Page 23 of Promise Me Ever After
“So, you’re not going to cook for her, wine and dine her, see what happens?”
I sipped my cold cup of tea, mulling it over. It wouldn’t be the first time my culinary skills had helped me to pull a woman. But it was a dangerous game to play.
By the time I had to go to work, Curtis was practically snoring on the sofa, the previous night taking it out of him. I didn’t want to risk bumping into Amber and ended up heading into work early, all the while wondering what the hell I was going to say to Georgie.
As it turned out, the night’s shift in the restaurant was a complete blur. A full-on Saturday, which barely gave Sid and I time to breathe. Georgie was in and out of the kitchen, barking orders or bringing in dirty plates. We barely exchanged two words that weren’t related to work. It was around nine thirty when I finally got a lull in service and went upstairs to the break room. I crashed through the door, a plate of chicken Cesar salad in one hand and a bottle of Coke tucked into the pocket of my whites. Normally, the room would be empty, the servers busy taking last orders for desserts, drinks and coffees. I’d grab a snack and chill out for twenty minutes or so before going back downstairs to clean up before closing.
Curled up on one of the chairs was Georgie. Her head was bent over her phone where she seemed to be frantically messaging someone. Her blonde hair was coming loose from her ponytail, tendrils trailing down the side of her face. My fingers itched to push them back and I clenched my free hand into a fist. I faltered, unsure whether she’d heard me come in, so I cleared my throat.
Her head snapped up, her hazel green eyes meeting mine. “Oh, hi, Alex. Sorry, I’ll go.” She made as if to get up, but I waved my hand.
“It’s fine. In fact, I’m glad you’re here, I wanted to talk about last night.”
Georgie opened her mouth as if she were going to speak, but nothing came out.
I sat down opposite her and balanced my plate on my knees. Before I said anything, I needed to eat. The noise of me crunching on the croutons almost got too much to bear. How did I not know I was such a noisy eater?
She blinked at the sound, her eyes flicking to her phone every now and again as she waited for me to say something.
“I’m not going to ask why you bid for me last night,” I began, noting how corny it sounded. “But I’m glad it’s you I get to cook for. So, you tell me when and where, let me know your favourite foods, oh and anything you’re allergic to. The last thing I’d want to do is put you in hospital.”
She smiled tentatively. “That’s very kind of you, Alex.” She paused. “Although I’m not sure I can take you up on the offer.”
My heart sank. I’d completely misread everything from last night. “Why not?”
Georgie let out a soft breath. “I-I don’t want to mess things up here. I’ve only just started, and I really like it.”
Hmm. That sounded more like shewasinterested and echoed the thoughts I’d had earlier. I leaned forward, fixing her with a stare. “It’s a meal, not a marriage proposal. And you paid enough money for it. I’d feel bad if you didn’t get anything in return.” I ran my tongue over my lips, catching her staring.
She sucked in her lower lip and tapped her phone against her thigh. “Okay.” She unlocked her phone and passed it to me. “Put your number in here. I’ll give it some thought and message you with some ideas.”
Oh, she could message me with ideas even though I had plenty of my own. Not all of them were related to cooking her dinner either.
Georgie rose as I finished punching in my details. She stood in front of me, waiting until I was done. When I’d finished, I held the phone out to her. Our fingers brushed and lingered just a moment too long. I watched her skin break into goose bumps and stifled a smile. She might tell me she didn’t want to get involved, but her body told me otherwise.
9
Georgie
Sunday lunchwith Darcy and Fraser beckoned. After the chaotic whirlwind of the past couple of days, I was knackered. A few relatively stress-free hours with my sister would be exactly what I needed.
When I arrived, Fraser was slumped on the sofa watching the rugby and messaging his mates at the same time. He waved a pint of beer at me when I came in, swearing as one of the players dropped the ball. Darcy and I headed into the kitchen, the aroma of a roast coming from the oven.
“So how come you ended up winning that prize on Friday? I didn’t get chance to ask you on the night.” She poured me a glass of apple juice because I had a shift at the restaurant that evening.
I sat down at the kitchen table and sipped the juice, relishing the cool, fresh taste. “Let’s put it down to bad judgement and alotof wine.”
“That Alex guy is cute though.” Although Darcy had her back to me, I knew she’d be smiling. “Don’t you work together?”
“Yep. Which is why nothing can happen.”
She turned around to face me. “But you’d like it to?”
“What do you mean?” I bluffed.
“Why else would you pay so much money to spend some time with him?”
“It was an accident! Plus, I don’t know where I’m going to get the money from anyway. Until Russ has stopped being a prick about the flat sale, I’ve got nothing.” I covered my face with my hands. “I might have drunk dialled Russ and asked him for the money,” I whispered.
