Beautiful Sacrifice (The Maddox Brothers, #3)(21)

They all dipped their heads in unison.

“Same,” Dalton said. “You’ve ruined me for the real stuff.”

“Be right back.” I spun around, trying to treat them like anyone else who had just come in off the street.

I returned to the bar, put together their Cherry Cokes, and carried the tray to table three with a polite smile.

“Thank you,” Dalton said.

Zeke hummed with satisfaction after taking a gulp from his Cherry Coke.

“Did Trex quit?” I asked, making sure not to make too much eye contact with Taylor.

Dalton, Zeke, and Taylor all traded looks.

Then Taylor addressed me, “Trex isn’t on our crew. We met him at our hotel.”

“Oh,” I said. “Are you ready to order? Or do you need more time?”

Zeke squinted at the menu. “You serve breakfast all day?”

“All day.”

“What is a crepe?” Zeke asked.

“It’s a very thin pancake. Phaedra serves hers filled with a soft hazelnut chocolate. Then she folds it, dusts it with powdered sugar, and then drizzles it with chocolate.”

“Yeah, I’ll have that,” Zeke said.

“Chicken wrap,” Dalton said. He handed me his menu, reminding Zeke to hand over his.

After some hesitation, I asked Taylor, “And for you?”

He lowered his menu and looked straight into my eyes. “I want to hang out again.”

“Pardon?” For a moment I mused that a second chance might be on the menu.

Taylor sat back and sighed. “I know what I said, but that was when I thought you were just playing hard to get. I didn’t actually know you were impossible.”

“I’m not … impossible. I’m a local. And you’re … not.”

Zeke smiled. “Do you have a boyfriend?”

“No.”

Dalton backhanded Taylor’s arm, and Taylor shot him a death glare.

Taylor let his menu fall to the table. “I didn’t mean it when I swore that I’d never ask you out again.”

I raised an eyebrow. “You didn’t mean to promise me something?”

He thought about that for a moment. “Right. I take it back.”

I made a face. “You can’t take back a promise. You think I’m going to agree to a second date with a vagrant who takes back promises?”

“You just said we went on a date,” Taylor said, a Cheshire Cat grin spreading across his face. His teeth seemed even whiter against the dirt on his face.

“The café is really busy today,” I said.

“I know,” Taylor said. “Just think about it.”

I looked up at the ceiling and then back at him, pointing at him with my pen. “No. Do you want the wrap, too?”

His grin vanished, and he crossed his arms, deflated. “Surprise me.”

“You got it.” I swiped Taylor’s menu and took the order back to Chuck.

“Did he ask you out again?” he asked.

“Yep. I said no.”

“Brutal,” he said, shaking his head at me.

“He just wants to hang out,” I said. “He’s not heartbroken or anything.”

“If you don’t like him, why do you look like you’re dying to giggle like a schoolgirl?” Chuck wiped his sweaty brow with his forearm.

“He’s from Eakins,” I said simply.

“Eakins? Like Eakins, Illinois, Eakins?”

“Yes.” I bit my lip.

“Does he know?”

“No, he doesn’t know. Phaedra asked the same thing. Why would I suddenly start telling everyone?”

Chuck shrugged. “Just asking. You know, Falyn … I’ve offered before—”

“No, Chuck. You’re not paying my way to Eakins. You already do too much.”

“How much money do you need? Can’t be much more now?”

“Nope. I’m almost there. Every time I’ve gotten close, something’s come up.”

“Like when you helped Pete buy tires?”

“Yep.”

“And when you paid that ticket for Kirby?”

“Yep.”

“And when you got sick a couple of years ago?”

“That, too.”

“Are you still paying on that hospital bill?”

“No, I paid it off a few months ago. Thank you.”

“You should let us help, Falyn. You’ve helped people, and this is important.”

“Yes, it is. That’s why I have to do it on my own.”

I looked at table three. Taylor glanced over at me, and we locked eyes for a moment.

“Or at least, mostly on my own.”

Chuck busied himself again with the soup. “That is going to be one pissed off young man when he figures out what you’re doing.”

My chest sank in. “I already feel bad enough.”

“Good. At least you still have a conscience.”

I looked down at my feet, feeling worse by the second. The high I’d felt moments before was completely replaced with guilt. “Did Phaedra go to the back?” I asked.

He nodded. “She’s making cheesecakes.”

“Oh,” I said, knowing it would be a while before I saw her.