Nico came back into the room. “So sorry about that.” He clapped his hands together. “Parker, this tux fits well, yes?”
“Yes,” I said.
“What do you think?” he asked Sienna.
She didn’t take her eyes off me when she answered. “He looks great, Nico.”
Nico nodded, humbled by her response.
I couldn’t help but smile either. Sienna didn’t compliment often, so when she did, it really meant something. And that felt really good to hear.
Chapter Six
Sienna
“So, how was the tux shopping yesterda
y?” Tony asked me just as he finished setting up the dining room.
“It was fine,” I said, slicing thick pieces of Texas toast for the french toast special of the day.
“Did he get felt up?” Tony asked.
I dropped the knife and turned to him. “What is that about? It seems almost barbaric. I felt violated watching it happen.”
Tony laughed and rinsed his rag in the sink. “It’s a rite of passage to dress like a penguin.”
I laughed and dropped the bread slices into the egg batter and placed them on a tray. “Well, I have a feeling I’ll feel just as violated when we go to find my dress tomorrow.”
“I highly doubt that. You might mess up your hair changing, but no one is going to be adjusting your manhood to do it.”
“Very true.”
“What color tie did you choose?”
“Black bow tie, typical for the tux.”
“Not for Parker, for you.”
“What are you talking about?”
“You are the best man, after all. Doesn’t that include a tie?”
I grabbed the spatula next to me and smacked him with it. He jumped out of the way, narrowly missing my next shot.
The bell on the front door jingled and we both turned to see Parker and Rachel coming in the front door.
“What the hell?” I said and moved away from the pass-through.
“That’s her?” Tony said.
Tony rarely interacted with Parker outside of the diner, and Rachel never came into Sunny Daes, so they’d never had the opportunity to meet.
“Yeah,” I said, washing my hands. I normally didn’t care what I looked like around Parker, but I didn’t want to see Rachel’s condescending face when she saw how I dressed at the diner. I got food on my body all day long; who would dress nice?
“Damn,” Tony said.
I warned him again with the spatula. He left the kitchen to greet them. While they were all distracted, I looked into the dining room. Rachel was way overdressed for my establishment. She wore a white and yellow sun dress with tall cork heels, so she was just shy of Parker’s height. She walked with Tony and Parker over to the table. She made Tony move them a few times until she was settled by the window. She took Parker’s hand and dragged him down to sit on the same side of the booth as her. Did she think this was that bad of a neighborhood that she needed protection?