Page 46 of Purr For Me
“Exactly,” Lexie said. “One knife, one spoon, one fork. They do the job just fine. Heck, I’ll even use a spork if that’s all they have.”
As though conjured by magic, a maître d’ seemed to materialize by their table. “Good evening, sir, madam. I’m Jared, and it’s my pleasure to be your server tonight.”
Kade regarded him with a bored, sophisticated expression. “Very good, Jared.” He motioned at the silverware. “There are too many forks on here.”
Somehow, Lexie held back a snort over his playacting.
Jared’s forehead creased. “Too many forks, sir?”
Kade nodded. “Yes. That’s what I said. I would prefer that you take away all but the biggest forks for myself and my beautiful dining companion. Or better yet… do you have any sporks?”
Lexie lost it at the shock on Jared’s face. A loud peal of laughter escaped her, drawing the eyes of several diners. She didn’t give a rip. Kade also laughed, and Jared’s mouth curved up in a small, uncertain smile, not sure what the joke was.
She followed Kade’s lead when he started gathering up the “extra” silverware. He took hers and handed it all to Jared, who looked like he wanted a crevasse to open in the floor and swallow him up.
His face turned red as Kade patted the metallic bundle now gripped in his hands. “There. That’s much better. Thanks.”
“Yes, um, you’re welcome. I’ll just get rid of this and be back in a moment.”
They dissolved into quiet laughter as Jared went on his way, neither able to speak for several moments.
Lexie took a tissue out of her purse and dabbed tears from her eyes. “Good thing I wore waterproof mascara, but that would’ve made it totally worth ruining it.”
“I just couldn’t resist.”
“I’m glad.” Lexie rearranged her remaining utensils. “I wonder if he knows what a spork is?”
That set them off again, and they were still laughing when Jared returned. They calmed down as he gave them the wine list and menus. With a stiff smile, he left them to deliberate on their meals and retreated again.
“Wow. Someone’s got a big stick up his ass,” Lexie commented as she perused the beef selections.
Kade chuckled. “To be fair, he handled our joke fairly well.”
Opening her menu again, Lexie studied it. “Right. And whenever Jared gets back, he can recommend something to me.”
Jared arrived before Kade could respond and helped her find something to her liking. By the time she chose something, she’d discovered that Jared was actually very nice and a little more down to earth than she’d thought.
Once he’d taken their orders, she laid her napkin over her lap and said, “I think he’s warming up to us.”
“No, he’s warming up toyou,” Kade said.
“Do I detect a bit of green in your eyes?” Lexie teased.
Kade nodded. “More than a little, but I can’t blame the guy. You make my temp gauge light up.”
Lexie laughed. “Oh, my god. I didn’t know you were so tacky.”
“It’s garage talk. I thought it would put you at ease.” Kade waggled his eyebrows. “Just wait. You ain’t seen nothin’ yet, sweetheart.”
