Luck on the Line (31 page)
“There’s a table that wants to say hi.”
He groans. “I’m busy.”
“This is a really important table,” I say. “Trust me.”
So he washes his hands, but doesn’t swap out his jacket. He follows me out into the buzz of the restaurant. A glass crashes by the bar and I give Belle a warning glare to keep an eye on the green bartender.
James stops in his tracks when he sees the people waiting for him. Michael sits bouncing Dee on his lap. She has a butter roll in her mouth and gnaws at it with her tiny two front teeth. Then there’s Mickey, reluctantly picking at the Lucky Appetizer Sampler.
“Pa,” James says, really, truly startled. “You came.”
They don’t hug. They don’t look like the hugging type. Instead James sits and points to different dishes on the menu. His dad nods, and cracks a smile. His voice is gravely from years of smoking and drinking. “I expect 15% on all the dishes you stole from me, ah?”
James takes their order himself. There’s a new determination in his eyes that I recognize in my own. There are some people we try to please no matter how rocky the relationship is.
“How did you get them to come?” James asks, pulling me aside so we’re out of the way of the servers’ running back and forth. “They hate places like this.”
“Told them you were buying.”
“You’re amazing,” he tells me. He brushes the ends of my hair. “How did you get so amazing?”
I bask in the warmth of his sea-green eyes and the marquee lights behind us. “I dunno. I’m just lucky, I guess.”
This book was born over a round of drinks (or several) at Ryan’s Daughter on the Upper East Side. It would not have been possible without the brilliant minds of Natalie Horbachevsky and Adrienne Rosado. Also, without “Lucky” by Britney Spears.
To my Goodies for being the best friends a girl could ask for—especially Christine Higgins for your eagle beta-reading eye, and for letting me borrow some of your Irishness for James.
To the rockstar team at Diversion Books. Laura Duane for wanting this book in the first place, and making my life better one .gif at a time. Hannah Black and Brielle Benton for rocking marketing. Sarah Masterson Hally and the production team. Najla Qamber for the smexy cover.
DJ DeSmyter and
RT Book Reviews
Daily Blog for the cover reveal. To all the bloggers who read and review my work.
Amber Sweeney at Me My Shelf & I for doing my amazing swag designs and blog tour.
And always, to all my friends and family for their support. I’m a very lucky girl.
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