Page 61 of Winter at Wishington Bay
‘Absolutely.’
‘What’s all that about?’ he asked, subtly inclining his head to where Corinne was now delivering Nate’s drink to him. A task that should take all of two minutes but which she was managing to stretch far longer.
‘What do you mean?’ I asked. I certainly wasn’t a fan of Corinne’s true colours but I wasn’t a snitch either. Ned, however, wasn’t buying it and gave me a look that said as much.
‘It’s Gabe’s brother. You said to make sure he’s looked after well when he comes in.’ I gave him a casual smile, but Ned’s expression remained blank.
‘Corinne seems to be taking that instruction to include a hell of a lot more than what’s on the menu. Is something going on between them?’
‘Not that I know of.’ I glanced round and couldn’t help notice the difference in Nate’s body language between the last time he was here and now and had to refrain from adding ‘yet’ to my reply. ‘He’s a big boy, Ned. And it’s not like he’s fighting her off,’ I said, feeling the twist in my stomach again and stamping on it with the determination of a five-year-old faced with a plateful of sprouts.
‘That’s not the point. I promised Gabe I’d look out for his brother. He’s been through the wringer already. Corinne setting him in her sights is the last thing he needs.’
Across the room, Nate laughed and Corinne gave him a flirty look before heading over to where another customer was trying to get her attention.
‘Or perhaps it’s exactly what he needs,’ I said to Ned, giving a shrug and resting my hand on his shoulder for a moment. ‘You’re doing all you can but he’s a grown man. If he can be so easily seduced by youth and beauty, then who are we to stand in his way.’
Ned tilted his head a little, smiling. ‘If I didn’t know any better, I’d say that comment had a distinct whiff of envy about it.’
I made a shocked ‘O’ with my mouth and placed a hand on my chest. Ned’s grin widened and he gave my hand a friendly squeeze. The pager hooked on my apron vibrated.
‘Order up.’
‘Thanks, Sophia. I’m going to have a word with Corinne anyway. I’ve already noticed her missing several of her tables while she’s busy making cow eyes at Nate and it’s not the first time. I’m happy to have him here as much as he wants and they can do what they want out of here but she needs to rein it in a bit while she’s on shift.’
I didn’t know what to say to that, so instead I pointed at my pager. ‘Better go.’
‘Yep. Thanks.’
I headed off to the kitchen and picked up my order. Making my way over to the table, arms full of plates, I saw Ned and Corinne huddled in a space just behind the booking lectern where we stored customers’ coats, out of sight. Ned’s face was uncharacteristically serious while Corinne’s had the livid but sulky expression she’d likely been cultivating since her teenage years. Whatever Ned was saying, it definitely wasn’t going down well. I’d never seen Ned have to reprimand any of his staff in the time I worked there. Corinne had mistakenly interpreted this as thinking he would be a pushover but Ned, like most people, had limits. The restaurant was his and Carrie’s life. They’d built it from nothing, cultivating its stellar reputation and, with a young family to support now, keeping that reputation was more important than ever. The rest of us knew this, but Corinne apparently needed her memory refreshing.
The phone by the lectern began to ring, and I headed over to answer it. As I approached, Corinne’s gaze moved from where it had been petulantly staring over Ned’s shoulder and met mine. Her eyes burned with rage and she narrowed them slightly as she stared. I looked away and answered the phone. Clearly she felt that her dressing down from Ned had come at my behest and, having that added to my crime of Nate walking me home the other day, had only increased her dislike of me. I wasn’t a great one for conflict, having done my best to avoid it for most of my life, as and when possible, even if that meant making myself unhappy. I didn’t particularly relish an even more difficult relationship with Corinne as I loved working at Ned’s, but I also wasn’t about to be intimidated by a twenty-something with a crush. Life was too short. Glancing over at where Nate was now sat alone, looking out to sea, I realised that perhaps Corinne hadn’t been the only one with a bit of a crush. But I’d got over far bigger things than this in the past eighteen months, and this too would pass. Besides, if he preferred taut young bodies with pert boobs, full lips and thick extension-enhanced hair, that was up to him. It was hardly a revelation. My own ex-husband had certainly veered in the same direction on more than one occasion. And that was just the times I knew about. Sometimes there was just no accounting for taste.
* * *
The crowd was thinning a little as Eloise met me at the lectern.
‘Isn’t it time for your break?’ she asked, glancing at the clock above the door. ‘Ooh, and perfect timing.’
I frowned and followed her eyeline. Billy Myers was at the door. And before either of us could move, so was Corinne.
‘Bloody hell, it’s like she’s got some inbuilt tracking device for good looking men,’ Eloise said. ‘And men too old for her at that.’
I gave a shrug. ‘Age is just a number and all that.’
Eloise didn’t look like she agreed particularly, but her focus was on Billy and Corinne.
‘Hi! Welcome to Ned’s. I’m Corinne.’
‘Hi. I was actually looking for Sophia.’ Over Corinne’s head, he smiled. I raised a hand and gave a small, acknowledging wave.
‘Oh. Right. Well,’ she posed a little and looked up at him through her lashes. ‘We’re not really supposed to have visitors when we’re working.’
Eloise made to step forward but I stopped her. Billy’s entire being was relaxed, and confident. Just as it had been at the hotel. My friend looked round at me and I gave a small head shake.
‘That’s OK,’ he said, ‘I already cleared it with Carrie.’
‘I see.’ Corinne replied, tilting her chin up. ‘Well, I guess a posh accent gets you special privileges.’ She gave Billy a smile but being apparently immune to her charms, he’d now dropped in her estimation and there was no warmth in it. She stepped out of the way and threw me a cold glance. ‘I’ll leave you to it.’ With that she stalked back on her Bambi legs, inevitably towards Nate.
