Audrey turned to the stove again, and Josie widened her eyes a little at Alex. She was an innocent, sweet, pure, classic version of her sister, and there was no question about which woman hewas attracted to. Josie didn't stop to be annoyed with her sister. She just smiled absentmindedly as she cut into her open-faced sandwich with the side of her fork.
"This looks amazing, huh?" she said, glancing at him. "I haven't eaten one of these since I left Montana."
"Really?" her sister said, chiming in.
He smiled at her and spoke quietly. "You were so good at making them. I thought you'd open a restaurant in Colorado."
"No. I wait tables on the weekend—Friday night and Saturday lunch. Mom watches Luna. I thought about a booth at a market with those protein cups, but no. I was working on finishing my degree, so the server job was enough."
"Did you finish school?" he asked.
"Yes, I did."
"You got your master's?"
"Yes," she said, speaking quietly.
He smiled. "Congratulations."
"Thank you. Now to get a grown-up job for the first time in my life."
"What does that even mean, right?" he said with a smile.
"I do have an interview set up for next week."
Alex asked her what sort of job she was looking for, and she gave a vague answer about it being at a school that was in a church. She seemed antsy whenshe spoke about it, and he thought she might have said more about it if her sister wasn't right there.
They sat together and ate, sharing casual conversation. Her sister would chime in every now and then, and both of them were aware they were being overheard. Alex wanted to mention the dance scene again, but he didn't. It would take place the following day, and the longer he sat across from Josie, the more he wanted her to be there. It happened to be a fun, beautiful scene, and he wanted her to come to the ranch and experience it.
He found himself wanting to impress this woman—to stay next to her. Alex didn't believe in coincidence. She had come up in his thoughts since the first time they met, and seeing her in that grocery store had him convinced it all meant something. She had been on his mind all night last night, and there she was, right in front of him again, being sweet and looking like a dream. She ate the whole plate of food, and Alex remembered that night when she crushed his burger and eggrolls. She was adorable, and it was so unforced. She tossed her fork onto the empty plate and sat back in her chair.
"That was amazing, Audrey, thank you. Hey thanks, Cal, that was great, I'm stuffed." Both chefs were nearby, and she spoke to both of them before she took a deep breath and looked at Alex with a hand on her stomach. "I'm stuffed."
He smiled at her. "Me too. Thank you, guys," he added, talking to the others in the room.
"Hey,I'm glad you sat at Luna's table," Audrey said.
Josie stood up, and Alex did the same.
"Are you leaving?" Audrey said, looking at Josie.
"Yeah, I was going to head over to the—"
"How long are you going to be here filming?" Audrey asked, cutting her off and looking at Alex.
"Eight more weeks, roughly," he said. "I'm trying to have it wrapped in July."
"Oh, my goodness, that's so exciting. I really would love to come be an extra. I have the clothes and everything. And I like acting." She looked at Josie. "Can you please make sure he has my phone number so he can call me about it?"
Josie nodded.
"Thank you, sis, it was great meeting you, Alex," her sister said, smiling and being charming with her chef apron and spoon.
"It was nice meeting you, too. The breakfast was amazing, thank you."
Alex was tempted to say that it was almost as good as her sister's, but he knew she had been through a lot, so he didn't. They told Audrey goodbye and headed through the restaurant. Josie stopped to talk to Carly and another guy in the front, and Alex told her he would wait for her outside.
Carly made a face at Josie when Alex said that. It was a face that asked if there was something going on between the two of them. Everyone blew past itas he walked away, but Alex had noticed it, and he liked it. He wanted people to notice them together.
