He could take care of it for her. “We’ll pick you up after work. I would ask what time your shift is, but I bet Ty has that written down somewhere.”
Ty gave him a grin and a thumbs-up.
Ty might be insane.
Lucy stood there looking cute and confused.
“You can take your breakfast back to your friends or you are free to join us. But unless you’re truly not hungry, you’ll eat the food Ty provided for you,” he said.
“Uh, I thought we decided you were picking up this one,” Ty reminded him. “We’re sharing all of the things.”
Lucy gasped slightly. “Do I have a say in this?”
“Sure. You can always say no.” He didn’t think she would though.
She picked up her plate and walked back to her table.
That felt a little like victory. Yeah, he did have something to offer.
“Dude, that was awesome.” That ridiculous grin was back on Ty’s face as Michael eased into the booth. “Usually she yells at me and I say how sorry I am even when I don’t know exactly what I’m apologizing for.”
They were going to have to work on that. It seemed like Lucy had been running that relationship for far too long.
Ty started to pick up the apple fritter.
“Hey, half of that is mine.” He was probably paying for Ty’s breakfast, too, after all.
Ty frowned. “But you don’t believe in breakfast dessert.”
He didn’t believe in a lot of things. It didn’t make them less true. “Get used to sharing, buddy.”
After all, they would be doing a lot of that.
Chapter Four
“Do you need to get ready?” Callie Hollister-Wright pulled the Trio apron over her head and tied it around her waist. Her chestnut brown hair was in a high ponytail, and she was brimming with enthusiasm. She only worked a few shifts a week at the bar her family owned, but she always seemed to enjoy it.
“I’ve got one last table. I think they’re almost ready to leave.” She gestured over where the group of the biggest douchebags the world had ever seen sat. “They look familiar. At least a couple of them do. Have they been here before?”
Callie glanced at the table, and her nose wrinkled. “They’re Bob Foster’s kids. He owns Foster’s Sports and Recreation in addition to about a hundred other companies. I think it’s called Foster Corp now and they’re one of those massive multinational companies Nell always protests, but around here they’re best known for sporting equipment.”
“The big box stores?” Lucy had certainly heard of them. She’d heard River and Ty talk about how crappy their products were and how they made it hard to order the truly good equipment. They came into a market, shoved all the mom and pop shops out, and then jacked up the prices when they had gotten rid of all the competition.
“Yes,” Callie replied. “He’s worth a couple of billion dollars. I heard they’re staying at their villa this week. I will never forgive Cole Roberts for coming up with the idea of the villas.”
“Don’t blame the buildings. They’re gorgeous,” Lucy said with a sigh of appreciation. “One day I want to stay in one.”
The villas were twelve elegantly decorated ski chalets located close to the lodge but with enough privacy that the people who stayed there could feel like they were a part of nature.
“Well, I wish he vetted the guests better. That group over there has been coming here a couple of years now, and while the dad is perfectly nice, the kids are assholes when he isn’t around,” Callie said with a frown. “I don’t know. I guess one of the daughters is all right. At least she tips. How long have they been here?”
“They’re three drinks in.” There were four people sitting at the table across the dining room. They were the perfect picture of overindulged twenty-somethings. Two women, two men, all dripping in designer wear that would feed and clothe her sisters for at least a year.
“They’ll still be here for a while then.” Callie leaned against the bar while Alexei Markov poured out beer, getting the perfect amount of foam on each. “So, I saw how you distracted me from my real job of getting information out of you. Are you going out with Tychael tonight?”
“What?”
Callie grinned, the expression lighting up her whole face. “Shannon overheard Ty saying that all duos need a name. He’s apparently trying to start a trend. Like instead of Rye and Max, Rachel should be able to call them Rax. I’ve taken to it.” She turned to the little window that looked through to the kitchen. “I love Nane. Or should I call you Zate?”
Zane Hollister’s handsome face was framed by the window. The man had a bunch of scars, but they did nothing to take away from how attractive he was. “Don’t even start that, baby. Although I like the idea of Calexei.”
“Do not to be doing this.” Alexei frowned their way. “I only start to properly be pronouncing the names. We do not need new ones. Also, shouldn’t they be thruple names? Calholexei?”
Callie shook her head. “No, that sounds like we’re trying to summon demons or weird alien creatures, and you know how that will go with Mel. I think we’re going to have to tell Ty this just won’t work out for him. But it could work for Lucy.”
She felt herself blush. “I wish Michael hadn’t asked me out in front of the whole dining room at Stella’s.”
“I didn’t think he asked you so much as challenged you,” Zane said. “At least that’s what I heard.”
She frowned Callie’s way. “I wonder who you heard that from?”
Although everyone had seen her being taken down by Michael, Callie was the world’s worst gossip.
It was Callie’s turn to blush. “It’s my only flaw.”
She grimaced and went to take the tray of beers over to table five. The tourists were out in droves this week, and the ski season didn’t truly start until this weekend when the Elk Creek Lodge had its opening party.
“Hey, I heard a rumor about you that has nothing to do with Ty or the crazy dude on the mountain.” Zane walked around from the kitchen. He had a dark apron wrapped around his waist that he wiped his hands on.
“He isn’t crazy.” He’d been very much in control of himself this morning. The way he’d stared down at her and called her out on her crap had actually done something for her. She had been acting like a brat. Deep down she’d always known someone was paying her breakfast bills, and it wasn’t some random stranger who wanted her to pay it forward. She’d known it was Ty. Forcing herself to acknowledge that had made her mad, lit some small anger in her about the fact that he was trying to change things now. He’d said no to her a long time ago, and she’d had to recognize that she might not be over that yet.
“Jury’s still out on that one. We all thought he would mourn for a little while and then get on with his life. Here we are years later and he’s still living like a hobo,” Zane countered. “But that’s neither here nor there. I want you to know if you take that job at the resort, you have my full support.”
He’d heard about that, too? She thought she’d kept that quiet. “I don’t know what to say. I was going to tell you.”