Page 34 of Small Town Swoo
“And she’s practically family.”
“I know that too. Which is why I took her car to the mechanic. And why I pitched in at the diner. And why I agreed to go over to her house for dinner last night and taste-test a new recipe for her.” Maybe not the whole truth, but not a lie either. And my brothers were easily distracted by food.
“What did she make?” Austin asked.
“Chicken pot pie with some kind of special puffy crust and fancy French ingredients.”
“Damn. That sounds good.”
“It was.”
“I’m hungry.”
“Me too. I didn’t eat anything this morning.”
“After we work out, want to go get some breakfast at Moe’s?” he asked.
“Sure,” I said, trying my best to sound nonchalant about it, like I didn’t care one way or another where we ate our bacon and eggs.
But my pulse picked up when I thought about seeing her again so soon.
My insistence that there was nothing going on between Ari and me might have been more believable if she didn’t lightup at the sight of us walking through the door.
From behind the counter, she grinned and waved. “Good morning! Just the two of you?”
We nodded, and she gestured to a pair of empty stools in front of her. “Have a seat. Specials are on the board.”
After settling onto the stools, we looked at the chalkboard behind the counter while she poured coffee for us.
“Creole Eggs Benedict,” said Austin. “Is that new? I haven’t seen that one yet.”
“I just added it today,” she confirmed with a smile. “House-made biscuit, spicy pork sausage, poached egg, and my own Creole mustard hollandaise.”
“Sold,” Austin said.
“Make it two,” I added.
Ari laughed. “Coming right up.” She set some almond milk in front of Austin before he even requested it and disappeared into the kitchen. I watched her go, admiring the way that little diner uniform hugged her hips. A memory from last night’s fantasy floated through my mind.
Fuck. Stop it.
I picked up my coffee and redirected my brain. “Dad says Xander’s new house is cool. Where is it?”
“Near downtown and close to the harbor, one of the newer places. We did some reno on it, but mostly it was cosmetic. Paint, trim, things like that.”
“Have you seen Ari’s new house?” I asked, watching as she passed by with the coffee pot.
“Not yet, but Veronica has. She said it needs work, but it’s cute. I guess Dad’s been helping her out a little.”
I nodded and tried to sound nonchalant. “I told her I’d give her a hand painting a bedroom this week.”
The smirk was back.
“How’s the new business going?” Another redirect.After working for Two Buckleys Home Improvement with our dad for years, Austin had finally started his own company, making furniture from reclaimed wood.
“Good. I still have a pretty long waitlist, especially for dining tables.”
“Xander said you did the bar at Buckley’s Pub. It looks great.”
