"So is that where you learned to flair bartend?"
“Max and I used it there, but we learned it at our aunt’s brother’s club. Devin Roarke."
My brow furrowed. "You're related to Devin Roarke? That's the Roarke family that owns the restaurants and clubs all around the world, right?"
He nodded. "Yes, my uncle Daniel, my dad's brother, married Devin's sister."
I sat back and studied him. "Is that a situation in which a rich family arranges a marriage between two prominent families?"
He laughed. "I suppose it looks that way, but no. The way my dad tells it, my Uncle Daniel and Devin had been best friends, but then my Aunt Bri needed help to open her own club because her father wasn’t supportive of her like he was to Devin. While working together, one thing led to another."
“So, your uncle got together with his best friend's sister?"
He grinned. “I know it sounds like a romance novel, doesn't it?”
I shrugged. After all, my brother got together with my best friend. "And what about your Uncle Devin? Was he angry?"
"I think he was miffed at first, but he got over it. His wife, Serena, has also been a big help to me and Max. She got her start in event planning." He looked down and laughed.
"What's so funny?"
"Well, this is going to sound like a soap opera, but apparently, Devin and Serena’s story is sort of like my dad and my mom’s story. They had this epic love affair that tragically ended. In both their cases, a parent didn’t want them together. That was all about a prominent snobby family. Anyway, years later, they were thrust back together—"
"Let me guess. They lived happily ever after." I shifted in my seat, feeling uncomfortable with the story. Was he telling it as a way to show that we could fix things between us and have our happily ever after? We couldn't. What broke us apart wasn't a snobby family member. Sam had made his choice.
He shrugged. "Well, yeah, but they both had kids when they reunited. Devin and my dad had no clue that they were fathers. I met my dad when I was five."
I remembered hearing that about his family not long after we had gotten together. He’d recently shared the memory again the other day when he tried to explain why he had to leave with Sandra. In his father’s scenario, Sam and Sandra should be having a happily ever after. I wondered why they weren’t. No, I didn’t. I didn’t want to know anything about them.
He looked down, giving his head a quick shake, making me think he was thinking about what he did by leaving five years ago. He lifted his gaze to me, and for a minute, I thought he was going to try to tell me about Sandra again.
Luckily, our food came. The waitress set a large stack of pancakes, along with eggs and bacon, in front of Sam. I ordered an omelet with hash browns.
When our waitress left, Sam looked at me with such earnestness. "Do you think I'm too old for pancakes?"
The unexpectedness of it had me laughing. "I don't think anyone's ever too old for pancakes."
He grinned. "Right?"
As we ate our breakfast, we talked about starting our respective clubs. It wasn't just a safe topic of discussion. It was one we were both enthusiastic about.
By the time our breakfast finished, and we each paid for our own meal because it wasn't a date, I began to think that while Sam and I could never have what we had before, maybe we could be civil. Maybe even friends. Friends with benefits.
CHAPTERSEVENTEEN
Sam
I wasn't sure I had done the right thing by suggesting that Kate and I have a sexual affair. For one, she might've been offended, which thankfully, she hadn't been.
But also, by agreeing to a friends with benefits situation, I was setting myself up for constant heartache. I loved this woman. To be around her and know that she felt such disdain toward me even as she was attracted to me wasn't easy.
Unrequited love truly was a bitch. A stronger man might've walked away, but I wanted whatever she would give me, no matter how pathetic that sounded.
And deep down, I supposed I hoped that over time, if I didn't fuck things up, she'd forgive me.
Breakfast had turned out better than I thought it would, but we each stayed away from hot topics. Instead, we talked about mutual experiences and interests, which was mostly around running a club.
After breakfast, she headed to work while I ordered a rideshare to take me home. She hadn't given me an answer about whether or not she was interested in a sexual affair, and I didn't push it.