Page 23 of Falling for the Wrong Guy

“Right, my mistake then.”

ChapterFifteen

Dex

“It’s been a long while since I’ve sat at such a welcoming table. Thank you.” I’d also never sat at a table with five such beautiful, charming women, but I decided to keep that part to myself. It was obvious how close they were from the way they spoke to each other and laughed about everything from Layla’s decision to dye her hair purple to Ella’s short-distance runaway excursion at nine where she was sure she saw a bear and ran all the way back home with her stuffed backpack. It later turned out to be a shrub that took on the silhouette of a bear when the lighting was just right. I envied what they had together. I couldn’t keep my gaze from straying down to the end of the table where Aria sat looking decidedly less thrilled about me as a dinner guest. Whenever our eyes met, our gazes locked for a second before one of us (usually her) snapped them apart.

“Isla, that was the best macaroni and cheese I’ve ever had," I said. “Seriously. I used to work at a restaurant in New York, and we served lobster mac and cheese and black truffle mac and cheese, but as far as I’m concerned that was just so we could slap a big price tag on the meal. You should never mess with perfection—the perfection that is classic macaroni and cheese.”

Isla’s face lit up. “I feel the same way. Which restaurant?”

“It was a little place called Marigold.”

Isla nearly fell off the bench. “Marigold?TheMarigold? Michelin star Marigold?”

“I was only a line cook. Not the chef. He was a big blowhard who barked out orders from the second he pulled on the hat until the last plate was washed and dried. He didn’t care for me, so I left after only a year. It was fine, because I didn’t care for him either.”

“Probably happens a lot,” Aria said quietly at the end of the table.

Layla sat straight up. “Why don’t you hire Dex for the café?”

Aria’s face smoothed to stone as she looked down the table at me.

“Aria has already hired someone.” I smiled at her. “I’m sure Ingrid will be a great addition to the café.”

All the other heads turned in Aria’s direction.

“Who’s Ingrid?” Isla asked. “You didn’t tell me you hired someone.”

Aria’s face turned pink, and I suddenly regretted bringing it up. I knew she’d made the name up and my tease had embarrassed her. I never knew when to stop.

Her sisters stayed facing her direction, waiting to hear more about the elusive Ingrid. Aria took a deep breath. There was something so incredible about her, I had a hard time catching my breath whenever she looked at me. Which she was doing right now, with a good dose of irritation.

She released the deep breath. “There is no Ingrid.” That was all she said.

Her sisters were confused at first, then it seemed to dawn on them how Ingrid came into being.

“Dessert?” Isla asked after an awkward silence.

“I can’t impose on your sister evening any longer. How about I repay you for your kindness by washing the dishes? Then you can all enjoy dessert without the big intruder.”

“Nonsense,” Isla said quickly and began picking up the plates. “Just wait here, and I’ll bring out the brownies.”

“Really, Isla, thank you. Thanks to all of you. It’s been a long time since I’ve sat down to a family meal. Hadn’t realized how badly I missed it.” I stood up. “I’ll just make my way back to the beach.”

“Aria, why don’t you walk Dex around the front, so he doesn’t have to climb the rocks to the road,” Ava suggested.

Aria considered the suggestion for a second, then she tossed her napkin on the table. “You’re right, Ava. I’ll do exactly that.”

I smiled and said my goodbyes. I never stepped inside the cottage, and something told me that Aria would never have allowed it. She still didn’t trust me, and I’d embarrassed her by bringing up her fake cook hire.

Aria was coldly silent as she led me out a small front gate to a wide expanse of gravel where various cars were parked. I got a good view of the cottage on this side.

“This is a cool place,” I said.

Aria looked at the cottage and nodded. “It’s where we mostly grew up. It was our fairy-tale land.” For a second, her brown eyes held a dreamy sparkle, and it seemed she was transported back to her childhood. The sparkle vanished quickly. She turned to me.

“Surely, you can see why it wouldn’t work out. You working for me.”

---