Page 24 of Bargain with the Bachelor
“Do you happen to know where she’s living? I mean—I just want to make sure she’s okay.”
There were plenty of spare rooms at the “Billionaire Bachelor House,” not that I had any chance of convincing Kristal to move in.
Dream on, bro.
“I think she’s been staying with a friend,” Paolini said. “Amanda and I invited her to stay with us—our kids moved out years ago—but she turned us down. Said she didn’t want to impose. She wouldn’t take a loan, either, though we offered to help her get on her feet. She insisted she didn’t want charity, so I put her to work. Least I could do.”
The following night, I showed up at the Cliffhouse near the end of the dinner shift—Kristal’s regular shift, according to Liam.
He said she’d be closing tonight, and I was determined to speak to her, even if I had to wait there until midnight to do it.
A hostess I didn’t know greeted me. “Good evening. Welcome to the Cliffhouse. Dinner for one?” She looked around. “Or are you meeting someone?”
Yes, but she doesn’t know it yet. I shook my head and smiled. “It’s just me.”
The woman had already invited me to follow her and started walking toward a table when I said, “If you wouldn’t mind… could you seat me in Kristal Bianco’s section? She’s a friend.”
The hostess beamed at me. “Sure. No problem.”
Leading me to a table along the ocean-facing window in the main dining room, she handed me a menu. “She’ll be right with you.”
But when my waiter appeared, it wasn’t Kristal. Instead it was a man who greeted me.
“Good evening sir. My name is Robbie. May I start you off with something to drink?”
He was a young-ish guy, early twenties, lanky with big feet and hands, reminded me of myself back in high school.
His most distinguishing feature was his eyebrows. Heavy and dark, they rested low over his deep-set eyes, making it look like he was knifing me a death glare. Since I’d never met him, I knew that couldn’t be the case.
Robbie just needed a little grooming to prevent the resting-serial-killer-face he was currently sporting.
The big question was, what was he doing here? Confused, I asked, “Is this not Kristal’s section?”
The waiter’s posture changed, tensing. He stood a little more erect and looked down his nose at me.
“She has a very large party to take care of, soI’llbe serving you tonight. Are you ready to order, sir, or should I give you some time with the menu?”
The death glare was still there. And based on the tone of his voice, maybe itwasintentional.
“Oh, uh…” I gave the prix fixe menu a cursory glance—I wasn’t here for the food. “I’ll have the oysters, the grilled lobster, and the house made ice creams and sorbets.”
“Very good, sir,” he said sternly. “And to drink?”
“Just water.”
So Iwassitting in her section—she just wasn’t going to serve me tonight. I had a sudden suspicion the “shift change” the other day hadn’t been a coincidence.
She’s avoiding me.
Fine. I was a patient guy.
As I waited for my meal to arrive, I perused the room, looking from table to table. None of the parties seemed inordinately large. There was one table of six, but that was it.
Yep, she definitely asked this guy to take over for her.
Based on the waiter’s body language, he had a crush on Kristal and was more than happy to run defense.
Finally I saw her. She came in holding two plates, which she delivered to a young couple across the room.
