Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 76693 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 383(@200wpm)___ 307(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76693 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 383(@200wpm)___ 307(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
First off, it smells heavenly. A cooked garlic and onions scent permeates the air, making my stomach growl. There’s a small counter that has glass displays filled with various breads and desserts. Behind it, a tiny woman around Mom’s age roots around in a cabinet. The restaurant itself only has three tables and four booths. Along the walls, there are shelves filled with knickknacks, candles, and other small items that look to be for sale.
Soups and More.
I’m guessing all that stuff is the “more.”
“Hey, kids,” the woman says in greeting. “What can I get ya?”
Dempsey orders for the both of us and then ushers me over to a cozy booth near the big painted window.
“Why doesn’t she scrape that paint off?” I ask, gesturing to the window. “I bet she’d get a lot more business.”
Dempsey grunts and shakes his head. “Don’t.”
“Don’t what?”
“Start trying to figure out a way to help this lady get business. I can see your wheels turning. Do not, for the love of God, put anything on your socials. I’m serious. If this turns into some stupid trendy hangout, I’ll never forgive you.”
The woman brings over the drinks Dempsey ordered us—frothy rootbeer in frozen mugs—and promises to be back shortly with the daily soup special.
“I don’t put restaurants on there,” I remind him. “It doesn’t fit my aesthetic.”
“Thank fuck for your carefully culled aesthetic, whatever the hell that means.”
It’s no use explaining to my brother for the millionth time, so I ignore it and circle back to my terrible morning.
“I think I’m going to just drop the class,” I say with a sigh. “You saw what a prick that guy was. And to have to be partners with him? Gross.”
“I’m sure Dad will be so thrilled for you to drop out over a boy.” He snorts with laughter. “Can I be there when you tell him?”
“You’re as bad as Callum. Leave Dad alone. You know everything he does is out of love.”
“Just saying,” he continues, “I want to see his face when his little angel doesn’t do something perfect.”
“I hate you.”
“Nah, womb mate, you love me forever.”
“I just don’t get why this weirdo decided to hate on me.” I sip on my root beer and then frown at Dempsey. “He asked if I knew Mom. I think his beef is with her.”
Dempsey straightens, face contorting into a scowl. “Mom? What the fuck?”
“Right? I was just sure he was one of Callum’s old students or maybe you kicked his ass one time. You know, the usual Park family drama. But Mom? She’s harmless and sweet. Everyone loves her.”
“Callum doesn’t.”
“Because she dumped him to marry Dad. Understandable. But Two?”
“Two?”
“That’s this guy’s name. Two Sheridan.”
“Who names their kid Two?”
“Focus, Demps. Why does Two have beef with Mom?”
He pulls out his phone. “We could call and ask her.”
“No!” I say with a huff. “Don’t call her. Because, if you do, then Dad will get involved. If Dad knows this guy is messing with me, who knows what he’ll do.”
“Hmm,” Dempsey says in a teasing voice, “actually, I do. He’ll hunt down the guy, destroy him financially, and then lock you in your room forever so it doesn’t happen again.”
The tiny woman brings us two trays. On each is a piping hot bowl of soup and a fat, crusty French roll. We thank her and then I glower at my brother.
“Exactly,” I grumble. “I’ll figure this out on my own.”
“I could whip his ass.” He shrugs as though that will go over well with his cop fiancée. “I could even recruit Spencer to help.”
“Spencer would probably befriend him just to terrorize me.”
We stop the conversation for a moment to sample the hot soup. It’s savory, thick, and delicious. I see bits of rice, carrots, chicken, and other veggies. So tasty.
“Good choice,” I say around a bite, burning my tongue in the process. “This is really good.”
“Yeah, that’s why you can’t ruin it trying to ‘influence’ your cult followers.” He makes quotations with his fingers, grinning stupidly at me.
“I’m just being a baby about this, huh?”
“You’re always a baby, but you’re our baby.”
I flip him off, my mind still lingering on Two as I eat the tasty soup. The bread is warm and full of flavor. I can definitely see why Dempsey loves this place.
Eventually, we get on the topic of Beauty, Dempsey and Sloane’s new puppy, and he tells me about how she chewed up a pair of Sloane’s panties.
“She was pissed,” he says with a grin. “They were her favorite period panties.”
I curl my lip up. “TMI, Demps. Some stuff you just keep to yourself.”
He cracks up laughing and then polishes off his bowl. “I’m going to grab us some dessert. Be right back.”
As soon as he leaves, I decide to check in on my socials. I love looking at the analytics of each post or video to see how many people it reached and how many of those people interacted. Dempsey chats up the lady at the counter, so I decide to peek at my messages. Sometimes it takes me hours to get through them, so if I stay on it, checking in every couple of hours, I don’t drown in messages. Sure enough, I have nearly fifty that need going through.