Page 8 of Winter at Wishington Bay
‘Anything for my favourite waitress,’ he grinned, and I shook my head. Anton had been teasing me like that since the day I’d started. I hadn’t had a clue what I’d been doing, having never worked at anything before, let alone as a waitress. His dark brow and Gallic flourishes had slightly terrified me to begin with, aware of the fierce reputation some chefs had. But I needn’t have worried. Ned didn’t stand for any of that nonsense in his kitchen and Anton was really a teddy bear. I just wasn’t looking for him to be my teddy bear. We’d had a couple of drinks together as friends and those evenings had only confirmed that the required spark wasn’t there. But we’d laughed a lot, cementing our friendship further. Annoyingly, that spark I’d been avoiding had now arrived like a bolt of lightning from the most unexpected, and most inconvenient, source. Perfect.
* * *
A short while later, having seated various other customers and dropped off several more orders with Anton, the device hooked on my apron string gave a buzz and I headed back to the kitchen to collect my order. Picking it up, I gave myself another mental shake to clear my head and pushed through the double doors from the kitchen back out into the restaurant. It was busier now and the noise level had risen, giving the place a great, buzzy vibe. Outside it might still be howling with horizontal rain but in here everyone could forget the weather and just enjoy themselves and the food. Most of the other restaurants in the village closed for the off season, but Ned’s was always busy, his reputation ensuring that the booking ledger was constantly full.
‘Here we are,’ I said, placing the plate expertly in front of Nate.
‘That looks great, thanks.’
I smiled. ‘Enjoy!’
He nodded, but there was something in it that seemed… off.
‘Is there something wrong? If you’ve changed your mind, I’m sure we can see about sorting something else out.’ Ned had been explicit in giving us all instructions to ensure that Gabe’s brother was to be treated as though nothing was too much trouble. I had an idea that Corinne would be thrilled to act on this instruction once she got a look at the man himself.
‘No! Please,’ he held up a hand. ‘It really does look delicious.’
‘But?’
He looked up at me through his lashes. ‘You don’t miss much, do you?’
I waggled my head. ‘I’ve got pretty good at reading people since I’ve been working here. So, what is it?’
‘Really. It’s nothing.’
Clearly it was a lot more than nothing.
‘Well, I don’t believe that for a moment.’
Nate picked up his knife and fork.
‘You know, I can just sit here and wait until you tell me.’
That shadowy smile flitted over his face. ‘If I didn’t think that might get you fired, I might take you up on that,’ he said, taking a forkful of smoked haddock and dauphinoise potatoes. ‘God, that’s good.’
‘I’ll pass that on to the chef, thank you.’
Nate met my eyes briefly and nodded. I could see that was the last I was going to get out of him. His expression had closed down and was now back to the unreadable one he’d worn when I’d first met him.
‘I’ll leave you to enjoy your food.’
He nodded again, his gaze barely meeting mine before returning to his plate.
The rest of my tables kept me busy for the next hour and I’d had a brief conversation with Nate about puddings and coffee but that had been it. He’d stayed distant and I couldn’t help thinking over his comment about him considering the option of taking me up on my offer to be annoying and sit at his table. Although he’d admitted that perhaps seeing something other than the four walls of the house might be a good idea, I still hadn’t got the impression that company was high on his priority list. In fact, he’d been fairly clear that it wasn’t. I glanced over my section, pushing the conversation to the back of my mind as I checked whether anyone needed attending to. Seeing Nate’s plate empty and his wallet on the table, apparently poised for payment, I headed over.
‘How was everything?’ I asked, taking the card Nate offered and putting it into the portable payment machine.
‘Amazing. Really. I’d love to thank Ned personally when he’s got a moment.’
‘He’s here tomorrow if you want to drop by. I’m sure he’d be thrilled to meet you. Him and Gabe are as close as brothers, and I know he’s looking forward to meeting Gabe’s real one.’
Nate gave another of those nods, not quite meeting my eyes.
‘Did I say something wrong?’ I asked, as I handed the machine over.
‘No. How do I put a tip on here?’
‘Oh. I skipped that screen.’
