by Sammi Franks
The way I was rolling my eyes today, I was surprised they didn’t fall out of their sockets.
We stepped out of the car and walked into the restaurant. I was surprised at how empty the place was even though it was a nice April evening.
“Small town,” Bodhi explained, when I commented on it.
The hostess greeted us with a smile and led us to a booth. She handed us our menus and the first thing I checked was to make sure they had beer on tap.
“You know,” I began, leaning back after picking what I planned to eat for dinner. “I think it’s ridiculous that there isn’t a bar here. How is that possible? What do people do when there’s a pay-per-view fight, or a blacked-out sports game?”
Bodhi shrugged. “People sit around and drink at home, I guess.”
“Just because you like doing that doesn’t mean everyone else does,” I argued. “People like to relax and socialize, sip a beer, watch a game, talk to a pretty girl. It’s an atmosphere that, when managed properly, becomes a home.”
“Like Cheers?” Bohdi sneered.
“You’re dating yourself,” I teased, “but yes, like Cheers. You know, if someone was smart, they would open a bar here. I’ve seen some empty buildings along this street. I’m sure it wouldn’t be that expensive...”
My voice trailed off as an idea popped into my head. I narrowed my eyes at my brother and cocked my head to the side.
Could he? I didn’t know...
But damn it, the opportunity was there. If not him, someone else would snap it up.
“Bodhi,” I said, slapping the table. He jumped. “I know what your job is going to be.”
He gave me a disbelieving look. “Oh, yeah?” he asked. “And what’s that?”
I grinned. “You’re going to run a bar,” I said.
10
Victoria
* * *
At first, I sat there numbly while I held my head in my hands. I couldn’t believe my ex-husband thought to punish me for surviving his treachery. Practically every woman with children I knew suffered some form of mom guilt. It really did exist. Some blamed themselves for premature births, others for working outside the home, a few for not having the time to prepare home-cooked meals. Me, I struggled with long hours, but there wasn’t a way around it. How else was I going to keep food on the table, a roof over our heads, clothes on our backs? The worst part was knowing if Rueben, who I’d turned down for a date roughly a dozen times since the divorce, decided to get back at me with pro bono work, I’d be gone even longer to fight back and save my daughter. After a few minutes of panic while I wondered what the hell should I do, I remembered Max. As much as I hated the idea, I’d have to make him my savior.
I opened my laptop and began to run through current listings in the area. While I knew every property there, I wanted to make sure I had all my numbers straight, my thoughts in order, before I contacted him. I glanced at the clock. It was after seven. If I hurried, I might be able to get done in time to see Penelope and read her a book. I picked up my phone, swallowed hard, and hit the button to place my call. “Hello, Max?”
“Why, hello, Vicki!” He answered with far more enthusiasm than I anticipated. “We drove by the office a little while ago and I saw your light was on.”
My mood soured instantly. “Oh. You’re with Bre. I’ll let you go,” I muttered.
“Bre? No, I’m with Bodhi. You should join us.” I could hear the smile on his face.
“I really need to finish up so I can spend time with my daughter,” I explained quietly.
“Kids eat. Bring her too. We’re down by the waterfront. Hey, Bodhi, what’s the name of this place?” he asked.
“Oh, Wharfside Eatery,” Bodhi replied. Then he called out, “Hi, Victoria.”
Their rivalry made me laugh and almost wish I’d had a sibling. More than that, it reminded me I had hoped Penelope wouldn’t be an only child. “Hi, Bodhi,” I responded with a laugh. “So, can we talk properties and the possibility of showing you a few places after we go back to the condo?” There was no hiding the hopeful edge to my voice.
“Sure,” Max agreed. “In person. See you soon.” Then he ended the call.
That rat bastard. I had a life. I couldn’t be running off to meet him at all hours of the day and night. Then I growled low in my throat. I couldn’t be turning away potential sales either. Dammit. I shoved my chair back so hard it hit the wall. Jolted slightly, I hopped out of my seat and packed up for the night, stuffing my laptop in the bag, then closing down the office and locking up behind me. I made it to my house in less than ten minutes. Penelope rushed to hug me when I walked through the door.
“You’re home!” She squealed in delight.
I nodded and gnawed on my cheek. “I am, but I’m leaving.” I watched her face fall. “Want to come with me?”
She squeezed me even harder around the middle. “Yes, please!” Then she rushed past Maria, who worked as my nanny and Penelope’s occasional chauffer.
“I’m sure you already fed her…”
“Yes, Ma’am.” She grinned. “I was about to give her a bath.”
“I’ll manage it later. Thank you. We’ll see you tomorrow.” Then I turned to Penelope who had already returned to my side. “Don’t you even want to know where we’re going?”
She shook her head. “No. I just want to be with you.” She smiled up at me and it broke my heart a little more.
We followed Maria out the door, and drove to the restaurant. I recognized Max’s vehicle immediately and parked near it. “Okay, please be on your best behavior and let me talk with Max.”
“Who’s Max?” Penelope perked up.
“He’s buying some property from me. So, yes, you’ll behave?” My brows arched.
She rolled her eyes at me. “Yes, mommy. I know how to act in public.” She smiled sweetly at me. “Maria says I’m good at home too.”
I laughed, but the guilt was strong tonight. “Okay, let’s go sell some real estate.”
We entered the half-empty restaurant and picked out the guys immediately since they were waving to us. I had my computer bag slung over my shoulder, proof I was here for work and not some social occasion. I’d barely sat down when the waitress appeared to get drink and food orders.
“I’ll have a coffee, no cream, lots of sugar. She’ll have a lemonade and French fries.” After she departed to grab our drinks, I began to pull out my laptop. The minute Bodhi saw it, he grinned and shook his head. “Come on, tater tot,” he urged as he reached for her hand. “Let’s go out on deck and watch the fishing boats return.”
“My name’s Penelope,” she objected.
Bodhi laughed. “I know that, but I’m still going to call you tater tot.”
I turned to Max. “Looks like you aren’t the only one in your family to give annoying nicknames.”
“Come on, Vicki is an obvious nickname. Why do you hate it so much?” His brow furrowed.
“My ex-husband called me that whenever we were fighting, his way of belittling me. So, excuse me if it rubs me the wrong way.” I huffed as glared at him.
“So, you’d prefer tater tot?” he teased.
“I’d prefer Victoria. Can we get to business, please? Penelope has school in the morning.” I stared at him evenly while waiting for my laptop to boot up.
Max seemed to have sobered. “Yes. Let’s talk business.”
11
Max
I told her everything I was looking for. An empty building on the boardwalk large enough to fill a decent amount of the town. I explained that my little brother was going to run the bar and we needed an excellent location. My goal was to ensure the establishment would be popular enough that people would be spilling out of the doors in the summer while still raking in enough business during the slow winter months, when tourism wasn’t as prevalent. I wanted high ceilings so we could hang flat screens up. I wanted a dance floor. I wanted a kitchen. And I wanted a section filled with booths in alcoves for couples who wanted
something more secluded.
When I finished laying it all out, she stared at me.
“There are three different spaces available that I would be happy to show you tomorrow,” she told me. “I don’t know if any of them have high ceilings so we might need to work with a contractor. Actually, I’m thinking of all those spaces you’ll need the contractor for everything.” Her eyes jumped to mine as her fingers continued to fly over her laptop. “I’m not trying to screw you out of more money, but you should be aware that a lot of these spaces are fixer-uppers. There hasn’t been a new business on the boardwalk in years.”
“Fair enough.” I took a drink of my beer. “I’m going to assume you know a good contractor who won’t screw me?”
She nodded. “Will,” she replied. “The same guy who designed and built the property you bought today.”
I nodded my head. “He seems to know what he’s doing,” I agreed.
There was a moment of silence between us as the waiter brought out her coffee and Vicki’s daughter’s food. She kept clacking away on her outdated laptop. She really should update that thing. That laptop looked at least five years old, if not older. Then again, this town looked fifty years in the past.
“So,” she said, taking a break from her computer to dose her coffee with a ridiculous amount of sugar. Surprising choice. I thought she would go for straight black. “When is Bre coming?”
I tilted my head to the side at the way she phrased her question. I totally forgot that Bre would be showing up tomorrow. Once I was reminded of that, I realized there was something to her tone, something that made me pause.
“Why are you so fascinated with Bre?” I asked. I took another sip of my beer, looking at her as I crossed my arms over my chest. “Is it the whole competition thing? Are you worried that she’s coming over to your turf?”
“Actually,” she said in a frustrated or annoyed tone, I couldn’t tell which one, “it’ll be nice to speak to someone who knows the market.”
Liar. She was lying. She sounded like she was speaking through gritted teeth. It was one of her tells.
I snorted. “Nice try, Vicki, but you’re not as good at telling tales as you are at selling houses,” I told her. “And surprisingly enough, those are two different things.”
“I know,” she snapped, going back to her computer.
“Can you do me a favor?” I asked. “Look, I get that we’ve talked business, meaning I can write this dinner off on my taxes, which I’m looking forward to. But can you stop working, put your laptop away, and order something more than just coffee? I don’t know much about parenting, but your daughter has done nothing but stare at you since you sat down and I think if you just spend some time with her -“
“Please don’t tell me you’re going to give me advice on how to be a parent,” she snapped. She shut the screen of her laptop down and put it in her bag. “I know how important it is to spend quality time with my kid. I get it. But quality time doesn’t pay the bills, okay? Quality time isn’t going to put food on our table or keep a roof over our heads. I have to work because my ex can’t keep a goddamn job and has the nerve to threaten me with child support.” Her mouth dropped open when she realized what she said and her face turned the same shade as her hair.
I raised a curious brow. “Would it make you feel more comfortable if I told you what I’m going through now?” I asked. I didn’t wait for her to respond before jumping. “My father thinks I’m in control of my siblings, so he had me leave work yesterday in order to drive all the way down here to ‘talk some sense’ into Bodhi, the big child currently supervising the little child. Like I’m his nanny.” I rolled my eyes and took a long gulp of beer. “I mean, I’m glad my father trusts me enough to do that, but sometimes I feel like I’m forced to be his parent rather than his brother. And he looks at me like he hates me. And I know he doesn’t. It’s the same look he’d give my father if my father actually said something to him ever.”
I looked back at Victoria who had a strange glimmer in her eyes, like she was seeing me for the first time.
“And to get back at your father, you decided to buy your brother a bar?” she asked.
I shook my head. “Yeah, it sounds nuts when you say it out loud,” I admitted. “Regardless of my issues with my father, Bodhi needs direction. He needs some kind of commitment. He has made it abundantly clear that he’s not leaving this place, so I figured okay, this place needs a bar, why can’t Bodhi run it? Once everything else is taken care of, I can return home. I just...I want to make sure Bodhi is okay.”
Victoria smirked. “Because as much as he annoys you, you care,” she stated.
Before I could respond, the devil and tater tot came back, excited to see the food. It saved me from admitting that she was right.
12
Victoria
* * *
Max Rogers wasn’t who I thought he was. It only became more obvious the more time we spent together. I watched his face as we talked. “Will Bre help design the bar too?” I tensed even as I asked because somehow, I knew I wouldn’t want to spend more time with her than was absolutely necessary.
He shook his head. “She’s strictly residential. She has done my condo in the city, my father’s house in the suburbs, and a plethora of less personal projects.”
I eyed him carefully. “So, you met through work?”
Bodhi laughed. “She was Isla’s best friend growing up.”
I could feel my cheeks turn pink and saw the guys exchange looks. Then I intentionally sipped my coffee leisurely while I struggled to patiently wait for an introduction to this new female who had been dragged into the conversation.
Bodhi smirked. “She’s wondering who Isla is. Look at her.” He elbowed his brother. “I’ve never seen her look like this before. You sure do know how to get under a woman’s skin.” He chuckled.
“Think I should tell her?” Max asked playfully. “I’m rather inclined to let her suffer. I think she’ll hold it together. We’re in public. She had an audience. And her daughter is inches from her side.”
“Good Lord, stop,” I grumbled. If you don’t want me to know who Isla is, don’t tell me. What do I care?” I huffed as I turned my attention to Penelope. “Don’t overindulge. Maria said you already ate and I don’t want you to get a sick tummy.”
“I bet Victoria’s tummy is already in knots. I bet that’s why she didn’t eat. You know she hasn’t had dinner yet.” Bodhi nodded his brother’s direction.
“You’re right.” Max frowned and stared across the table at me. “Have you eaten? You look pale. And thin.” His brow furrowed. “Listen, I have big plans for you, Tori. Can I call you Tori? I know Vicki bothers you and Victoria feels too formal for someone I plan to build a long-term relationship with.”
“Bre’s full name is Breanna. Max chopped her name up when he was in high school.” Bodhi sighed. “I’d go with Tori, if I were you. He’s determined to call you something besides Victoria and I think that’s a really nice option.”
I swallowed hard and nodded numbly.
“Oh, and Isla is my twin sister. Bre has been around so long, she’s like another sibling.” Bodhi grinned. “No one to worry about.”
I stared into my mug. “I wasn’t worried,” I lied.
“Do you think I can trust her? She lies like a rug,” Max joked.
“Max, you know why she’s lying. Nothing nefarious, dude. Be nice to her.” Bodhi nudged his brother. Then he murmured in a sing-song voice, “You know you like her.”
At his brother’s words, Max smirked and the tips of his ears turned pink. “Bodhi, be quiet,” he hissed.
Somehow, seeing his reaction helped me relax. I could work with this man. He wasn’t all bad. “Tori is a much better nickname. Thank you.” My head tilted and I smiled at them.
“She doesn’t eat much,” Penelope announced in between stuffing her mouth with fries.
“Well, that’s not good,” Max remarked. “By the way, how do you feel about being
called tater tot?”
My daughter shrugged. “My father tries to call me Penny. I hate that, but I like tater tot.” She grinned.
“Hey, tater tot, when your mother eats, what does she like?” Max asked conspiratorially.
Part of me wanted to interrupt and stop their conversation, but I quickly realized he was trying to bond with my daughter and not use her, so I sat back and watched.
Penelope’s brow scrunched up. “Hm. Here? I don’t know what they have, but she likes salad and chicken. Sometimes she eats baked potatoes. Mommy makes the best grilled chicken.” She smiled proudly at me.
“Thank you, sweet girl.” I leaned over and kissed the top of her head while giving her a quick hug.
Seconds later, Max flagged down our waitress. “Do you have some kind of grilled chicken dinner with a baked potato and salad?”
The young woman nodded. “We do, sir. Would you like one?”
Gesturing toward me, Max announced, “That is for the beautiful woman across from me.” He smiled and stared me straight in the eye. “She needs a decent meal she doesn’t have to cook for a change.” The waitress nodded and disappeared to place the order.
My cheeks warmed as I met his gaze. “Thank you, Max.”
“Don’t thank me yet. You haven’t eaten, nor have you heard my biggest plans for you yet.” He winked. “This weekend, let’s look at some property in Seattle.”
I bit my lower lip. “Maria usually needs more notice.”
“Who’s Maria, and why is she in our business?” Max sighed.
“The woman who does light housekeeping and watches Penelope after school,” I responded weakly.
“Why would you need Maria?” He folded his hands on the table and leaned closer.
“Well, so I can show you property.” I was growing frustrated with his refusal to understand how things worked. “It’s not very professional for me to bring my child to work with me.”