The Billionaire and the Waitress

Michael looked over his shoulder as Emily pulled him forward. “That’s too bad he couldn’t join us. Rachel is supposed to be here soon. Thanks for letting her tag along. My little sister has been a bit lost since she got back into San Jose. Getting her out of that slummy excuse for an apartment will be good for her.”

“Anything to help,” Logan said with a shrug and a smile. “I haven’t seen little Rachel Knight since she was what, eleven? Does she still have an unhealthy obsession with Hello Kitty?”

Michael scowled and wiped a hand over his forehead. “Ugh, I hope not. No, her latest obsession was modeling, but that went bust. She’s in school now. All I want for her is to focus on the goal and graduate before she gets distracted by any other shiny things. If she could just get her degree, then maybe life wouldn’t be so hard.”

Logan led them to a round table with a heavy linen tablecloth and a fresh vase of white lilies in the middle. He pulled out a chair for Emily and she thanked him as he helped her to her seat.

“Why can’t you just give her a job in that huge building of yours?” Logan asked, his forehead wrinkling.

Last he knew, the Knight siblings were more than well off. Michael was a billionaire in his own right, but their family had plenty of dough growing up. It didn’t make sense to him that Michael’s little sister would be living in a cruddy apartment with no money. Shouldn’t she be the heir to a wealthy fortune?

“I did,” Michael growled, banging his fist on the table. “But she says she won’t take charity. She refuses money from our parents and won’t even let me get her a job. She’s so stubborn.”

“Don’t get him started.” Emily laughed as her blue eyes took in the white wainscoting around the dining hall and the elegant light fixtures hanging above them. “The Knights are all as stubborn as the last. It’s a wonder they don’t strangle each other sometimes, honestly.”

Michael sent her a dark look, but she just laughed again and leaned forward to kiss his cheek.

“Admit it, darling,” she said. “You’re a bit of a control freak.”

“I admit no such thing,” he replied, sucking in his cheeks to hide a smile. “As my lawyers often remind me, there is no fault if there is no admission. I plead the fifth.”

Logan laughed, feeling some of the strain from last week melt off his shoulders. He liked Emily Sevenson. She could keep up with Michael and match him blow by blow. He needed a woman like that. It was no wonder he’d fallen so hard and so fast for her.

“All right folks, you sit tight and I’ll go grab the starter wine,” Logan announced, eyeing the table one last time to make sure every last fork and spoon was in place. “I have an unoaked dry white wine on ice for the occasion. I’ll have a waiter bring out the beginning appetizers once our final guest has arrived.”

“Sounds lovely,” Emily said with a warm smile. “The place really is gorgeous, Logan. I think you’re going to have a great opening.”

He gripped the back of a chair and swallowed down his nervousness. “I really hope so. It’s been such a crazy mess. I’m afraid I’m so used to the business of pizza that I might not be good at anything else.”

“Well, you were one heck of a first baseman,” Michael said with a knowing nod of his head. “Don’t forget that. I’m sure the LA Suns would have to agree.”

Logan laughed and ran his hand through his short wavy blond hair. “Yes, can’t forget that. Baseball and pizza. Those are my skill sets. You sit tight. I’ll be right back.”

He ran down the hallway to the prep room and peeked in the kitchen to make sure there were no more fires that needed his attention. Everyone seemed hard at work, chopping up vegetables and frying the hors d’oeuvres to start off the evening. He backed out slowly, as not to disturb their work, and grabbed the bottle of wine he’d set out only a few minutes ago.

If only they could get through the rest of tonight without any major accidents, he could feel confident for their grand opening next week. If not, then he might have to kiss the money he’d sunk into this place goodbye and go hide in Bora Bora for a week to lick his wounds.

Wasn’t that what billionaires did? He wouldn’t know. He’d been focused on making his fortune for so long, he hadn’t really had the time to enjoy it.

He was just making his way back down the hall to the dining room when the heavy oak front door swung open and in strode a slender woman draped in a sleeveless floor-length teal organza gown with purple velvet trim. She had pulled her straight chestnut hair off her elegant neck and into a simple bun. Long earrings dangled from her ears like droplets of melting silver and her nude heels clicked on the hardwood floor.

Despite the fact that she no longer wore her black apron, Logan immediately recognized the beautiful waitress from his most recent fine-dining experience. His stomach clenched at the memory. He would’ve liked nothing better than to teach her scummy manager a lesson or two when he found him pinning her up against the wall, but she’d handled it wonderfully herself. After giving the guy a scathing lecture, she quit on the spot. The woman was far from helpless.

But what was she doing here?

Logan froze in the shadows of the hallway to watch as her dark chocolate eyes darted around the dining room and settled on something in the distance. A smile curved her generous lips and she held up an arm to wave at someone. Logan felt his heart stutter as Michael came into view and pulled the young woman into a hug. Suddenly, things were starting to make sense.

Gone was Michael’s little knobby-kneed sister who liked to follow him around and stick animal crackers in his hair. Standing in front of him was an elegant woman with fire in her eyes and a smile that outshone the San Jose summer sun.

Rachel Knight was all grown up and time had been good to her.

Chapter Three

“Come, join us at the table,” Michael said with a fond smile, offering Rachel an arm. “Logan’s just gone to fetch the wine. He’ll be right back.”

Rachel gazed curiously at the spacious dining room, taking in the elegant French decor and wide window panes lining the southern side. It was a gorgeous restaurant. Much better than the dark, musty environment of La Fete. She could work in a place like this. Maybe, Logan was hiring.

“How is Logan?” she asked, allowing her big brother to lead her to the table where