“I don’t even want to know what that’s about,” I muttered to Tess, walking her out of the lobby.
“Don’t drink too much! The HOA meeting is tomorrow,” Vera called after us.
Tess seemed fidgety in the car.
I wondered, had she regretted sending the photo? Maybe the restaurant was too much?
“I must admit,” I told Tess, “I didn’t realize it was a five-hour tasting menu. I just asked Greg’s assistant to pick a nice place to surprise you with. If you want something different, that can be arranged.”
“Are you kidding? I’ve wanted to eat at this restaurant since forever.” She pulled out her phone. “See? They have little pieces of salmon that you grill on a hot stone right at your table, and they have little mashed potato bubbles they serve with their beef.”
“You seem to know a lot about the restaurant.” I reached out to tuck one of her curls back into her bun.
“I have very small dreams,” she said. “Will I ever own my own home? Will I go on a fancy vacation? Nope and nope, but eating at a fancy restaurant seems much more doable.”
When we arrived at the restaurant, there were no windows, and there wasn’t a sign on the door.
“The chef wanted to make it feel like a secret,” Tess said as she knocked on the door. “I’ve watched so many YouTube videos about this place.”
The maître d’ let us in, checked our names off a list, then handed us each a small glass of wine.
“Cheers!” Tess tapped her glass to mine.
“So,” she said as we milled outside in the small interior courtyard with a burbling fountain, “is this where you take all your dates?”
“You’ve been my assistant for months,” I reminded her. “You know I don’t date.”
“That’s my line,” she quipped.
I cocked my head. “You don’t date?”
“Nope,” she said. “Never.”
“Why not?”
“Why don’t you?” she countered.
“Because.” I thought about it. “Because, well, it always seemed like a waste of time. You either have to go online and make a profile, or if you have disposable time, then you have to spend your free time out in bars or going to random events in hopes that you meet someone. Then what if they’re some sort of conspiracy nutjob? Then suddenly you have them in your life, and they’re moving into your house and stealing your stuff. It just seems like quite a lot of hassle.”
“Exactly!” Tess exclaimed. “See? You get it. All of my friends are like why don’t you date? And I’m like because it’s a terrible idea. It always ends badly. Look at Kaden.”
I shook my head. “My brothers are the same way, well some of them. My half brothers in Harrogate have all found the love of their life, most of whom just happened to fall in their laps. The rest of my brothers have terrible taste in women. What’s worse is they periodically try to set me up on dates. This one girl recently was terrible. I had to explain everything to her. I don’t know if she was trying to keep the conversation going, but it was like talking to a brick wall that just echoed back everything. Last time I let my brother set me up with someone.”
The maître d’ called us inside to take our seats. At each place setting was a small warm towelette on a black tray.
“You don’t eat that,” I said to Tess, grinning.
She stuck her tongue out at me and unfolded the towelette.
“For the first course,” the waiter assigned to our table announced, “we have a seafoam cream.” He set two plates down in front of us, each with a single spoonful of light-green foam.
Tess took a bite. “Tastes like the ocean,” she said in wonder. “It makes me want to go to the beach!”
I smiled at a memory.
“When my brothers and I escaped from the cult, we first moved to Harrogate and lived in a run-down, old factory building. My brother Remy took a job in the military, but one day when he came back from leave, he gathered us all up, put us in a van, and said he was going to show us something cool. He drove us a few hours away to the Atlantic Ocean. It was the first time I’d ever been to a beach. It was the middle of summer, but the water was still freezing cold. My brother threw us all in and laughed when we sputtered at the water. I had no idea it was going to be salty.”
“And now you own a private island,” Tess said, licking her spoon.
