Page 17 of I'll Catch You
11
Claire
“This is the money shot,”Peter says as he pulls the lobster from the steaming-hot pot on the stove. He nestles it next to the one he’s already removed and grabs a couple of small forks and shell-crackers from adrawer.
“Looks amazing,” I reply. My mouth is watering. I grab two plates from a cabinet and bring them to the table. Peter brings the lobsters to the table and we settle into a comfortable silence as we start cracking. This beats oldfries.
“You mentioned yesterday that Brynn is technically the owner of Crabby’s,” Peter says. I send him a quiet nod and brace my elbow on the table as I crack into a claw. I hit pure profit and dip the meat into a little ramequin of butter Peter prepared. I want to tell him everything. I think I feel comfortable enough to tell him. I’ve never really had to tell anyone about it before. Everyone just kind of knows. Practically everyone I’d ever met came to theservice.
“That’s right,” I reply. “It belonged to my parents, and they had her as their beneficiary when they passed away. I know they never imagined they’d be gone so soon. I’m Brynn’s legal guardian so I’m technically in charge of any decisions and I’m financially responsible until she turns eighteen, though as you’re aware I don’t think the restaurant is going to be able to survive for the next, let’s see…” I don’t have to do the math in my head. I know exactly, down to the day, how long it’s going to be until Brynn is eighteen years old and inherits the big mess I have on my hands, “elevenyears.”
“And you’ve had offers before, I presume.” Peter gives me a sidelong glance as he cracks a claw. I nod at him. “Yeah, I know you have. Let me in on this. I promise we’ll keep it the way it is. I think an infusion of cash could really turn it around and I have some ideas. We can make it more of an attraction, but only on one day of the week. I think that might be a good compromise. Have it be classic Crabby’s every day except, say, Thursdays, and that’s when we could have a rotating roster of chefs come in and serve haute cuisine. It would be a cash cow and keep the place afloat the rest of theweek.”
“I hear what you’re saying, but I don’t likecompromising.”
“It would be a compromise so you could keep what you’ve built, not loseit.”
He’s trying to be pragmatic. Hell, he’sbeingpragmatic.
“I’ll think about it.” I take a sip of my beer. It’s cold, crisp and refreshing. Kind of like how I expected Peter to be. When he barged into my life yesterday he was certainly refreshing. A tall glass of strawberry lemonade at the height of summer. Crisp, with his dress pants in the heat and his sexy white button-down. But he wasn’t cold. He’s been nothing but warm to me. And I’ve taken a little bit of his warmth for me. It feels good to let someone in. It feels good to let someone take some of the emotional burden from me. That’s what he’s done. I don’t know if he knows. I want to tell him what he’s done for me and I want to thank him, but I don’t want to freak him out. It feels odd to think of it that way based on how he’s treated me so far, but hell, there’s still a little part of me that’s scared to let him all the way in. The door is unlocked. I feel like it might take time for it to open upwide.
“Think about it, but I’m not rushing you. I promise. Take all the time you need.” He puts his hand on mine. I take another sip of my beer and smile at him. This time, I don’t pull away. Small talk dominates the rest of the conversation. I learn about his brother, and how he married his high school sweetheart. About his parents, and how Peter always wanted a woman who would argue with him because she wanted him to know that they’re on the same team and working toward the same goal even if it means differences of opinion every now and then. It’s the best date I’ve had in years. And it’s not even a date. It’s just dinner between two people. I already feel like he’s my partner. I think I’m going to sell the restaurant to him. I’m pretty sure of it. I know it has to happen. I was just waiting for the right offer. And Peter…I think he just might be theone.
