Page 7 of Winter at Wishington Bay
‘He’s not here at the moment but I’ll pass it on. You can catch him another time. If you’re brave enough to keep up this actually leaving the house for a purpose other than dog walking, of course.’
The smile widened a little more. ‘Did you just challenge an Aussie bloke?’
I shrugged.
‘Holly might have mentioned that Gabe has a competitive streak he blames partly on his heritage and partly on his gender.’
‘Sneaky.’
‘Whatever works.’
He laughed then. Softly. As though he was testing something out, an unfamiliar action. I once again felt that wash of sadness and quickly covered it with a smile, hoping this time that Nate didn’t see straight through it.
He pulled the menu towards him. ‘What do you recommend?’
‘Honestly? Anything. It’s all delicious.’
‘Is the fish caught locally?’ he asked, nodding towards the fishing boats moored further up the bay.
‘Yes. Every day. Which is why there’s a couple of things off the menu today. Those with the stars.’ I pointed them out with the end of my pencil. ‘The storm was too bad for the boats to go out last night.’
‘I’m not surprised. The waves in the night were huge.’
I tilted my head. ‘Were you up?’
He screwed his nose up a little. ‘I don’t always sleep brilliantly.’
‘You do look a little tired.’
The shadowy smile was back. ‘I look knackered and I know it.’
‘No! Not… that bad.’
He gave me that look again.
‘OK. Yes. You look shattered. There. Happy now? You can complain to my boss that I’ve been insulting the customers.’
Nate shook his head. ‘Not at all,’ he said, pointing to his choice on the menu. ‘Actually, your honesty is very refreshing.’
‘Oh… OK. Good choice, by the way. Would you like a drink while you wait? I’ll bring you some water anyway.’
‘Water’s good, thanks.’
‘Right. I’ll go and put this through. Wave if you need anything else.’
Nate nodded and I turned to leave.
‘Oh! Sophia?’
I glanced round.
‘Thank you for all the food in the fridge and freezer. The meals, I mean. That was really kind of you. I should have replied to your note. I’m sorry.’
Instinctively, I leant over and touched his arm briefly. ‘You’re very welcome.’ With that I hurried across the restaurant and into the kitchen. Making a show of checking my order, I knew that the sudden flush on my cheeks wasn’t only from the whoosh of heat as I entered the bustling, steamy room but from the electric charge I’d felt race through my body as I’d leant towards Nate.
Taking a deep breath, I inwardly gave myself a head shake. Honestly? What was wrong with me? I’d stood there a few days ago and told him to his face that I wasn’t looking for a man. And I wasn’t! So why on earth had I gone momentarily gooey the second I’d brushed my fingers across his wrist? I tore off the page from my order pad and handed it over to Ned’s second in command.
‘Thanks, Anton.’
