“Oh,” she gasped.
If Parker was expecting her to say something more, he would be disappointed. Lila and Mason made their way over to their table, basically interrupting the flirtiest food tasting ever.
“And?” Mason asked, all smiles and more than a little confidence. “It was all amazing, wasn’t it?”
“It was,” Parker answered. “You two make one hell of a good team.”
Mason beamed at Lila. “Told you. And the spicy sliders?”
“They are a must. I polished them off, but the delicate flower over there found them too hot.”
“I didn’t!” Jade argued. “They surprised me, that’s all.”
“Sure,” Parker teased. “Honestly, everything we tasted was amazing. I’m surprised we even do a tasting anymore, seeing as how Moony’s always sponsors and caters Beach Day.”
Jade shrugged. “It’s tradition. We do a lot of things in this town in the name of tradition.”
“Besides,” Lila added. “Folks like seeing this tasting happening. It gets them all excited about Beach Day. Case in point …” Lila turned and smiled at Mrs. Francis, who was eating a bowl of shredded carrots. “Mrs. Francis hasn’t stopped talking about anything else since she came in. She’s been watching you two tasting everything and giving us a fairly hilarious commentary. When she saw you taking the spicy slider, she wanted to take a video of it. Good thing all the tech is down right now. Apparently, it was too much for you.”
Jade rolled her eyes. “I won’t live that down, will I?”
“Nope,” Parker answered. “But really, you two, you should be very proud of what you’ve made here. I can honestly say that I’m very much looking forward to this famous Beach Day.”
“It’ll be the best yet,” Lila said. “I heard that you rented a bouncy castle for the kids.”
Parker’s jaw dropped down, his eyes going wide. “How can you have heard that?”
Lila laughed. “Seriously? You have so much to learn about us here in Half Moon Key. Nothing is a secret. Everything gets around. Remember that.” She added a wink before taking Mason’s arm and dragging him away.
“But … what?” Mason was asking.
“Hush, Mason. Don’t you see what’s happening …“
Jade never did get to hear the end of that sentence because the couple vanished inside of the kitchen.
“They’re a fun pair,” Parker said under his breath.
“Who? Mason and Lila?”
Parker shook his head before nudging his chin at the other couple across from them at the other booth. Jade couldn’t help but smile.
“Oh, those two? You’ll get used to their antics soon enough. Just don’t ever think you can interrupt to be the hostage negotiator.”
Parker’s eye widened. “Hostage negotiator? Huh?”
She giggled. “The booth. They are always fighting over thebooth.”
“What’s so special about that booth?” he asked, looking around a few other booths that were slowly being vacated by the steadily decreasing number of dinners.
“Honestly? No one knows. It’s something they have going on between them.”
“I recognize the sheriff, but who is she?”
“That’s Alana Wixx. She owns the shop on Main Street.”
“Wixx,” he said, nodding. “Right. Makes sense. Candle shop?”
Jade shrugged. “Sort of. There’s more to it than that.”