Ignoring me, Violet continues. “The sous-chef, perhaps?”
Relieved, the waiter nods and scurries off towards the kitchen.
“What are you doing?” I hiss at her.
“Making you smile!” She grins innocently at me and starts fluffing up my curled hair. “Sit up straight and pull the dress down a bit.”
“I’m not going to do that,” I whisper-shout, embarrassed.
“Fine, I will!” She reaches out, and it’s all I can do to stop her revealing my entire chest to the other diners. “Act natural, he’s coming!”
Violet turns away and pretends she’s deep in conversation with Seren on her other side, leaving me to face the man striding towards our table. He’s wearing a black chef’s coat which is snug on his upper arms, and his hair is untidy in a sexy way, as if he’s been running his hands through it. I wonder how it would feel ifIwere to run my hands through it. I push my nearly empty glass away from me – I’ve clearly had enough. His chocolate brown eyes land on mine and crinkle at the sides as he smiles, recognising me.
He smiles down at me. “Good evening, Miss.” His eyes hold mine for a second before slowly drifting over the rest of me.
Oh, shit.I’m so self-conscious, but there’s nowhere to hide in this dress. I can’t tuck myself further under the table because it would be rude, so instead, I slide my cloth napkin from next to my plate and drape it over my knee. It doesn’t cover much, but it hides my thighs, and I use my arms to cover my stomach.
I try to smile back. “Hey, Chef.”
“I’m told one of you wanted to speak to me about a salad?” He eyes the plate in front of me, noticing most of the food is still there, while everyone else has finished. “Didn’t you like it? Letme make you something else.”
“No, no, it was great. I’m just not very hungry.”
“Matilda, who’s your friend?” Tim calls from across the table. He’s looking at Connor like he’s an option on the dessert menu, and something that feels like jealousy, but I’m sure it’s just friendly protectiveness, grows in my chest.
I wave my hand towards the man standing over me, so close I can smell him even over the delicious odours coming from the food. “This is my friend Connor. Connor, these are my colleagues.”
“Colleagues? We’re her friends!” Violet scoffs. She reaches across me to shake Connor’s hand. “Violet. I’m actually Tilly’s work bestie. We tell each othereverything.” She winks at him, then turns back to Seren.
Connor smirks and looks down at his shoes, a slight flush on his cheeks. “You didn’t tell me you were coming here tonight,” he says, turning back to me.
I shrug and reach for my wine again, just to have something to do with my hands. “I figured you see me all the time at home, you wouldn’t want to see me at work too.”
“That’s ridiculous, what would make you think that?”
When I avoid looking at him, he crouches down, one arm on the back of my chair and one on the table in front of me. He speaks so low I’m the only one who can hear him, despite Tim leaning towards us, trying to listen.
“I will never get fed up of seeing you. There isn’t a reason on earth that I wouldn’t want to see you, whether I’m at home, at work or anywhere else. Please don’t ever think otherwise. Okay?”
Between the wine and his words, I don’t trust myself to speak, so I just nod.
“Good. Also,” he says, leaning closer to my ear, “you don’t need to hide behind a napkin. You look sexy as hell.”
He whips the napkin off my knee and stands up abruptly, stuffing it into his pocket. My cheeks burn and I wish I had something to cover them. A napkin would be handy.
Connor smiles at the rest of the table. “Enjoy your night. Tilly, give me a call when you want me to take you home.”
“Does that offer apply to all of us?” Tim calls after him, making everyone laugh raucously.
We finish our meals soon after, and I ready myself to make an excuse to go home rather than hit the bars with the younger crowd. A cup of tea and a lie down sounds heavenly right now.
“Right, who’s coming into town with me and Tilly?” Vi asks the group. Seren and Tim’s hands shoot into the air instantly.
“Actually, Violet, I think I might go home. With everything that’s going on, I don’t think I can afford to eat here andgo out drinking.”
Vi, Seren and Tim scowl at me, clearly seeing through my excuse. Before they can scold me, though, the middle-aged waiter from earlier comes over to speak to us.
“The bill has been settled, with our compliments. Please enjoy the rest of your night.”
