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adored had returned. I nodded, and she hugged me once more.
    Looking over her shoulder, I found Georgia staring at me as if I had just interrupted some intimate moment she was having with Jude and the kids.
    “Jett needs to see you in his office,” I told her, and she narrowed her eyes at me. “Now.”
    “But I have tables to take care of.”
    I closed my eyes tightly, relishing Zoey’s hug before I had to face the ugliness once more. I released Zoey, and she made her way back to the table as I stepped closer to Georgia. I was doing my best to keep our conversation as quiet as possible. The guests did not need to see or hear it. “Now you and I both know I’ve been waiting on over half your customers since you got here today. So you stepping away to go to Jett’s office won’t matter. I have it covered.”
    Georgia huffed in frustration and pushed past me. I had the urge to yank on her hair as I stumbled, but I took a deep breath instead.
    “Rough day?” Jude asked. He had heard me bitching about the waitress’ laziness and clumsiness on more than one occasion.
    I turned around to face him and nodded. I was still pissed at him and had no intention of letting go of my anger so easily. Even though he had brought two very special people to see me, that didn’t fully make up for how rude he was when I was just being generous.
    “What do you two think about making your own chocolate shakes?” I asked as I looked directly at Matthew and Zoey. “With whipped cream and sprinkles.”
    Their eyes lit up, and my heart fluttered in my chest. This day had started out to be shitty, but it had just become one of the best I’d had in almost a week.
    I linked hands with the kids as I led them away from the table and toward the small bar area just off the kitchen that held all the tools to make the perfect shakes. I looked back over my shoulder and found Jude watching us with a look I’d never seen before. He looked almost happy.
    One at a time, I placed Zoey and Matthew onto a stool at the counter. Once I was sure they were safely seated, I stepped behind it and put two child-sized shake cups in front of them.
    “Chocolate, vanilla, or strawberry?” I asked.
    “Chocolate,” Matthew said with excitement. His little feet hung over the edge of the stool, and he was caged in by the arms of the chair. An uneasy feeling stirred within my stomach at the thought of him toppling the chair from bouncing around.
    “Okay, but no wiggling. You sit very still in that chair. Okay?” He nodded, still wearing the biggest smile I had ever seen on him.
    I turned to Zoey. “What about you?”
    “Vanilla with rainbow sprinkles.” Her eyes grew wide, and I couldn’t help but laugh.
    “Okay, one chocolate and one vanilla. With rainbow sprinkles,” I said before turning around to get to work.
    “And a strawberry too.”
    My body froze and my heart lurched as Jude’s deep voice sent chills over my back and arms. I hadn’t expected him to join us, but I was secretly thrilled he had. I wouldn’t tell him that, though. I took in a deep breath as I nodded without turning around to face him. I needed just a few more minutes to calm my nerves and stop my hands from trembling. I stood with my back to them as I slowly mixed each shake and only turned around long enough to grab the cups to pour the mixtures into.
    Once each had their shakes, I grabbed the whipped cream and assorted sprinkles and turned to fully face them. I could feel Jude’s eyes on me, but I concentrated on the kids instead. I tipped the can of whipped cream upside down, pressed the nozzle, and topped off each cup. Zoey of course got the rainbow sprinkles, just as she asked for, and Matthew and Jude went with the chocolate flakes. I watched as Matthew imitated Jude’s every move as his uncle shook the sprinkles evenly onto his shake. Once they’d added the sprinkles, the kids dug in.
    Jude held his spoon over the top of his shake and twisted it around between his fingers.