Page 75 of You Were Invited
“I’m helping Ellie for the night—just tonight—after helping with the remodel.”
“Gotcha! You look like you’re a natural.” She grinned brightly before chucking her head toward the booths. “I’m out with my parents. They weresupposedto meet my new boyfriend tonight, but —” Dee rolled her eyes and fluttered her eyelids — “he got stuck at work. So we came here.” She twirled an end of her hair around a finger, giving him a bright grin.
He smiled back. Even over the smell of home cooking he could smell her nice perfume. “Well, that’s a shame. At least this is a good consolation prize.”
Dee raised her eyebrows and nodded. “Heck, yeah it is.”
Julian picked up his fork and stuck more pie into his mouth. He hoped she wouldn’t sense his tiredness and take it as disinterest, because Dee was always excited to see him. After she’d already tried asking him out, it was impossible to tell how she meant him to take her comment about a new boyfriend. But if she was happy, that was what mattered, and she seemed to be just that.
“The restaurant looks beautiful, Julian.”
“Thanks.”
“Northgold wouldn’t be the same without this place.” Dee said, leaning forward a bit. She lifted a hand, set it down on top of his. “Sometimes I wish Thomas had priorities more like yours?”
Her hand was warm. He raised a brow. “And what are those?”
Dee smiled coyly and rolled her eyes again. “Community-minded. Makes time for others...”
Not qualities I would’ve picked, but sure.
“Handsome…” she added.
Julian’s face flushed. He admired her consistent interest– which he would’ve been stupid to mistake for just plain neighborliness– but he couldn’t shake the feeling of wary disappointment. Her flattery would’ve felt more genuine and welcomeifshe wasn’t already attached. He’d never mess with another man’s girl, and he wouldn’t root for someone’s relationship to fail.
A polite smile spread across his lips.Maybe someday, Dee… but not tonight.“Surely I’m less handsome than the man who’s currently your boyfriend.”
An unidentifiable look flashed in Dee’s eyes before she pulled her hand away and laughed nervously. “He’s handsome in his own way. Different from you, I guess.” She smiled brightly again, her eyes giving him the up-down. Whether it was subconscious or on purpose Julian couldn’t tell, either. “Well, I better get back to my parents,” she said. “See you around.”
“See ya.” Julian waved goodbye. When she turned away, he blinked, shook his head, and stuck another bite of pie into his mouth.
“Oh!” a woman exclaimed.
Julian turned in time to see cups fly and scatter across the floor in a puddle of cola and ice. A group sitting at one of the new tall bar tables blocked his view, but he guessed one of the new waitresses had accidentally dropped her delivery platter.
A couple restaurant patrons exclaimed their surprise. A few others rushed over and threw down their cloth napkins.
Julian dashed to the back of the restaurant. The last thing they needed was a slip-and-fall and a sticky floor for guests to complain about. He looked for the mop bucket in the maintenance closet—
Empty?
—before turning on his heel and heading towards the kitchen. Teagan stood in the kitchen doorway with the rolling yellow bucket.
“Diana done goofed,” the young waiter said to the prep assistant. He then spied Julian out of the corner of his eye. He smirked. “Julian’s stan crashed into the waitress.”
What?Julian raised a brow.
“Your girl.”
Julian shook his head. “...Who?”
Teagan didn’t answer. He shouted, “Corner!" as he left the back of the house. Ellie left the kitchen, too, towel in hand, and followed him.
Curious, Julian poked his head out the serving window, but quickly lost interest. Teagan hadn’t meant Dee, had he? Dee was sitting with her parents, but her back was to him. He shrugged. Everything seems under control.
“We need more plates,” said Ellie’s prepping assistant, elbow deep in raw pork chops and applesauce stuffing. “The dishwasher is taking a smoke break.”
Julian looked at the dish sink and grimaced. “Gotcha.”
