“You’re Levi’s boss,” Luke announced, and the woman’s gaze softened. Both she and Luke gave him an immediate smile that somehow eased his nervousness.
“Yes, I am. It’s nice to see you,” he said and loosened the death grip he had on the top of the chair in front of him.
“Do you work here?” she asked.
“No, not at all,” Thane said while extending his hand across the table to Luke. The boy hesitated like maybe he wasn’t exactly sure what to do, but he finally lifted his hand and shook Thane’s. Thane then reached for Logan’s hand as the kid unwound himself from the cute blond girl staring up at him with big blue eyes. Thane got a closer look at the brother he hadn’t seen before. Logan was more mature-looking than Luke, manlier. “I’m Thane Walker. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“Oh, my bad. This is Logan, my brother. Alison, his girlfriend. This is Linda, and I’m Luke,” Luke explained. Thane nodded at Alison, but it was the boys who held his attention. As much as he’d thought about Levi, he’d also considered both these guys. On so many levels, he felt like he already knew them, yet he didn’t at all. When he was afraid he’d stayed silent longer than appropriate, he forced his gaze away from Logan and took Linda’s hand. “It’s nice to meet you all. Where’s Levi?”
“He’s out in the car, looking for a check stub. We get a discount,” Luke happily added, like that was some sort of spectacular prize. Thane couldn’t help the smile that tugged at the corners of his lips after hearing Luke’s excited announcement. He nodded in response to Luke’s enthusiasm as the waitress came forward to place the drinks in front of each person. He pulled his wallet from his back pocket, handing over his magnetic strip employee identification card.
“Does that mean when we move to Maryland that we could eat out all the time for half price?” The innocently asked question turned Thane’s smile in to a full-fledged grin, and he chuckled at the idea. Heartfelt emotions landed on his chest.
He was completely taken with this boy’s brother, there was no way around it, but he was quickly growing attached to Levi’s little brothers. Luke was brilliant to come up with such a plan to help their family out.
“Their meal’s on me,” he said to the waitress.
She looked down at the card, her gaze quickly darted up, and her face instantly changed. “I’ve seen your pictures on the newsletters.”
“Don’t worry. I don’t write all that mess. It’s my assistant. Could you let the front-end manager…” Thane’s words trailed off as he involuntarily looked toward the front door. That unexplained and somewhat unnerving inner pull happened again as Levi came through the front doors. The guy was stunning. A visual breath of fresh air, and like normal, any time Thane caught a glimpse of Levi, everything faded into the background. There was something inimitable about Levi Silva, and it drew Thane, like a moth to a flame.
“I’ll get him,” the waitress said, pulling Thane’s gaze away from Levi just seconds after Levi’s eyes landed on him.
“Are you dining alone?” Linda asked, extending her hand to the available seat. “We have an open seat.”
Technically, he shouldn’t crowd in on the family dinner, but he really wanted to spend time with Levi and get to know the Silva family. Thane found himself nodding his confirmation to Linda. “I’m eating alone. I don’t want to intrude, but I’d love the company. I’ve been traveling for days.”
“You aren’t intruding at all,” Luke, his new best friend, said. “Anyone who creates a restaurant like this is a friend of mine.’’
The sincerity in Luke’s unguarded words caused them all to laugh.
“He can’t stay.” Levi’s voice echoed over the laughter as he approached the table. Thane’s heart skipped a beat, but the challenge he’d heard in those words cinched his decision. His whole week had been a clusterfuck. An unexpected late season snowstorm had grounded him for three days. His luggage had been rerouted to God only knew where, and his office files were MIA with the shipping company. Levi wasn’t going to be the cause of anymore obstacles thrown Thane’s way. He was behind in his get-the-guy mission, and he wasn’t wasting a single second more. Besides, no matter how much the guy tried to hide it, Nathaniel knew for a fact Levi was into Thane.
“Oh, but I can. And I’d love to.” Thane looked Levi square in the eyes and pulled out the chair in front of him, taking the seat directly across from Linda. Which also happened to be the one right beside Levi’s. As he scooted himself up to the table, Levi came to an abrupt halt at the head of the table. Thane ignored Levi’s reaction and looked between Logan and Luke. “Thank you. I eat alone all the time. This is so much better.”