Ready or Not (The Love Game Book 4) by Elizabeth Hayley (pdf ebook reader .txt) 📕

water gun from the pile in DeSean’s arms. “I get the biggest one.”

“Deal,” DeSean squealed before taking off. “Hey, guys, Ransom’s playing!” he yelled across the yard.

We watched him run for the spigot that was against a wall and begin filling the guns for a moment before I said, “Guess I’ll leave you to it, then.”

Ransom slung the water gun over his shoulder like some kind of Storm Trooper. “Yeah, I gotta teach a few lessons around here.” His eyes sparkled. “You can stick around and play if you want.”

I glanced down at the white button-down tank I’d worn to the interview and then back to him meaningfully. “Think I’ll pass.”

Ransom flushed adorably. “Oh, yeah, no, I get it. Water, white, yeah, maybe…maybe next time.” He looked down at himself. “Crap.”

I laughed. “It’s probably more acceptable for a guy.”

“True. Though I have big nipples for a dude, so it still—” He stopped abruptly as if his words had just registered with his brain.

I bit my lip to keep from barking out a laugh.

“Can you forget you heard that?”

“Not on your life.”

He breathed a heavy sigh. “Figures,” he mumbled. “See you around?”

“Looks that way.”

He gave me a nod before turning toward the crowd of kids waiting for him with water guns at the ready. “I hope you guys are ready, because you’re all going down.”

I watched for a second, my heart beating a little harder at the sight of this big man playing with a bunch of children who obviously adored him. Forcing myself to turn away, I steeled myself and walked back toward Harry’s office.

One thing was for sure—if I were going to make it at this job and keep my sanity, I was going to have to stay away from Ransom Holt.

Chapter Six

R A N S O M

“I’m not sure if I like this place or if I should check myself for ticks when I leave,” Carter said.

I looked around at the jungle-like décor—some of which I was pretty sure was from an actual jungle: vines, leaves, and even a tree that seemed to grow through the center of the floor. And there was a spiral staircase that led to something above, like a real tree house. Other than the wooden barstools and a few booths, most of the chairs were beanbags. And the place was adorned with fairy lights.

Brody nodded happily as he took it all in. “Maybe both,” he said, sounding unusually excited about having to check himself for parasites later. “I can’t believe I never knew this was here.”

“Brings back memories,” Sophia said, causing Drew to raise an eyebrow.

“Really?” he asked. “You have memories from that night?”

Sophia nudged Drew with her hip playfully. “Well, bits and pieces maybe.”

“So what’s the story there?” I asked. “Anyone planning on telling it?” I’d heard the night referenced more than once by the group, but no one ever elaborated.

“Nope,” Sophia said. “No real story. Taylor and I just had a rough night, and Drew had to come pick us up from here.”

“Um, I think I was the one who had the rough night,” Drew said, laughing. “Taking care of the two of you was like babysitting newborn twins overnight.”

“Every time he talks about this, the experience gets exponentially worse,” she told me. “My fiancé likes to exaggerate just a tad.”

“Definitely not exaggerating,” said Drew as we approached the host station.

There was a little bit of a wait to get a seat, and that, combined with the crowd at the bar, told me this place was popular. I was happy for Taylor that she’d hopefully make out well in tips but also nervous she was in over her head. Not that I knew what her limitations were.

Sophia had mentioned Taylor was new to waiting tables, and since she’d only worked one other day during the lunch shift, I was concerned she might feel overwhelmed tonight. And it probably didn’t help that we were all coming to see her.

I turned around when we got to the stand so that I could count all of us and then gave the hostess my name.

“Did you say Random?” she called over the din of voices. She had short, dark choppy hair with purple tips and nails so long it made me wonder how she could even click the iPad.

“No, Ransom. With an S,” I clarified.

“Oh okay, that makes so much more sense.”

I had a feeling she was being sarcastic, but I couldn’t be sure and didn’t plan on investigating it further. “Could we be seated in Taylor’s section if possible? We don’t mind waiting.”

“Who?”

“Taylor Peterson. She’s new. She’s about this tall,” I said, holding up a hand below my shoulder. “Early twenties, long blond hair, pretty smile…”

The girl flicked her tongue ring against her teeth impatiently before looking up from the iPad. “You just described like every college girl who’s ever gotten a job here.”

“Well, except you,” I joked, though she clearly didn’t think it was funny. I hadn’t seen her crack a smile since we’d arrived. “Sorry. Isn’t there like a name listed for who’s in what section or whatever? We just wanted to surprise her and show our support since it’s a new job.”

She was quiet for a moment, but I wasn’t giving up that easily.

Not knowing what else to say, I muttered, “Please. It would mean a lot.”

She rolled her eyes but said, “I’ll see what I can do.”

“Thank you!”

She took down my number so she could text when the table was ready, and then asked us to stand off to the side or have a drink at the bar while we waited.

Since I was the tallest, I took it upon myself to squeeze into a spot at the bar so I could grab the bartender’s attention. I ordered all of us beers to make it easy for him and handed them out to everyone. “First round’s on me since I can’t stay the whole night.”

“Thanks,” Aniyah said, taking her beer from me. “Where you off to? Anywhere good?”

“Not sure.