Read Online The Fortune Cafe by Heather B. Moore, Melanie Jacobson, Julie Wright - Free Book Online Page B

instead. Property was damaged, Emma’s arm looks like a car ran over it, and a huge mess was made.”
    “She did say she had no idea what came over her. Your rejection threw her pretty hard. She really does love you, Harrison.” Kristin lifted her eyebrows. “I have no idea why.”
    “And it isn’t that I don’t care about her— although I confess I’m far less inclined to care about her after her little outburst— but we’re not good together. You know? Not like you and David. Not like Mom and Dad. Some people make sense. Others... don’t. Andrea and I don’t make sense together. You can respect that, right? No more trying to force us back together?”
    “She’s my friend. I hate to see her heartbroken.”
    “I’m your brother. Doesn’t my heart count?”
    Kristin blew out a breath of annoyance and put her arm around him for a squeeze, though he flinched because he thought maybe she planned on swatting him with the menu again. “I guess so. But please tell me you’ll still bring her to Mom and Dad’s party. Things will be so awkward if she has to come alone.”
    “Kris... what if I want to bring someone else?”
    “The waitress?”
    “I can’t believe Andrea even brought that up to you guys. Don’t say it like that. Emma isn’t just the waitress. I’ve known her since high school. She saved me from getting beat up every day. She’s... always been interesting to me.”
    “You are such a wimp. A girl had to save you from getting beat up?”
    He leaned over to the fountain and flipped his hand so water sprayed out at his sister. She let out a squeal and moved to retaliate except one of the employees of the center ducked his head outside of his office to see what was going on. Kristin straightened up.
    “It’s just a night. You don’t have to be there as Andrea’s date, but she is going to be there. I can’t not invite her just because you get all lovesick over a waitress. And it’ll be insanely awkward if you bring a different girl. Maybe go stag? I just want the night to go well for Mom and Dad, okay?”
    “I’ll think about it, but I promise nothing.” With that declaration, he and his sister got down to business.
    She toured him through the location, showing him where the food would be set up, where the DJ would be able to hook up his equipment, and how the dining tables would be arranged around the dance floor. She handed him the menu and rattled off all the details of the food, expecting Harrison to pay attention. He had a hard time focusing, because he kept thinking about Emma.
    He had really wanted to take her to his parents’ party. Maybe he could talk to Andrea and work out something that wouldn’t be awkward, but he doubted it. The way she’d flipped out on him was unreal, a complete mental break.
    He followed his sister around the gardens with the outside fountain while she droned on and on about fairy twinkle lights. He hadn’t even known fairy twinkle lights were a thing. He made all the appropriate expected comments about how fairy twinkle lights would be great and of course a vegan option made sense for those guests with particular food needs, even though he knew the only guest his sister worried about was Andrea.
    Harrison appreciated the work his sister had put into the event because he knew it really did mean a lot to his parents. He also appreciated that his sister had insisted she needed help in planning and had strong-armed him into taking two whole weeks off for the party.
    He might not have met up with Emma otherwise.
    He owed his sister big time for that one. And he planned on using the two weeks to the fullest. He smiled thinking about the way Emma had blushed when her boss had teased her over the fortune she’d received. And though Harrison didn’t put any stock in the silliness of clairvoyance, the fortunes he and Emma had received were totally dead accurate. He’d been brave once and actually said the words “I love you” to Emma on their graduation day,