Page 33 of Desirous

Out of the corner of my eye, I see my father practically jumping for joy on the other side of the dining room. He really is an old romantic soul, after all.

As the meal progresses, her father and I talk about what he calls the silly reality show, and I can’t disagree with anything he has to say about it. I can tell Kat is uncomfortable about the subject, so I take the opportunity to change the subject to something about him whenever he brings up Chef on Chef.

By the time the meal is over, it’s clear her father is definitely a fan of mine, and her mother seems to like me too. Kat, on the other hand, has gradually moved from happy to see me to what appears to be eager to leave. I’ve tried my best to impress her parents, and it seems to have worked.

Now if I could only get their daughter to think as well of me.

“Thank you, Alex. This has been such a wonderful time. Your chefs did a superb job on everything. I loved the taste of my lamb,” Mrs. Truesdale says.

“I’m so happy you enjoyed it. That’s what we strive for here at CK.” I know I sound like a total company man, but it’s the truth. “I care about the food our customers are served, and all my chefscare too. It’s what makes this restaurant such an incredible place to work.”

When her father reaches for the bill, I shake my head and smile. “Please, this is on me. It’s been a wonderful time. Thank you for offering me the chance to get to know you.”

That impresses him even more, which is exactly what I intended. The parents seem covered, but once glance at Kat’s painful, forced smile tells me I have a lot more work to do.

As they stand to leave, I lean over and say to her, “Can we talk?”

She shakes her head and frowns. “No, I can’t. Sorry.”

“Alex, we need to get back to the hotel. It’s been a very long day, and I need to relax. Would you be able to give Katerina a ride to her apartment? It would help us out because that’s all the way across town and our hotel is just a block away from here,” her mother says sweetly, clearly picking up on her daughter’s emotions.

Standing from the table, I say, “I’m happy to. Go have a relaxing night, and I’ll make sure Kat gets home safe and sound.”

“Great! Thank you. Her father and I appreciate it.”

After we all say goodbye, I think I’ll have a chance to talk to Kat now that she’s alone, but not a minute after her parents walk out of the restaurant, she storms toward the door. Not willing to let this opportunity slip out of my hands, I run out after her.

She’s marching through the parking lot by the time I get outside, so I sprint to catch up with her, barely reaching her before she makes it to the road. “Kat, wait! I just want to talk.”

Spinning around to face me, she snaps, “My mother thinks she’s helping me. She doesn’t know that entire thing you did in there at dinner was an act. I want nothing to do with you.”

“It wasn’t an act. I had a good time with your parents. Your father and I got along famously. I could talk to him about kitchens and his career as a chef for hours. It wasn’t an act at all.”

Every word seems to anger her more, and she storms away again without saying another thing. I catch up to her quickly this time and grab her arm to hold her there before she bolts out into traffic.

“Please, listen to me! Why are you so angry at me tonight? What did I do at dinner to make you this unhappy? And don’t say it was all an act because you know it wasn’t.”

She stares up at me with so much anger that I almost expect her to reach out and slap me across the face, but slowly, that rage inside her fades away. Her shoulders sag, and she lets out a heavy sigh, like she’s been carrying the weight of the world and finally just wants to let it go.

“You have no idea how you make me feel when I’m near you and you’re so confident and comfortable with someone like my father, Alex. All my life I’ve wanted to be like that. Like you. Instead, I’m me, and it never feels like it’s enough. That entire meal I felt like I faded away into the woodwork once you and he got talking.”

A car drives into the parking lot, so I gently guide her down the sidewalk toward the park nearby. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to do that. That wasn’t my intention. I was honestly just trying to impress your parents because I care about you, and from all I’ve ever heard, if her parents don’t like you, that’s a problem.”

In the moonlight, she looks so fragile and beautiful that I want to take her into my arms and hold her until she doesn’t feel like this anymore. I had no idea I was making her so unhappy all that time.

“Do you know what my father said to me today?” she says in a small voice as we slowly walk together.

I don’t answer her question because I don’t want to make things worse. Instead, I wait for her to continue.

She lets out another heavy sigh and says, “He told me that the reality show wasn’t for people like you or me because of ourcaliber. For the first time in my life, he said something about my abilities as a chef that showed me he thinks I’m talented. Do you know how I know that?”

I shake my head, but I have an idea why.

“Because he compared me to someone like you. I took that compliment, though, because it meant the world to me.”

I step in front of her and stop her with my hands on her shoulders. “You are talented, and you don’t have to be lumped in with me to be that. You’re talented all on your own, Kat. I wish you believed that like I do.”

She gives me a tiny smile to go with her teary eyes. “Was it just coincidence that you were at the restaurant tonight? I would have thought you’d be exhausted after a long day at the studio.”

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