Page 107 of The Life-Changing Magic of Falling in Love

And thanks to him invading my personal space and stealing my ice cream I know what he looks like up close and personal.

Very close.

Making it so personal.

‘I can’t go back out there,’ I say, my voice low. ‘Adeena, can you serve the mains?’

‘If she does, you’ll have to do dessert and after-dinner drinks,’ Carlos says, walking over to me. ‘Does Mrs. Lundy have spare crystal?’

‘Very funny.’

‘What happened between you and George? Why are you so hot and bothered?’

I choose to answer the last question only. ‘It’s a kitchen. It’s supposed to be hot in here.’

‘No. There’s something I’m not getting. Something…?’ Suddenly Carlos’s expression changes. ‘Oh, sweetie. No.’

He looks so genuinely concerned for me that my first thought is to reassure him. Tell him that, no, this is not some sort of J-Lo Maid-in-Manhattan deal where I’m falling for the client! That, yes, all right, I have experienced a little world-tilting on account of a few incidents like presenting me with a white feather for my collection. The quirky-nerdy-sexy serenading. Discovering I could do cheesy sightseeing with him on weekends. Seeing him interact with his family. The ice cream licking…

But not to worry because I’ve dealt with it and he should now consider himself firmly friend-zoned because… Panic revs through me while my brain works overtime trying to remember why but thankfully it’s given something else to think about as at that moment the kitchen door swings open and Adeena, Oz, Carlos and I all turn around to find Mrs. Lundy.

‘Everything all right in here?’ she asks.

‘Absolutely,’ we answer, in unison.

‘Then I think we’re ready for the mains. Oz, that first course was outstanding.’ And at that, all four of us are alone again.

‘Service,’ Oz declares in a commanding voice.

On a fortifying intake of breath, I snatch up the large serving tray and aiming for confident, say, ‘Okay, load me up.’

Carlos hesitates. ‘You’re sure?’

‘I’m sure,’ I say, nodding firmly. ‘Wait.’ I put down the serving tray and make a sign of the cross.

‘What are you doing?’ Carlos asks, not looking reassured at all.

Oz snorts. ‘Sending up a prayer to the Pastry Gods.’

Carlos rolls his eyes but then, obviously thinking it wouldn’t hurt, makes a sign of the cross himself before picking up the tray, passing it to me and sending me back out there, to the dining room.

As I serve each guest, I try imagining their homes to stop myself imagining George and the way his tongue?—

Damn. I try again, focusing on the guest I’m setting down a plate in front of. Does she live in a modern minimalist monolith or a – damn again – my gaze collides with George’s, only instead of remembered heat there’s a frozen polite smile on his face.

Has seeing me caused that?

My hands tremble at the thought so I focus on the conversation going around the room, right in time to hear the person beside George saying, ‘…yes, but the cardiology department needs its own dedicated fundraiser. More than that we need a person who can put together campaigns. Someone who thinks outside the box and can make people sit up and take notice. Someone who?—’

‘Oh, but George could easily help you with all that,’ I say.

It’s as I move to set the next plate down that I finally hear the silence.

Wow.

Something tells me I used my actual voice instead of my Inside my Head voice.

I look up to find all eyes are on me as the guest beside George says, ‘He could?’ then turns to George. ‘You could?’

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