“No.He’s the one who expressed how much he wants to date me.I don’t want to sound desperate.”
“Maybe he’s embarrassed,” Cecilia said.Her friend was lying down on her bed, her kitten stretched out beside her.
“Ares doesn’t get embarrassed.”
“Are you sure?He’s a guy who is used to being in control, but when it comes to you, he’s all awkward.It’s kind of adorable.”
“It’s annoying,” Maisy said.“The man probably makes dozens of calls a day.He could at least call Josie.”
“I didn’t say he was perfect,” Cecilia muttered.“Can I have twenty minutes, please?I don’t know how I’m going to get through service tonight.”
“We’ll hang out in the living room and wake you,” Josie said, tossing a blanket over her friend.
“Make it forty.”
“You got it,” Maisy said.
Josie sat next to Maisy on Cecilia’s couch and they flicked through mindless reality shows, where she tried not to think about Ares.
Her logic kicked in.He told her that his last break-up was because of putting his brother first and every time they were interrupted; it had something to do with his brother.That his ex-girlfriend had walked out on him, without even a note.Maybe he was embarrassed or scared that she was going to say she couldn’t handle not being the focus of his attention.
Josie shook the thoughts away, almost not wanting to make excuses for Ares.Her calves were burning from sitting in the stool.Instead of being at home, she was here in this dark restaurant with Carter.
“Josie, what do you think of the place?”His cold fingertips made her draw her hand back.
“The blue light over the open kitchen is interesting.”
“Dean loves to experiment.You need to try the calamari.”Carter slipped into the seat across from her.“Everything here is good.”
Josie’s stomach twisted with how he looked at her.
“It’s not a date, Carter.Aren’t we here just to meet your friend?”
“But we might as well eat.We can be two friends, eating, right?”With the way he said it, Josie felt foolish.When Carter asked her to come with him tonight to talk to a friend looking to start a catering business, she had hesitated.
But Carter had been so good to her, and she had been so lucky with her business.Giving someone a few pointers was a small way to pay it forward.
“Eating is good.”Josie blushed, feeling so silly.
“Right?”Carter fake-laughed obnoxiously and laid his hand on hers.She wanted to pull her hand away, but didn’t want to be rude.She kept her hand underneath his sweaty one as he flagged down a server to order.
“It’s nice to be out of your own kitchen, right?You work so hard you deserve a night off.”
“You know how it is this time of year.”
“Yeah, and as your landlord, I should be thrilled that you’re so busy.But don’t you find it tiring?”Carter leaned in over the table and his steely look made her hackles rise.
She trusted Carter because he had an excellent reputation, even if Maisy thought he relied on his fame as an ex-football player and because his mom was a friend of her mom’s.There was no way she could make a profit by paying rent anywhere else.She would have taken several more years to do that.
The deal she had with Carter was one she didn’t take for granted, but how his eyes narrowed at her and how he tilted his head.His condescending tone made her squeeze her hands together.
She sat back in the chair, trying to create space between her and him.“No.I find it invigorating to always create dishes and put out good food for my customers.Don’t you?”
“That’s the job, but I have more staff than you do.Don’t you wish you had someone to take it all off your hands?”
The way he stared at her had her shifting in her seat.Where was Carter going with this line of conversation?
“I hired someone to help me out with the season.If you weren’t giving below market rent, I couldn’t afford to do that.”
