The maître d nodded his head in acknowledgement before signalling for someone to show them to their table. Alex bent down to whisper in Grace’s ear. “Stop fidgeting. You look fine.”
She knew he was lying. The only reason he hadn’t let her stop off at home was because he was sure she would bolt inside, lock the door and refuse to come out again. He was probably right. It didn’t help that she now felt grossly out of place and underdressed for such a grand place.
The waiter led them to a small table through another archway overlooking the castle. After pushingin her chair for her, he handed them both a menu. Alex asked the sommelier for his recommendation before deciding on which wine to order. Grace sat there in stunned silence, pretending to study the menu; half of the stuff on it she had never eaten before. Who the hell ate rabbit these days? And what the hell was foie gras exactly?
Sensing her unease, Alex felt a little stupid for trying to impress her to this extent. This wasn’t the sort of place he normally went for but he was going out on a limb here, desperate for the night to go well. “I don’t know about you but I thought I might have the scallops to start with and then the venison. You’re not a veggie are you?”
Grace laughed. “No, definitely carnivore but I think I may have the scallops and the sea bass if that’s okay with you?” She was sure she had read somewhere that you weren’t supposed to have fish for your starter and main course, but there was no way she would have eaten the veal or the venison.
“Why wouldn’t it be okay? Order what you like. To be honest I’m not sure I’d like the other stuff on offer really.” Grace was astounded at his admission; he must have got the chance to sample this stuff daily. “What? I have simple tastes. They don’t serve this stuff on tour. It’s usually pasta or meat of some descriptioncooked in huge batches. There are a lot of us to feed. I prefer my mum’s Sunday roast, actually.”
It was true he had very simple tastes. Not only food but in most things in life. His parents had instilled good old fashioned values in him and they had stuck. He would never pick something purely for cost of because it was the done thing.
“Then why are we sitting in a posh restaurant in an equally posh hotel? There is a perfectly good Italian just down the road I could have taken you to.” She felt more uncomfortable than at any other time in her life. Sat in the overly opulent surroundings she knew she was underdressed and out of her depth. Her heart raced as she tried desperately to keep a check on her shaking, clammy hands.
“I asked you to dinner, remember, not the other way around. I wanted to make sure you had a good time. Maybe then you’ll let me see you again.” He shrugged as he peered down at his wine glass, swirling the deep claret liquid around the before lifting it to his lips.
Grace watched, mesmerised, as he swallowed, her gaze following the journey the wine took down his throat, her eyes stopping at the button of his shirt. Noticing her avid attention Alex smiled broadly, winking when her gaze returned to his face.Embarrassed at being caught admiring the view she quickly reached for her glass with one still very shaky hand, only to knock it over. Grace watched in horror as the deep purple liquid flowed over the pristine white linen table covering. Her hands flew to her mouth as she watched the wine cascade over the edge of the table like a waterfall.
“Shit! Sorry, I am so clumsy. Maybe this was a bad idea after all.” Her face flushed to almost the same colour of the wine. “Call the waiter over, Alex. I’ll pay for the damage and then leave you to eat in peace.” She was frantically mopping up the spillage when the waiter appeared beside her.
“Sir, Madam, if you wouldn’t mind just moving to the next table, I’ll get this cleared away in no time at all.” Grace hurriedly collected her things as she stood, not daring to meet Alex’s gaze.
“You promised me dinner. I’m not letting you leave now. Come on, it’s a little spilled wine, no drama.” He held her hand firmly, certain that she would run at any minute given half a chance. Once seated he ordered more wine but asked for white this time. “Just in case.” He smiled across at Grace who was still mortified. Grace relaxed just enough to let out the giggle that was rising in her chest.
She had never been more relieved to have orderedfish when Alex’s venison arrived; she was sure it was still pulsing on the plate. The blood seeped out of it when he cut into it. She had to take a deep breath just to stop the gag reflex that was building in her throat.Concentrate on the fish, Grace,she told herself.Thefish. It didn’t seem to bother him as he heartily cleared his plate.
The conversation flowed, with Alex soon putting her at ease. He asked about her job, family and why she had moved to Scotland alone. She answered with ease, amazed at how comfortable she was with him. Every time she steered the topic around to him, he would answer quickly before turning things back around to her.
“Why won’t you talk about you? You keep avoiding my questions or just giving me one word answers. I thought this was a date. Isn’t then when you’re supposed to find out about each other? See if you like what’s on offer?”
“Everything about me is already out there, written in some gossip column or interview somewhere. It’s boring. There isn’t really much else to tell you that hasn’t already been put out by my publicist, manager or so called friends.” Alex reached to top up her glass again. She covered the top with her hand as she shook her head.
“I’m a lousy drunk. I’ve had two glasses already, and it won’t be long before I start behaving really inappropriately.” Her eyes were already a little glassy looking and she had the warm fuzzy feeling all over. “Besides, you only had one little glass. You finish it.”
Alex shook his head. “I’m driving you home; I’ll have a drink later.” He placed his hand on top of the one she had covering her glass. She felt herself shiver at his touch. The sudden feeling of calm flowed through her veins, like nothing she had experienced before. If this was anybody else she would not have drunk anymore but with Alex, well, for some reason she trusted him, deep down knowing that he would take care of her. He gently lifted her hand away from the glass, proceeding to fill it until it was almost overflowing. “Anyway, I might like a little inappropriateness.”
Grace smiled broadly before taking a cautious sip.
They chatted easily throughout the rest of the meal, both finally relaxing around the other.
“Thanks for tonight; I had a really good time. Who knew!” Her eyes grew wide as she hurriedly placed her hand over her mouth. “Sorry, I mean I’m really glad you persuaded me to come. Look, I can grab a taxi home, it’s fine.” Grace stood to leave the table, andrummaging around in her bag she pulled out some cash.
“You can put that away. I’m paying AND I am taking you home. Sit,” he ordered as he signalled the waiter to bring the bill. “Can you charge that to my room please? I’m in the Caledonian Suite. Thanks.” Alex stood to shake the waiter’s hand. Grace was sure she saw him slip the man a hefty tip before he once again held out his hand for her to hold. “Come on, let’s get you home.”
Once back at her flat Grace insisted he come inside for coffee; it was the least she could do after the extravagant dinner he had just paid for. Alex was more than willing to oblige; he wasn’t ready for the night to end yet. Showing him into the kitchen she busied herself with the coffee maker before shedding her coat and bag.
“Make yourself at home. The lounge is that way or you can sit here.” She indicted to the tiny folding dining table with folding chairs. Alex pulled out the tiny kitchen chair. It barely seemed stable enough to take his full weight as he cautiously lowered himself onto it.
Placing the cup in front of him she jumped up onto the kitchen counter, cradling her own cup in two hands. She blew across the top of it to cool the brownliquid before taking a tentative sip as Alex watched her every move.
“So I guess this means I have to stop bugging you now. That was the deal, wasn’t it?” Alex asked, hoping for so much more than a dinner date.
Grace studied his features, watching his hard square jaw twitch. He wasn’t what she was usually attracted to but there was something drawing her to him. He had been nothing but charming over dinner, spending his time trying to put her at ease. There hadn’t been even a glimpse of the megastar image she had presumed would emanate from him. She now felt she had known him for years. This was bad, real bad.
Her mother would have heart failure if she even thought she may be in the same building as someone like Alex. The ink was a definite no-no as far as her very staid family was concerned. At least he didn’t have any piercings; well not as far as she could see anyway. Snapping her eyes back into focus, she spoke tentatively. “Yeah, well...I don’t exactly fit into your world now, do I?”
She watched as his eyes glazed over, jaw tense again. “What world exactly do you think I live in? As far as I can see we are just the same. I eat, drink, and breathe just like you. I have two arms, legs and eyes, one head; last time I looked anyway.” He ran his handsthrough his already precisely messed up mop of almost black hair, before rubbing around the back of his neck, trying to ease the tension knot that was building there. “I’m just me. Yeah, I may have a crazy insane job, but it’s just a job. It doesn’t mean that the person who stands on stage is me. They don’t get the real me, they get a version of me, a version that I don’t like very much at the minute.” Shaking his head he took a sip from the coffee she had made for him. It was god awful. Trying not to choke on the foul brown liquid or let his expression give him away, he swallowed quickly before placing it back on the table where it would sit, untouched again.
