The host led us to a small table for two next to a picturesque window and dropped two menus. “Can we have your finest bottle of wine?” Harrison asked before he had even sat.
The waitress nodded. “Of course. Anything else?”
“That’s all for now, thank you.”
He sat down, still grinning like a chimp.
“My goodness, you’re so happy,” I commented with a laugh.
“Why wouldn’t I be?” He said back.
The host walked away, and my heart sank.
Sitting directly across from us, holding menus and drinking water from wine glasses, was the entire Nash family.
Colton was three feet away, and Harrison was across the table.
It would be an interesting night.
After Harrison had requested the $90 wine, he ordered a steak with a side of lobster. My stomach was in knots, andI asked for a salad, which Harrison changed to pasta as the waitress was walking away.
The Nash family was laughing and talking loudly, not caring who heard them, only caring about each other. I took a few sips of the wine, but mostly twiddled with my napkin.
“How did the resort turn out?”
Harrison wiped his mouth with the cloth napkin. “Those chumps. They paid us for four weeks of work, so we knocked it out in two.”
“Wow.”
The waitress brought our food and asked if we needed anything else.
Across from us, Dean was telling a story, using his hands to animate every detail. They were all laughing.
What a happy family. I wondered if I had grown up with parents like them and loud, loving siblings, if Iwould’ve turned out the way I was. Probably not.
Colton looked over his left shoulder, catching my eye. He started to offer a smile, but I shot my gaze back down to my food.
“Hey,” Harrison said. He slid his hand across the table and caught mine. “You’ve been quiet tonight.”
He was right, I was not focusing on my wonderful date in front of me. I was thinking about horses, “Ally,” and the dusty cardboard box in my closet. I smiled and brought his hand to my lips. “Sorry. I am not used to traveling like this. I think it’s draining me.”
“It’s a big assignment, Allegra. You should be proud of yourself. Once you get this done, you’ll have that corner officeand never have to leave Chicago again.” He was so confident, so excited. It made me feel better that he knew exactly what I wanted.
I took a bite of pasta. Maybe I was just hungry. I couldn’t remember the last time I had eaten a good meal.
“Allegra?”
Harrison and I snapped our heads toward my name. Jo Nash, Dennis’s wife, was waving at us. “Sorry to interrupt y’all, but I had to tell you how much I loved that little video of Jimmy and Colton!” She was practically shouting even though we were a few feet apart. “My boyshatebeing filmed, but you made them look so charming!”
I couldn’t help but give her a real smile. That meant a lot coming from the mother of the two boys I had turned into a commercial. “Oh, thank you, Mrs. Nash! It truly was thanks to my videographer; she’s a master behind the camera.”
Harrison cleared his throat. “Right, that Ag-Core campaign? Yeah, I watched that on the plane. It was really…great.”
I shot him a look, not wanting to call out his lie in the middle of a conversation, but needing him to know it stung. I was proud of that campaign, and he didn’t even know the name of the company I was representing.
Dean leaned forward. “We didn’t get a video!”
I laughed. “Oh, don’t worry, you will. I ran out of time and storage this rodeo, but be ready next weekend!”
