Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 89238 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 446(@200wpm)___ 357(@250wpm)___ 297(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89238 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 446(@200wpm)___ 357(@250wpm)___ 297(@300wpm)
“So cringe,” he seconds.
“How is that cringe?” I ask genuinely.
“If you have to ask,” Amanda says, then bends, grabs some chocolate bars from the cabinet, and adds them to the display case.
I look at Kenji with question marks in my eyes.
He whispers no idea.
“Hey Els. I have to finish my application for art school next week. Can you look at it later?” Amanda asks, having already moved on.
“Of course,” I say, relieved I know the answer to that question.
Then her smile is downright devilish. “Since I want to be done with most of it before tomorrow night and your much-needed date.”
Kenji hoots. “Little sister knows best.”
She does since I do need a date. Badly.
4
THE FASHION INTERVENTION
Gage
That was so unlike me.
Not the way I asked her—I wasn’t kidding when I told her I go after what I want. I just haven’t wanted to go on a date for a very long time.
Life is messy enough. I didn’t need to make it messier by asking out a customer. Or, really, by tracking down that customer, going to her business, and buying up half the store to ask for a date for the next damn night.
There’s just something about her though.
So, here I am, freshly showered and dressed in a T-shirt and jeans. I just let my brother into my little townhome in Russian Hill when he arrived a few minutes ago. But I need a better shirt to take out Elodie. Problem is, as I check out my uninspired closet now on a Friday evening, I’m not sure I have a style at all. As I’m staring at the sea of navy, black, and gray Henleys—all bartender gear—I mutter, “What the hell do I even wear?”
As if I’ve summoned a genie or two, Eliza and Zane stride into my bedroom from the living room.
“We heard your cry,” Zane announces, towering over my little girl.
“Don’t worry, Dad. We can help,” my eleven-going-on-thirty-year-old declares as my little brother smooths a hand down his trim, purple button-down with tiny cacti illustrations on it. The dude knows how to dress snappy. “You should always come to me for fashion advice,” he offers.
Zane’s the first baseman for the San Francisco Dragons, which means he’s busy nearly every day and night during the summer. But with the season over, he and his partner are taking off soon for a long European vacation, so he’d already offered to host Eliza at his place tonight before I even asked Elodie on a date.
“Then help me out,” I say to him, eager for some fashion guidance.
Eliza sets a bossy hand on Zane’s forearm. “My dad needs something to impress Elodie, okay? This is his first date in a year. Find something that says he’s not wearing the same boring clothes he wears every night to work.”
This kid knows me too well.
Zane smiles as they reach the closet. “I’ll find something perfect for the man who bought five million chocolates from her already.” He shoots me a curious stare. “What was that about? Are you already in love?”
I scoff. Loudly. “No. This is just a date.”
“A date you must have really wanted,” Zane adds as he flicks through my shirts with the confidence of a man who knows exactly what he’s looking for.
Yeah, well. There’s no point denying that. And I’ll never live down the five million chocolates, but hell—I wanted Elodie to know I wasn’t just some dude amused by a sex toy. I wanted her to know I meant it when I asked her out. I wanted to impress her.
For one date.
“But it can’t go anywhere. I’m too busy with expansion plans. I heard back from the landlord this afternoon. Celeste said she wants to see my marketing plans before she finalizes the deal for the place in the Marina,” I concede, but that also means I need to put something fantastic together to impress the woman, who’s picky when it comes to who she’ll do business with. These days, money isn’t always the answer. Marketing often is the trump card.
“Not worried. You know how to bring in the customers,” Zane says, then stops his clothing hunt to pat my cheek. “With that Archer charm.”
I roll my eyes. “Charm doesn’t pay the bills.”
“I think you’re charming,” Eliza pipes in. Instinctively, I run a hand over her hair, styled in two soft brown braids.
“And you’ll put that charm to good use,” Zane says. “Just look at what you’ve done with Sticks and Stones in the last few years. You’ve made it a go-to destination. Ping-Pong, pool, and shuffleboard—you can’t get bored there. Not to mention you’ve got good food and good service.”
That’s worked well for now. But you just never know. Will that be enough for Celeste to grant me the second spot? “I could add more bar games,” I say, lasering in on the hoops I need to jump through. “We don’t have room now to expand in Sticks and Stones. But there’s an outdoor space in the Marina. I could convert it for bocce ball.” I can already see it—string lights illuminating a court, picnic tables next to them.