Page 7 of Silver
“Thanks, Duncan,” Charlie said.
I glanced up at him and nodded. “Yes, thank you,” I added. But when I looked back down at my salad, I had to wonder if this was what they considered “fine dining”? I was staring at three leaves of romaine lettuce, a few carrot shavings, a small tomato that was quartered, and a pair of olives, along with a few sprinkles of what I was certain was feta cheese. There was some sort of dressing, but I couldn’t be certain what type. When I glanced up at Charlie with a furrowed brow, he burst out laughing.
“You should see your face right now.”
Chapter Four
Charlie
It was wrong of me to be even slightly upset when Silver had mentioned that it was his mother who had signed him up for this and he didn’t even want to come. I was here at my sister’s insistence, so I honestly had no right to feel any slight. He was only being honest with me. Forget the fact that the moment my eyes met his, my koala pushed in my mind that we belonged to the sexy, tall man with the fascinating hair.
Thankfully, Duncan came by just then and was able to pull attention away from my flash reaction to him telling me he didn’t even want to be here. It wasn’t that I could fault him too much because I was only here to get my sister off my case about being single still. That was until I got a look at Silver. There was something about the man that drew my koala unlike anyone I’d ever met before.
“Is this really what they consider a salad?” Silver asked.
I couldn’t help but laugh. And it wasn’t a quiet chuckle; it was a full-out hoot. I agreed completely. It looked terrible and,well, pathetic. I understood they were trying for a fancy, high-end experience, but we were still in the aquarium restaurant at the zoo. It wasn’t a Michelin-star restaurant or anything.
When I finally got myself under control, I could only nod at Silver. He started poking at his salad, and I wondered if he normally ate them. He was a gorilla shifter, after all.
“Do you eat salads?” I decided to ask.
“I eat everything. I love food, and yes, I often order a salad with meals when I go out with my brothers. But this…this is not a salad.”
I had to agree. It really didn’t look like a salad. I picked up my fork and knife and decided that perhaps if I cut up the lettuce, it would be better at resembling an actual salad, but I wasn’t really holding out hope. There just wasn’t enough lettuce to rate this as being an actual salad. Maybe a garnish?
Duncan came back by, dropping off a basket of crusty bread for us. “How are the salads?” he asked, a smirk on his face.
“You’re kidding, right? These aren’t salads, Duncan. Why didn’t they cut up the lettuce and give us actual-sized salads? I know the restaurant has them.”
Duncan leaned closer. “The company that is hosting tonight’s event catered the meal. None of this was cooked by anyone from the normal kitchen staff. I promise, from what I’ve seen, the rest of the meal looks and smells really good. But the salads are a bit…” Duncan glanced down at my plate, where I had started cutting up the three leaves of romaine. “Well, lacking,” he finished.
“What’s the appetizer?” I asked, hoping it truly was better.
“Antipasto. And it’s a lot more than the salad, which I’m honestly thinking was an afterthought, really. But for the antipasto, there are four skewers on each plate, and all of the chunks are hefty. Lots of pepperoni and prosciutto, olives,mushrooms, artichoke hearts, peppers, tomatoes, and lots of chunks of cheese. They look really good.”
I grinned up at Duncan. “Thanks, Duncan.”
“No problem. Have fun, and don’t hesitate to let me know if you need anything.” He walked off, stopping at the next table, where a couple had finally sat down. I pulled my attention away from Duncan and back to Silver, once more entranced by him. He was just…everything I’d ever been looking for. He was tall, good-looking, muscular, seemed to be nice and well-mannered so far. I sighed inwardly. He most likely wasn’t going to be for me though. I definitely felt a pull toward him, but I wasn’t sure he felt the same. If he did, he’d been amazing at hiding it completely.
“At least the antipasto sounds promising. How is the cutting going? Does that seem to work?”
I shrugged but continued to cut up my salad. “Possibly. There’s not enough lettuce to be a salad in my book.” I gave up and instead just pushed it to the side to let Duncan take it away once he returned. Silver chuckled and did the same. I placed my elbows on the table and grinned at the handsome man across from me. If nothing else, I was going to enjoy what little time I had with him. It wasn’t often that I had a “date” with such a handsome and intriguing man.
“So, Silver—that’s an interesting name?”
“For whatever reason, Ma decided to name me and my four brothers after metals or minerals.”
I tilted my head to the side, curious. “How so?”
“Well, there’s me, then Clay, then Flint, then Mica, and finally Slate.”
“That’s certainly original. I thought your name came from your hair.”
Silver chuckled. “It just works out that way. Poor Clay, he doesn’t have anything red about him, but I guess the silver could end up looking like grayish-colored clay?”
I smiled. “Well, at least your name isn’t that of a very recognized cartoon character.”
“Charlie?” Silver seemed deep in thought. “The only one I can think of is Charlie Brown.”
