There wasn’t a chair for me, but he didn’t seem to care. He hooked his arm around my waist and dumped me on his lap. Not sure why he thought I was his personal rag doll. And I tried not to love it every single damn time.
He held his cell so I could see it. “Listen to this from Harry. ‘The Tide people want you, for fuck’s sake. Pick up the damn phone.’” Gage shook his head. “Not only that, but they want me to do commercials.”
Tish laughed. “Covered in grease and,” she snapped her fingers, “look at how white!”
Dare just shook his head. “My brother in commercials.”
I blinked and my gaze jerked to Gage’s face. “Tide? Isn’t that a big deal?”
Gage shrugged. “They tried to get me before, but I was tied up with my last sponsor. Their promotional schedule is ridiculous. I’d never leave my old trailer.”
“That’s for damn sure.” Dare grunted. “You’d barely get to drive with their program.” He took a bite of his club sandwich.
I played with the soft hair at the nape of Gage’s neck. Just as I was getting used to him being around everything was shifting. I tried to smile as they talked about race schedule things I didn’t understand. The entire time, Gage kept fiddling with the hem of my shirt. Little absent brushes that made me want to push him away.
Luckily, Macy came by with her trusty bussing tray. “How is everything?”
Tish sat back in her chair. “If you don’t tell me what’s in this coffee, I’m going to—”
“What? Not come back? Good luck with that, cayenne.”
Tish blew out raspberries. “Nothing but haterade out of you.”
Man, evidently Macy liked Tish a lot. She already had a nickname. Too bad Tish didn’t know Macy’s nicknames usually included a bit of a clue on the ingredients to their particular blend of coffee. Then again, there was always something to her coffee that the proprietress would never fess up to. Even a few purported “supertasters” couldn’t figure out what was in her drinks.
Another of the angles I wanted to talk to Macy about. To play up her special blends—both drinks and popcorn. I bet I could sell her popcorn on a website. I figured my kid would come out looking like a peanut covered in cheddar and caramel with how much I ate the stuff. Either that or my kid would never eat it.
“I hear you and Ry are talking about working together.”
Macy glanced at me, then Gage. “Yeah, I’m going to use her and abuse her. Hope you don’t mind.”
“She’s got tons of ideas. Wait until you hear about the movie—”
I tugged on his hair and he stopped talking. He shot me a look. “Gage talks too much.”
“What about movies?” Macy asked absently as she cleared the table.
I swallowed down my nerves. “I’ll tell you later.”
Macy paused and gave me one of her hard looks. In true Macy fashion, she didn’t say a thing. Just finished her job and gave a halfhearted smile before she headed back to the main counter.
“Friendly, isn’t she?” Tish quipped.
“One of the few people on this fucking street who doesn’t talk a body to death.” Dare filched the last bagel chip from Gage’s plate.
Gage tightened his hold on my hip when I tried to stand up. “Why did you stop me?”
“Because I haven’t even worked with her for a day yet. Maybe I could ease into the subject of my ideas for her business.” This time, I did break away. “Speaking of. If I want to actually have a paycheck, I should go over there and get to work.” He frowned but let me go. “Have fun with your lunch.”
My belly was jangling with all the new information and the raucous laughter coming from their table. Even Dare seemed amused by Tish. The woman who could effortlessly talk to both of them about car things. All of the things I would never be able to do. Partly because I didn’t care, to be honest.
But it also wasn’t really in my wheelhouse. Since I’d moved to Crescent Cove, I barely drove my car. Everything was in walking distance. And as spring started crawling out of the rainy season, it made even less sense to drive anywhere unless I had to go to one of the surrounding towns. When that happened, I was usually with Gage.
Or at least I had been. Would that change now?
Gage waved before he left with his crew. I’d gotten used to his undivided attention, and I wasn’t wild about the niggle of unease mixed with jealousy. As if my brain wasn’t clogged with enough to worry about now, I had to deal with that?
Calm the hell down, Ry, and do your job.