Gifted Connections 1

“Yes,” Drake said.

She stared at him awhile longer. “Are you treating me like a charity case?”

His ears turned red, but he replied, “No.”

Her eyes narrowed, but then she shrugged. “Okay. I’ll get dressed really quick.”

When she went into the bathroom, I mouthed, “Thank you.” He was such a softy.

My mouth dropped open as we pulled up into a freshly paved parking lot that was surrounded by older warehouses and in the middle of it all, was the restaurant. Which apparently had been a warehouse at one point too. It looked like this was once an industrial town, but it was now being revamped.

The sign above the door was a simple ? with the word We above it and the number 7 below it. I looked at Drake, but he shook his head like he didn’t want to talk about it.

We went inside, and I immediately fell in love with the ambiance. Exposed beams and tall floor-to-ceiling windows pay homage to what it once was. Two rows of benches sat on both sides of the waiting area, across from each other. A hostess stand separated the two. An expansive bar took up the right side of the large area, and booths lined the left of the room. Straight back to the left were double swinging doors, which I assumed was the kitchen. To the right, there was a decent-sized stage. In the middle of the room, several boxes were stacked high. Construction workers milled around everywhere installing lights, grouting tile in the restrooms, and finishing several other projects. Men behind the bar looked preoccupied with installing lines for the taps. It was controlled chaos.

Remy came through the double doors, deep in conversation with a man in a fla

nnel shirt with the sleeves rolled up on his forearms, jeans that had seen better days, a pencil tucked behind his ear, and a clip board in his hands, furiously scribbling as he listened to Remy.

“Remington Murphy,” Rachel breathed in awe.

“How-,” I began but stopped. She would have known him from the videos.

Rachel had a sarcastic humor as I found out on the drive here. She had been witty and seemed to like to tease Drake. I liked her.

“Please, tell me he’s single,” she looked up at me hopefully.

I felt a sharp pang in my chest of jealously and I told myself I had to get a grip. He was my connected, but I had already told them they didn’t have to stay true to me. “Isn’t he a bit old for you,” I tried to laugh instead.

She sighed. “The age of consent is sixteen and I consent! If not, I’ll wait,” she shrugged.

Drake laughed at her eagerness.

Remy saw us at that point and headed our way. I could feel his eyes look me up and down as if he was ensuring I was in one piece. “Drake, Blake, and this must be Rachel,” Remy said warmly.

I guess he had a charming and polite side when he wanted to. He wasn’t his normal broody, somewhat uncommunicative self.

“Yes, I’m Rachel,” Rachel quickly shot out her hand. “And I’m single, very single.”

A small smile was on the curve of his lips and he seemed a little confused at her words. “Well, okay, nice to meet you, very single Rachel.”

Drake chuckled quietly at my side. “So, how can we help you?”

“You girls ever use a drill?” Remy asked as he went over to the pile of boxes.

We both nodded.

“Great,” Remy said. “Can you start assembling these tables?”

“Sure,” we both said in unison and got to work.

I tried to hide my winces of pain, but eventually the guys had noticed. They had gone to work carrying boxes of liquor out to the bar and unloading them into the cabinets.

“What’s wrong?” Remy frowned as he headed over to me, as Rachel and I carried another table over to the designated areas.

I brushed my hair out of my eyes, “Nothing,” I said offhandedly.

He looked at me with narrowed eyes and crossed his arms over his broad chest.