Page 19 of George’s Big Day

“He is, and he loves you back, which is pretty great as well.”

“That’s the part I like,” I said, driving toward the valet area. “Okay, I’m here.”

“Good. Now go in and protect him, and make sure you call me from the car on the way home. I want to hear this.”

“Will do.”

“Kiss, kiss,” she said and was gone.

Funny to think back to last Christmas, when I didn’t really know her at all. Now I was so comfortable with her, trusted her completely, and knew she loved me. Surprisingly, I loved her back. And, if I was being honest with myself, the person who first began the change in me was Hannah. Her being the squeaky wheel in my life, a person I couldn’t ignore, who demanded both my attention and affection, paved the way for Kurt’s sister, who was now my sister as well. I was in her debt for opening my eyes, and God help me, I might have to actually tell her that.

But not today. Maybe at the wedding. I’d play it by ear.

At the moment, however, the love of my life needed me, and that was crazy too. My first impression of Dr. Kurt Butler was that he was opinionated, uptight, closed off, and conceited. He had judged me as a man who used violence to solve his problems. Knowing now what I did about his father, he had probably lumped me in with him. All his icy reserve had been directed at me at the beginning of that fateful night. But then we talked a bit, and I got hurt later, and by the time they were taking me away in an ambulance, he couldn’t help himself. Taking me home was all he could do.

I told him often that he had tumbled into my trap, and he was always quick to reply that maybe I had it backward. Maybe he was the spider and I was the fly. I wasn’t buying it, but whatever made him happy. It turned out I was utterly devoted to making Dr. Kurt Butler happy.

After giving the valet a big tip to park my car close so it would be easy to get out, I strode toward the entrance to the restaurant—a beautiful redbrick building with gas lamps outside.

A party was coming in behind me, so I stopped and held open the door. They were gracious and thanked me, and I wondered, as I smiled back, how I should present myself when I met his mother. Normally, I was quiet at first. I liked to take in the lay of the land, and if I reached the table and Kurt was at ease, I would make myself melt into the background. If not… It would all depend on how he looked when I got there.

Inside, the hostess station had three stunning young women waiting for guests, all in short black dresses, and one older woman, clearly in charge, in a beautiful Valentino suit. I liked her glasses and told her so once it was my turn in front of the podium.

“Thank you,” she said, tipping her head as a smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. “I suspect you’re meeting someone.”

“I am. My fiancé and his family. Their reservation was under Marcum.”

“Yes, excellent. I have that right here,” she said, about to hand me off to one of the younger women. “And may I say, so nice not to have to offer a man a tie. I know it’s summer, but we don’t even have a patio.”

I grinned at her, pleased that I fit in wearing my navy Tom Ford suit, white dress shirt, crimson tie, and black wingtips. I had come straight from work, and thankfully, it had been a talk-to-new-people-about-to-need-protection day, and not a running-down-people-who-needed-to-be-fired day, or worse, showing up at ex-employees’ homes to collect work property. It was amazing how many people thought that taking home a laptop or a phone and then quitting, meant no one was coming to collect items that were the property of Sutter. I was always surprised. Still. Finn Murray, whom I was training, was always as shocked as I was.

A man leaned in then, around me, which was rude, and asked when his party would be seated. The hostess’s scowl was good—I was impressed. It was dark and a bit spooky, and he straightened up quickly so he was no longer in her space. I thought that was smart, considering how narrow her eyes got.

“As I told you when you agreed to be the next party seated, and you said it was no problem to wait at the bar, we had a reservation this evening for the entirety of the loft area on the second floor, so we don’t have the seating we normally do.”

“That’s right,” he said, glancing at me and then back at her. “I remember now.”

She stood there, staring at him, waiting.

He cleared his throat nervously. “You’ll call us when the table is ready, of course.”

“We will,” she said with a fake smile.

Once he was gone, she turned to me, her eyes warm once more.

“Maybe you guys should get those pagers that light up so he won’t worry, or take a phone number and text him.”

“There is no customer service in that—in not remembering a guest.”

“So you take notes?”

“Yes,” she said, pleased, I could tell, by my question. I’d been a host and then a waiter back in the day, in high school, before the Army. I knew how I’d done it, kept track of people.

“Does my note say good suit?”

“It says great suit, better smile.” She grinned at me. “Now go with Layla and stop flirting with me before I keep you.”

“Yes, ma’am.”