Page 93 of Sunkissed Colorado

TWENTY-THREE

Callum

Sunday dinnerat the Alvarez house was a unique experience, at least for me. Dinner with the O’Neal clan had nothing on this.

I really needed to bring Zandra along the next time my siblings and I got together. So she could experience a more low-key family gathering. Because tonight, the key wasveryhigh. Like, soprano level.

During wine and cocktail hour, we’d moved from the patio to their pristine living room with an actual chandelier. I’d watched Zandra fidget, her shoulders rigid as her mother introduced us to the other guests. Every instinct had screamed for me to put my arm around her.

But that wouldn’t have been veryfriendlyof me.

Another unfortunate side effect of just being Zandra’s coworker: the way her mom’s friend Mitsy kept trying to palm my ass when the others weren’t looking.

Getting along in mixed company wasn’t usually a stretch for me, given the different people I met all the time at Hearthstone. But these people were a tough audience. Basically, I was trying to channel Dane Knightly, my sister’s boyfriend. The guy was a billionaire with a filthy rich family even more vicious than Zandra’s could be.

“This looks delicious, Eliza,” Javi said to his wife as the first course arrived at the dining table.

Zandra’s mom nodded. “Beef tartare. Enjoy everyone.”

I was sipping on a glass of French red, which was pretty tasty. The dishes and glassware looked expensive, far from anything we’d ever use at Hearthstone. If I broke anything, it would probably cost several months of paychecks to replace it.

A joke about being a bull in a china shop was right on my tongue, but I figured I should hold it in. Maybe I could tell Z when we were alone later.

Probably shouldn’t mention we were roommates, either. Too close to the truth about us sharing a bed and her coming on my cock every night.

The waiter set my plate in front of me. My stomach was growling. The first bites were as good as I’d been hoping. Savory beef with capers, minced onion, and a tiny little egg on top. But when I noticed Zandra was actually eating hers, I slowed down.

“Enjoying that?” I asked quietly, elbow bumping hers.

“Gladys knows I love tartare,” she whispered back. “I could eat a pound of it. And she always serves the toast points in a separate basket.”

“Javi, what’s your take on that last jobs report?” This was from Richard, Mitsy’s husband. While the rest of the table was distracted by that fascinating topic, I added the rest of my appetizer to Zandra’s plate. Just in case the main course wasn’t as allergy friendly.

Unfortunately, her mom noticed. “You don’t like the beef, Callum?”

“Love it. This is delicious. I just thought Zandra looked extra hungry.”

“She always was picky about food,” her mother sniffed.

I opened my mouth, but Zandra whispered, “Don’t.”

So instead of remarking that allergies had nothing to do with pickiness, I just pressed my knee against Zandra’s.

When I felt something massaging my leg, I wondered if that was Z.

Until I noticed the way Mitsy was smiling from across the table. The lady was in her sixties with her husband sitting right beside her, and that was only the start of what was wrong with this picture.

Nope. No, thank you. I stuck my feet under my chair.

After the first course, Richard turned to me. “So Callum, I understand you work for that restaurant Javi’s father owns on Main Street. What is it that you do?”

“Whatever Manny tells me,” I joked.

The waiter returned with the main course. Some kind of chicken with cream sauce. Not Z approved. Good thing I’d given her the rest of my tartare.

“Callum’s been the bar manager at Hearthstone for several years,” Zandra piped up. “And now we’re both in the running for general manager to replace Grandpa.”

“Competing against each other?” Mitsy asked. “How juicy. Who’s winning?”