I nodded my head again, still trying to figure out why I was so upset over Tripp bringing a date. I had pushed him away, and it had worked. Maybe too well. He was with London Winchester tonight. They had dated in high school for two years. When we were together, he didn’t seem to like her at all. She annoyed him.
But she didn’t look like a runway model back then, either. She had to be close to six feet tall, and most of that was legs. Ugh.
“Girl, you sure you’re OK? You look pale.” Jimmy stopped in front of me and put his finger under my chin to tilt it up so he could see me. There were a lot of beautiful men in this town, but Jimmy quite possibly had them all beat. He was startlingly attractive. The cougars tipped him well and tried their hardest to get him into bed.
Jimmy, however, had a boyfriend. A very hot boyfriend named Ben. It was kept on the down-low, because if the cougars knew Jimmy had no interest in the female gender, then his tips wouldn’t be as good. He was an excellent flirt.
“Long day, and waiting on a table where my aunt Darla is sitting doesn’t sound like a good way to end it.”
Jimmy rolled his eyes. “That woman loves you. Don’t be so mean.”
Aunt Darla did love me, but she was also hard to please. She ran a tight ship around here. It was one reason she was on the board of directors for the club. Woods knew he needed her. “I know,” I replied, and took the bottle of red wine from Jimmy’s outstretched hand.
“Get out there.” He nudged me, and I put on a smile and headed to the private area of the dining room where the board of directors sat.
A table full of my friends and my aunt shouldn’t be so hard to deal with. I should be happy to end my night like this. The tip Woods would leave would pay my rent this month and then some. I should be thankful.
London turned her catlike eyes my way and looked right through me. She wouldn’t know who I was, and for that I was thankful. I hadn’t kept up with London since that summer with Tripp, so I had no idea what she was doing now. She very likely could be modeling.
“Bethy!” Blaire’s excited voice called out. I shifted my gaze from London to her. She was beaming at me as if I hadn’t just spent the day with her two days ago. After the wedding, I had done my best to live my life in a way I hadn’t in years. Tripp had been right about that. Jace didn’t sacrifice his life so that I wouldn’t live mine. I had to live for both of us. I was doing my best.
“I heard I missed a shopping trip,” Della said, smiling up at me. “I demand a do-over next week.”
“If you hadn’t been off on a secret rendezvous with your hubby, you could have come, too,” Blaire teased.
Della grinned and shot a loving look at Woods.
I glanced around, purposely avoiding Tripp, and realized Harlow wasn’t there.
“Where’s Harlow?” I asked Grant, who looked lost without his wife and kid.
“Lila Kate isn’t sleeping through the night just yet. Harlow naps whenever the baby does, which includes now.” Grant gave a yawn of his own.
Rush chuckled. “Been there.”
Jimmy nudged my side as he walked up beside me. “Wine,” he whispered.
I remembered I wasn’t out here to visit and moved to fill Woods’s glass with red wine. He never drank white.
Jimmy started at the other end, where Rush was seated.
“I just want some sparkling water,” Della said as I moved to her.
I moved on down the table and filled Grant’s glass, then my aunt Darla’s. Blaire already had white wine in her glass, so I moved on. As I poured, Tripp’s voice was the only thing I heard. He was laughing with Woods about something that happened that day on the course. He was happy. Did London make him happy?
London already had a glass of white wine, but Tripp’s glass was still empty. I was going to have to ask him if he wanted red. Crap. Why was this so difficult? I was being ridiculous.
“Red wine?” I asked in a quiet voice so as not to draw attention or interrupt anyone.
Tripp turned his head to look directly at me. My heart picked up its pace like it always did when he was near me. Making eye contact with him seemed like a bad idea, but I didn’t have much of a choice.
It was a brief moment, but in his eyes, I saw a flash of regret before he nodded his head. “Please,” he replied, then looked away to continue his conversation with Woods.
London leaned closer to him, and he put his arm behind her chair. The intimacy between them was obvious. They were comfortable together. They fit. She was tall and gorgeous. Perfect for Tripp. My stomach twisted in knots.
I quickly hurried from the room back to the kitchen, where Jimmy was waiting with a tray of soups. “Cauliflower soup with chanterelle mushrooms and truffle oil. As soon as these are served, we’ll need to get out the cheese plates. I’ll carry them. They weigh a shit ton. You just follow me and take them off the tray and place them on the table.”
“Got it,” I replied.
Jimmy winked and headed for the door to hold it open while I carried my tray out. He was right behind me with an identical one.
Once again, I went to Woods, and Jimmy started with Rush. I moved left so Jimmy would have to go right. One fewer thing I had to serve Tripp and his date. Maybe I could work it that way all night.
“What is this?” Della whispered as I placed the soup in front of her.
“Cauliflower soup with fancy mushrooms and truffle oil,” I replied.
She scrunched her nose, and I had to bite back a smile.
“It’s good. I tried it last week. If you don’t like it, I’ll have them prepare you something else,” Woods promised, and he smiled at her as if she was the most wonderful thing he’d ever seen.
I had to agree with her. I didn’t think anything with cauliflower could be good. Not even truffle oil could fix that. Della took a small taste, and I waited to see if I needed to take it back.
“OK, yes, that’s delicious,” she said, and I moved on to finish placing soups in front of everyone on my side.
This would have been easy if I didn’t feel the heat of Tripp’s gaze on me the entire time. It was making me nervous. My heart wouldn’t slow down, and that stupid knot just got tighter.
Jimmy was waiting for me once again when I got to the door. I opened it and held it so he could walk out with the cheese plates. Once we got to the table, I tried not to make eye contact with anyone while I took the four plates and placed them down the middle of the table. Because Jimmy had stopped on Tripp’s side, I had to lean over beside him to put down the tray that belonged to that part of the table.