He rolled his eyes like we were the problem and wandered off.
Ellie leaned across the table again, voice low. “We can totally leave. What is going on here?”
“No, it’s fine,” I said, forcing a laugh. “Maybe he’s just having a bad day.”
“I swear, when I saw this place online, I had no idea it was like this.”
She pulled out her phone and tapped away. I let my eyes wander again, this time paying closer attention. A group in the corner was cracking up as their server tossed paper hats on their heads with what looked like words scribbled across them.
“Oh. My. God.”
“What?” I asked.
Ellie turned her phone toward me, sliding it across the table. “This is their thing. It’s like… part of the restaurant gimmick. It’s like a show.”
I blinked. “Peoplewantto be insulted with their fries?”
“Apparently!” She clapped, eyes lighting up with giddy amusement. “We can be rude back! This is like my dream come true.”
I dropped my head into my hands with a laugh. “Of course it is.”
Two stops into this road trip, and somehow, Ellie had already managed to pack enough chaos, charm, and surprise into a single day to last me a lifetime.
And I had a feeling this was only the beginning.
It wasn’t long before our waiter returned—same grumpy energy, fully committed to the bit.
“All right,” he muttered, pen poised over his notepad, refusing to make eye contact. “Which one of you wants to start?”
“Well, myshnookums,” Ellie said sweetly, her voice dripping with mischief. “He’ll have the quesadilla burger.”
His eyes flicked up, a twitch of amusement slipping through his practiced scowl as Ellie smirked across the table at me. I shot her a glare, but couldn’t help the smile tugging at my lips.
“And for me,” she added, leaning back against the booth like royalty, “I’m absolutely starving, so go ahead and give me one of everything.”
Gregg—according to the bold letters on his apron—froze mid-scribble, his brows creeping toward his hairline. Slowly, he looked up at her, one eye half-squinted like it might start twitching.
“Did I stutter?” Ellie asked with a challenge in her voice, her chin tilted just enough to make her look like trouble and temptation wrapped in one.
For a moment, he was stunned. Then he nodded, slipping right back into character. “Oh, she bites back,” he said with a grin of approval. “Hope you’ve got the funds, big guy.”
“The lady can get whatever she wants,” I replied, straight-faced, even as Ellie lifted her chin higher in mock pride, absolutely reveling in the moment.
Gregg tossed up his hands in mock surrender, then disappeared into the kitchen.
Once he was gone, I leaned in and whispered, “What the heck are we going to do with all that food?”
She waved a hand, totally unbothered. “It’s only six things. I’m going to get hungry later. And come on, who doesn’t love cold road-trip leftovers?”
God, this woman.
23
LOGAN
“Istill can’t believe what Gregg wrote on your hat,” Ellie said between gasps of laughter, practically doubled over in the passenger seat. Her fit of giggles was contagious, pulling laughter from me as well until my stomach ached.
“Okay, but we’ve gotta give it to him,” I said, wiping a tear from the corner of my eye. “Hercules called, he wants his muscles backwas solid. Almost as good as that Princess Peach line.”