“Because I miss out on so much by working every night.” It was the truth.
Her mother smiled. “Ah. I understand. When do we get to meet him?”
Him?Oh God. Her mother thinks this is about a man? Well it was better than the truth. “Someday Mama.”
Her mother turned back to setting up the table and was singing to herself. There was no sign of her distressed mood from earlier. Everything seemed to be falling into place. Luck? Fate? Who knew? She was just glad that tonight was going to be a lot better than she’d imagined. If anything, things were looking up, not just for her, but for Emily as well.
As she picked up the silverware and started to help, one thought came to mind. Maybe the speed dating isn’t such a silly idea.
Saying no wasn’t an option when Charles called a meeting. As one of the owners of Lawson Steel, Dylan didn’t want to miss a beat on what was going on. But when he learned the location for the gathering and that Charles was bringing his wife Rosslyn, he no longer felt as though there was an issue. Rosslyn looked like an overblown balloon, waiting to pop. Charles sure as hell wouldn’t expose her to any undue stress.
That also meant any family member not showing up for this dinner might want to plan their funeral. His brother was on edge 24/7. It if wasn’t bad enough being CEO of Lawson Steel, he was doing everything he could to help Rosslyn with her newly acquired company, Grayson Corp. Dylan was a gambling man, but never would’ve bet Charles would be so intimately linked to the competition.
He may not have liked Maxwell Grayson, but Dylan had wanted him in prison, not dead. He wasn’t sure if Charles ever disclosed what they had planned for Maxwell. If Rosslyn did know, she didn’t seem to hold any resentment to the family. That was good, because family is exactly what she was now.
As he opened the door to the restaurant, he scanned the room looking for his brothers. Unfortunately, he seemed to be the first to arrive. A beautiful brunette approached him.
“Table for one?” she asked. He didn’t answer. There was something very familiar about her. As he stared at her she said, “You might be more comfortable at a table.” He heard her mumble, “One facing a wall.”
“You work here?” he asked.
She waved the menus in the air and said, “Great guess. And if you let me seat you, I can even take your order and bring you food too.”
Dylan didn’t like snarky, but then again, she probably didn’t enjoy being stared at either. “I’m sorry. I thought you were someone else.”
Shrugging, she said, “I guess I have one of those faces. Will you be eating alone this evening?”
He wished he was. Somehow, he had a feeling having her as his waitress would be much more fun if he were. “No. I’m meeting my family, however I don’t see any of them yet.”
“The Lawson family?”
He nodded. “At least I know I have the right place.”
She smiled and said, “You do. Follow me and I’ll show you to your table.” Once he was seated, she asked, “Can I get you something to drink while you wait?”
“I’m good for now.”
She put her hand on her hip and said, “You’re staring again.”
“You look so familiar.”
“I’ve been working here for years. My parents own the place.”
“Oh, you’re Sal’s sister.” Dylan had been here once before for lunch with his brothers. She wasn’t their waitress then. “But that can’t be it. You don’t look like Sal at all.”
“Thank God,” she laughed.
“I’m Dylan,” he said, not ready for their conversation to end. It was nagging at him. There was something about her eyes that drew him to her.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Sofia, the waitress. And if I don’t get back to work, that might not be the case for long. Please give me a shout if you change your mind about that drink.” Sofia placed the menu down on the table and hustled off to greet more customers entering.
Any hope of getting her alone again was over. The entire crew had arrived. When they came to the table, Rosslyn said, “We missed you in the limo.”
Gareth shook his head from behind her. Dylan replied, “Sorry, I didn’t want to hold you guys up.”
“Looks like we’re the ones who are late,” Charles said.
Rosslyn shot him a look and asked, “Is that a dig at me? It’s not my fault. The baby is going to come when the baby wants to.”