Page 10 of A Prince for Christmas

“Right,” he said, seeming to realize that he’d crossed some kind of line, though he looked a little confused as to what I was upset about. I’d tried to hide it, but we’d been going out long enough for him to know when my smiles were forced.

“I made us a reservation,” he offered, obviously trying to appease me. “Best seats in the house.”

As we walked toward the door, Fred wrapped an arm around my shoulder and actually opened the door for me, something he never did. I wasn’t sure if he was doing it for my benefit, or because he thought he was in the dog house with me, or because there were people watching.

We hung up our coats before Ayanna, the off-and-on hostess, led us to our “reserved” table. It was the only “reserved” sign in the whole restaurant, but there were plenty of empty tables, so it looked sort of silly, especially in a bar that served wings. But I appreciated the effort, so I offered Fred a smile and thanked him.

Nick appeared at our table, seemingly unaware that reservations were not a thing that usually happened here. Thank goodness for small favors. “Good evening,” he said with a polite smile. “Would either of you fancy a drink to start you off?”

Fred raised a hand and pointed at me. “Rum and coke for both of us.”

“Right away,” Nick said smoothly, “But we do have a special tonight that I have to tell you about.”

I drew my brows together. Old McGregor never did specials. He said that all of the food and drinks were special.

“Pina coladas are two-for-one,” Nick said, giving me a little wink.

“Oh, I love pina coladas,” I said, turning to Fred with an encouraging look. That was a little fancy for him, but I could sometimes convince him to branch out and get adventurous with me.

Fred looked confused, but he nodded. “I guess we’ll have one of those, and just the rum and Coke for me.”

“And shall I put in an appetizer for you? The lady knows the menu top to bottom,” he said, with a conspiratorial look at me.

“I certainly do,” I said with a smile. “Fred, how about the loaded fries and an order of onion rings? I’m starving.”

Fred looked startled. I don’t think I’d ever ordered two appetizers. However, I thought he might need to absorb some of the alcohol he’d been guzzling. In the past, Fred had drunk some, but no more than most college students. He seemed out of control tonight, and I couldn’t help but wonder if he was more worried about his mom than he’d let on. We made it through the appetizers, and his second drink before he remembered to ask about how I’d been doing.

“What’s been going on with you, Emily?” he asked, slurring his words just a little.

“Just working and going to school and checking in on my sisters,” I said.

“Nothing else happening in your life?” he asked.

I was confused that he sounded a little belligerent.

“Nope, my boyfriend has been busy, so I’m pretty much just doing the usual. On the bright side, my grades are great this semester so far. No distractions.” I winked to let him know I was kidding.

“That’s not what I heard,” he said, glowering at me.

Now I was really confused. “What did you hear?” I asked.

“I heard you were messing around with some other guy.”

I was stunned, since I’d been working and studying and wondering why my boyfriend wasn’t around. I tried to keep my cool, though. I had no idea what he was talking about, but the last thing I wanted was a huge scene in the middle of the dining room where I worked.

“What on earth?” I asked.

Before he could respond, Nick appeared, offering to freshen our drinks and bringing our main course.

I thought Fred was going to explode, but he de-escalated a bit as he accepted the Surf and Turf, a lobster tail with a 12-oz. ribeye. And ordered another drink—this time a double.

By this point, I’d lost my appetite and wanted nothing more than to make a run for the door. But I wasn’t big on making scenes, so I took the food I’d ordered. The Wild Meatloaf was a fairly ordinary meatloaf except for the fact that they added a quarter pound of farmed buffalo to each pound of hamburger. It came plated with cooked greens, including a few dandelion greens, which they billed as Wild Prairie salad.

“You didn’t want a steak?” Fred demanded. “It’s your night Emily. You don’t have to be cheap all the time. You could’ve gotten whatever you wanted out of me.”

“I want meatloaf,” I said, forcing a smile through the embarrassment. It was true that I was a little thrifty, since my family didn’t have a lot of money, but Fred wasn’t well-off, either.

“Does your new boyfriend get a bonus when you order the meatloaf?” Fred demanded, his voice rising as he glowered at Nick. “Where is that drink, Bartender?”