by Julia Bright
After keying in the order and grabbing four bottles of water, she turned and almost dropped the tray. Zach Harris and his brother, Cameron, who went by Cam, stepped into the diner. Both of them had on their trademark black sunglasses, dark hair styled perfectly, and killer smiles in place. They looked like sex walking, better than ice cream smothered in chocolate, and better than a million dollars. Okay, the money comparison might be stretching it, but they looked good, and her previous thought of never dropping her panties for money would be in question if someone like the Harris brothers were offering.
The two men in her section slid out of the booth and stood. She feared she was going to lose her tip. Zach moved quickly, pulling one of the guys into a back-slapping hug before hugging the other man.
“Cam, Zach, it’s great to see you. We’ve already ordered. Come sit,” one of the guys said in a booming voice.
Rose waited until it looked like they were almost settled before she brought over four bottles of sparkling water. A week ago, she’d told Mike it was a waste to keep this type of water around, but if these kinds of people came to this place—ones like the Harris boys—they would need more of the ridiculously expensive crap.
“Here you go. I’ve got those burgers in to the cook. They’ll be up soon. Can I get you anything else?”
“Well, hello there. What is your name?” Zach asked, at least she thought it was Zach. They looked so similar, so hot. She was dazzled and couldn’t think straight.
She stared blankly for long enough it was awkward. Somehow, she found her voice and spoke. “Rose, and what’s your name?”
The guy threw back his head and laughed. “You seriously don’t know who I am?”
She rolled her eyes and bumped the table with her hip, flashing them a huge smile before bending a little, letting her cleavage do its work. “You two almost look like twins. I don’t know who is who.”
“I’m Cam.” The man stuck his hand out for her to shake.
His brother slapped his hand away and then elbowed him, causing curse words to fly. “I’m Cam. That’s Zach. He’s the flirt.”
“And you’re the bad boy?” Rose asked. Cam Harris had broken more hearts than most in his rise to fame. He’d left so many starlets suffering in his wake that his reputation had taken a hit. Cam even had a Taylor Swift song written about him, which Rose had known would happen once the singer had started dating him—who hadn’t seen that coming a mile away?
Cam’s cheeks were pink, and he glanced at one of the guys in the suits. Zach slapped him on the back before leaning in and taking her hand.
“I’m the nice one. Just remember that later.”
Rose laughed and brushed away his hand before rolling her eyes. “I’ll go check on your burgers. Sit tight and don’t cause any more trouble.”
“Hey,” Zach said, his brows lifted as though he’d been hurt by her words. “I’ve been behaving.”
She shook her head and sashayed away, praying the flirting would increase her tip. The burgers were coming together as she approached the window. She gathered the condiments—ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, chipotle sauce, and thousand island—before stashing them in her apron and grabbing all four plates to carry them out to the table.
Before moving away, she checked her reflection in the polished chrome backsplash that covered the wall next to the service window. She looked like crap best she could tell. There was no way she was going to get a good tip now.
She turned with the food on her tray held at shoulder level and noticed two more couples had shown up, each taking seats at tables close to the Harris boys. Maybe this burger thing was a good idea.
With a smile on her face, she walked over, hoping to make a decent enough impression to not lose tip points. “Here you go, boys. Voted best burger in Hollywood. Enjoy.” After placing the four plates in front of the guys, she divested herself of the bottles in her apron, checking the table for salt and pepper. “You four okay?”
“It looks great. Thank you,” Cam said.
She winked and moved to one of the tables that had just become occupied. More people came in, some sitting at the counter. It wasn’t a madhouse yet, but they had customers, which meant tips. It took her about ten minutes to make it back to the table with Zach and Cam, and it looked like they were finishing up with their meal.
“That was the best,” one of the guys in suits said.
“I’d marry it if I could,” Zach stated.
Cam didn’t look too happy, and when he glanced up at her, he gave her an almost apologetic smile. She took their empty plates, wondering why Cam looked so weird. Of course, she didn’t know any of those guys, so she had no clue what was going on with them.
She didn’t have time to worry about other people. Her life was crazy enough without putting herself in the middle of other people’s problems. She set the ticket on the table, praying whoever paid the bill would be generous with the tip, and that was all she had time to fret over.
“I don’t think Mike is ready to marry off his burgers, but you’re welcome to come visit them.”
That got her a laugh and a few winks. She rushed off, serving the best burgers in Hollywood to another table before moving back to the table where Cam and Zach had been sitting. All that was left were the two suits who weren’t nearly as impressive as the Harris boys.
“So, Rose, we’re having a big party for Zach’s birthday, and we need some party girls there.”
“Oh, I didn’t realize he was having a birthday so soon.” She picked up the plates, stacking them on her tray.
“Well, it’s a month away. This is a pre-party for his party. This is quieter, more intimate. He said he would like you there.”
Stunned didn’t even come close to how she felt. Why would Zach Harris want her? Her heart fluttered and her tongue stopped working. She could only nod when asked if she would like to attend and party with them.
“Okay, could you please write down your address? We’ll have a car there at nine on Friday. This is very hush-hush. We don’t need any reporters knowing about this party.”
“Okay,” she whispered, her voice still lost in shock as she stared at the guy, wondering if she was being punked. After a second, she glanced around, looking for cameras but she didn’t find any. “So Friday at nine.”
“Yes, and wear a short skirt. You have great legs.”
Rose noticed that she had more customers and needed to finish this quickly or she’d lose tip points with the other tables. After scribbling down her address, she nodded and turned away, still in shock. The man placed his hand on her arm and held her in place.
“Here, love, this is for you.”
She glanced down and saw money folded in with the bill. “Thank you. Do you need any change?”
The guy still holding her arm stood first then the other man stood too and shook his head. “No, thank you. Keep the change.”
The guy touching her was close and a shiver snaked through her. The Harris brothers she liked. These men made her skin crawl. “Thank you, and I can’t wait until Friday.”
Rose stuffed the money into her back pocket, deciding to take care of the bill in a bit. She refilled glasses and fielded questions from some tourists who’d heard the Harris brothers had been in. One of the women in her section had shown her a photo of Cam and Zach sitting in a booth currently occupied by another couple who were excited to be eating the same burgers Cam and Zach had eaten.
Mike hadn’t been prepared for the rush after getting two hot actors into the restaurant. She’d had to stay three hours late to get customers cleared out. The end of her shift hit before she remembered the money she’d shoved into her back pocket. She pulled it out, saw the unprocessed ticket first, and grunted, angry with herself for not putting the cash for the sale into the till. Mike would be pissed.
Rose flipped open the wad of money and began counting, but it wasn’t fives, tens, or even twenties. Instead, she held five crisp one hundred dollar bills.
“Shit.”
Rose glanced around, praying no one had seen the money. They didn’t share tips, except they usually gave the busboy some cash. The guys were untipped and already making twice what waitresses normally were paid in hourly wage. Usually she’d toss in some percentage of what she’d made for the day, but she’d already divvied up their portions and felt odd going back to them. It weighed on her mind, but she really needed the money and they didn’t know.
Rose paid the till with her tip money and shoved the five hundreds into her pocket, pushing them deep. Five hundred extra dollars in tips would be more than enough for her to make rent, pay the extra, and maybe she could buy a new dress for the party if she had time to go shopping. She had clothes that would do for a normal party, but nothing special enough for Zach Harris.
About Julia Bright
Julia Bright loves romance and novels. She enjoys the escape a good book provides. Her favorite pastime is sitting on a lounge reading while sipping a cool drink. For more information contact [email protected]
For more information
www.juliabrightauthor.com/
[email protected]
About Rylie Roberts
Rylie Roberts is the Amazon #1 international best selling author and native Texan who loves to write and read romance. Please follow the newsletter by emailing [email protected] or following me on social media. Stay tuned, there's more on the way.
For more information
www.rylieroberts.com
[email protected]
Also by Rylie Roberts
Chasing Happy
Acting Happy
Mission Happy
