “Beers and shots are on the menu,” I reminded them with a playful smile. “T&A is not, I’m pretty sure.”

“Should be,” one of them growled and bit into his burger. “Your tits look a lot more appetizing than this burger, and this fucker looksgood.”

The table laughed at his joke, and I just smiled at the casual vulgarity.

“Be back in a sec with your drinks,” I promised and sauntered off, making the first left into the employee bathroom, where I upchucked the club sandwich I’d eaten earlier on my break.

The flu. It had to be the flu because my stomach was made of steel, and it took a lot for me to get sick. I worked almost every day at the pub, and now Lucky Lopez and hadn’t been sick in four years, but now even the smell of coffee made me ill.

I flushed the toilet and rinsed my mouth, taking a look at my pale face in the mirror, at the signs of exhaustion around my eyes and mouth, the dark circles under my eyes.

It could be exhaustion with everything I’d been doing. But, between double shifts working Lucky Lopez and some late nights at the hospital with Sadie, I hadn’t been sleeping at all.

The door opened and then closed, but I ignored it since only employees were allowed in there. The people who came to Midnight Mass knew the deal. They knew who ran this place and knew not to fuck with the people who worked here.

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