Jade pointed toward a black-haired woman who stood at the cash register behind the counter. He had met Lila. She was a kind person, and he hoped that her chef boyfriend … the one who had caused the drama with the other pack of panthers … was worth the trouble.
He sure made some good pancakes.
“We actually have to come back here around dinner time,” Jade explained. “Moony’s is always one of our biggest food sponsors. They don’t give us the food for free, but there are some serious discounts. But this year is Mason’s first year. He has some suggestions about what we could serve. I want to see what he comes up with.”
“Yeah, if his pancakes are any indication, we have to see what else he can whip up.”
She beamed at him. “Awesome. So glad you agree with me.”
He returned her smile. “But what are we doing between now and then?”
“Believe it or not, we have to head out of Half Moon Key. There are no tent rentals here in town, so we have to go out there.” She waved her hand over her shoulder.
“That’s quite the drive,” he pointed out. “I’m assuming we’re taking one car?”
She nodded. “I think that’s for the best, yeah. Besides, while I’m driving, you can read over the binder so you can see everything we need to do.”
He frowned at her and popped another bite of his pancake into his mouth. “And what makes you think that you’re driving?”
“Because you need to catch up. Oh, not to mention, I’m the one who lives here. I know the way. Don’t be all male about this, Parker. It isn’t a good look.” She slid another bite of pancake off her fork and into her mouth.
If Parker was going to argue with her, the blood flow issues he was having cut him right off.
SIX
JADE
Jade was surprised that Parker didn’t put up a bigger fight to drive them out of town. He was such a male that she had fully expected him to throw her over his shoulder before stomping to a big pickup truck that would need to be fueled up twice to get to where they were going.
But no. That’s not what Parker had done.
He had surprised her by following her to her vehicle after they paid for the best pancake breakfast ever.
“You drive this?” he asked, looking at the old school convertible. His mouth was agape, and his eyes blinked rapidly.
“Yeah,” Jade beamed with pride. “Her name is Elizabeth. Isn’t she a beauty?”
He chuckled. “Sorry, did you just say that you named your carElizabeth?”
“I did, yeah. She deserved an old-school Hollywood name. Don’t you think it suits her?” She ran a hand on the sleek and pure red paint job glimmering in the sunlight. Jade kept her pride and joy shiny and clean during the summer months. Really, having a convertible in Half Moon Key was a bit foolish.
“It does suit her, yeah. Though how do you expect me to focus on that binder of yours when the top is down?”
Jade laughed. “I don’t know. Figure it out, big guy.” She sat in the driver’s seat and quickly turned on the motor.
The sound of the engine roaring to life gave her a thrill like it always did when she was sitting in Elizabeth.
“Are you gonna tell me the story behind this car?” Parker asked as they drove out of Half Moon Key.
“There is no story, really. This car used to belong to my dad. He and my mom would go to Lover’s Lane in it. They also went on a whole bunch of road trips in it together. It’s part of their history. When he wanted to sell it because he couldn’t keep on taking care of the maintenance, I bought it from him. Now, when Elizabeth needs work, Dad sits in the garage while I work. He tells me what to do, and I do it.”
Parker grinned at her. “That sounds wonderful.”
“Yeah, thanks. It is.”
“So you’re close to your parents, then?” he asked.
Jade nodded. “Oh, yeah. I guess it comes with the territory. I’m an only child, and I know they wanted to have more kids, but they couldn’t. So all of the love and energy my parents wanted to pour into a bunch of kids got poured into little old me.”