Sass & Serendipity by Jennifer Ziegler Read Free Book Online

fries.”
    “Yes,
please
,” Gabby muttered.
    Daphne knew she was talking too much. She couldn’t help it. She tended to do that whenever she got nervous or excited, and right now she was superly both.
    Because Luke was there.
    She’d noticed him walk in right after her father had asked,“How’s school?” and it made her usual reply—“Fine”—morph into a fifteen-minute ad-libbed speech on Mr. Hathaway’s wardrobe. But apparently the rest of the table wasn’t all that interested in her fashion-doomed biology teacher.
    “I’m going to grab some more iced tea, and maybe some jalapeños,” Mr. Rivera said, pushing his chair away from the table. “Do you girls need anything?”
    Gabby shook her head.
    “No, thank you,” Daphne said.
    “Okay. Don’t eat my fries,” he teased.
    As he turned toward the front counter, Daphne let her eyes hop from him to Luke, slumped forward in his booth. He still hadn’t seen her, but surely he would soon.
    She should play it cool. Only … it was hard watching him without obviously watching him. So instead, she stared at the neon beer sign over his head, the thirsty-looking leaves in the planter outside the window, and the wooden cowboy and cowgirl on the restroom doors at the end of his row.
    “Will you please eat?” Gabby said.
    Daphne narrowed her eyes. “What are you, my mom?”
    “Dad paid money for this. He’s not giving us much else these days, so you should at least take advantage of the free meal.”
    “Shut up.” Daphne hated the way Gabby always complained about Dad. Even when he was just a few yards away. “I’m just not that hungry. That’s all.”
    It was a lie. Even as she spoke her stomach rumbled and popped like a thunderstorm. But she never could eat in front of guys she liked.
    Of course, it wasn’t as if Luke were looking at her right now. But when he did, she was
not
going to have barbecue sauce all over her chin.
    Daphne twirled her plastic fork in her coleslaw and tried to strike a dazzling pose in her chair, just in case Luke should glance her way. Unfortunately, he was still frowning down at the laminated menu as if it were a bomb he needed to defuse.
    Gabby made a huffing sound. “For god’s sake, just go talk to the guy.”
    “What?” Daphne’s face grew prickly. How had she known? Gabby’s back was to the door
and
the booth he’d sat down in. No way could she have seen him.
    “Come on. It’s so obvious. You went all spaz a little while ago and you keep looking at something over my shoulder. Plus you’re doing that nail-biting thing again.”
    Daphne was surprised to find her left thumbnail between her two front teeth.
    “Is it one of your regular boy obsessions? Or is it that new guy?”
    Daphne ignored Gabby’s snide tone. “New guy.”
    “Please, just go say hi so we can all act normal again. Normal for us, I mean.”
    “But that’s so … forward,” Daphne whispered. “Besides, I probably look gross close-up. I didn’t do my hair and I’m barely wearing any makeup.” She wished she had dressed up more, worn something more feminine. Like her old-fashioned peasant blouse or one of her too-short-for-school skirts. And she really wished she could sneak on some more makeup. Butglossy lip tint and a light dusting of blush were all she could get away with when her dad came over.
    “You look great. I think you look better this way. All that gunk on your face just makes you look cheap.”
    “Gee, thanks,” Daphne muttered. But secretly she felt better. Gabby wouldn’t say she looked good unless she really meant it.
    She could do this. She could quickstep past Luke’s table to the bathroom, primp a little, and then act surprised to see him as she walked back.
    Gabby shot her an impatient look. “Now. Before Dad gets back.”
    “Okay, okay.”
    Daphne got to her feet, swished her hair out of her face, and began to stride to the ladies’ room. Suddenly it was as if walking were brand-new to her. She was acutely