Page 115 of The Flirt

"Three o'clock okay?"

"Sure. That sounds good," she said.

Remembering my conversation with Scarlett, I asked, “Would you mind if Bella spent some weekends at my house too?”

“Hell no. I’ve been in weekend-prison for way too long.”

Fucking hell.

“You know I’m always happy to spend the weekend with her too” was all I said.

“Would Scarlett be there too?”

“Probably.”

“Fantastic. That would free me up to travel. Best news I’ve gotten all day.” Sarah got up from the table. “All right, I’ll be going, then. Good luck with... everything.”

“Thanks.”

She waved before heading to the front door.

I could never understand how Sarah and I were ever together. We were so damn different.

I watched her go out of the restaurant and then went toward the kitchen. It was fucking insane. The staff were running around. I couldn’t see Scarlett anywhere.

I caught Joel foraging the big storage rooms. "What's happening?"

"We have some delivery delays. Chef is on top of it, though," he said proudly.

"She's a good one."

"Yes, she is, boss. She's the best chef we've had."

I liked that he was protective of her.

"Thanks for finding me earlier." Joel had told me about Sarah wanting to see Scarlett. I really appreciated that.

"Sure," he said.

As a general rule, Scarlett and I weren't hiding, but neither of us had come out and informed the kitchen staff that we were dating. But Joel was a smart guy. He'd put two and two together.

"Although Chef does look a bit tired today," he said.

Yeah, well, that was my fault entirely. But I knew exactly how to fix it. I was going to take a detour by Maria's Coffee Shop and buy an espresso.

Even though finding time for each other was going to be challenging from now on, I was still determined to spoil her every chance I got.

There was a line at Maria’s shop when I got there a few minutes later, but she was efficient, so it moved quite quickly. She looked at me with a triumphant smile.

"Coffee date's back?" she teased, which made me laugh.

"Two espressos, and mind your own business."

"How about I give you one for free if you spill the beans?"

"No can do, Maria," I said.

"Well, fine." She grudgingly made the drinks without asking me anything else.

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