Page 5 of The Princess and the Nerd

Chapter 3

I exhale to center myself as I move out of the kitchen. Dez immediately moves to my side.

“Two families with kids arrived,” she whispers. “Two couples, and two single men. Neither gave their names, but one of them must be the critic.

“Does anyone know what this H.D. McGuinty looks like?” I ask her.

“No. But that’s a Scottish name, right? So probably the old, heavyset, white dude in the suit, with the gigantic, fluffy Santa-beard.”

“Hmmm. Who’s the other single man?”

“Over there,” Destiny says, pointing. “Kind of nerdy-looking, tall Indian dude with glasses and the preppy, purple, argyle sweater vest. Kind of sexy in a weird way?”

“Yeah, he doesn’t seem like a McGuinty,” I say with a nod. “Crap. Why did you guys not give the old dude one of our best tables, with the view?”

“Sorry, Will. Just a habit of saving those for families—everyone has been overwhelmed today. I’ll go move him right now.”

“No,” I tell her. “I’ll handle it. You go get a bottle of rosé for Robbie. He’s losing it. Alejandro dumped him.”

“Shit,” she whispers. “That’s going to take a lot of rosé.”

“And probably a few buckets of ice cream later,” I inform her. “Jerk told Robbie he was just a boytoy.”

“Are youfuckingkidding me?” she curses under her breath. “We might have to key Asshole-landro’s car. Or at least grab a baseball bat and smash the headlights.”

“Okay, Carrie Underwood. We’ll discuss revenge for Robbie later. Let’s just get through this night.”

“Yes, boss,” Destiny says with a darkened scowl as she walks away. She has always been extremely defensive of our Robbie. Since we were teens.

Smoothing my hands down over my pencil skirt, I walk briskly through the dining room, past the families with kids. I smile at the little ones who are clearly having a blast being out to dinner, and enjoying the view of the river outside the windows. They exclaim with excitement whenever they see a little animal poke its head out and scurry around the landscape. We are blessed with plenty of squirrels and chipmunks who never cease to entertain.

I also walk past one of the couples, who are holding hands across the table, illuminated by the candlelight and flowers. They are staring adoringly into each other’s eyes, and it makes my stomach twist. They look so happy.I wonder what it’s like to be out on a date. I haven’t had the time in years. I betshedoesn’t own her own business. It looks like she had the time to do a full face of makeup—and to get a proper night’s rest.

Finally, I walk past the preppy looking Indian guy in the sweater vest. He looks up at me from under his thick-rimmed glasses, and I notice that the elegant manscaping of his facial hair—with a stylish little line shaved into his temple. Damn. His thick, longish dark hair is delicately gelled back, and he’s wearing a little stainless steel earring in one ear. Dez wasn’t kidding, he is kind of strangely sexy, in a geeky, uptight computer-nerd way. It’s probably just the purple and black, criss-crossing pattern of his argyle sweater. It really compliments his skin tone.

I force myself to look away from his hypnotic hazel eyes, and clear my throat. Tall, dark, and handsome usually means trouble to be avoided at all costs. Like Robbie’s Alejandro.

I’m walking away now.

Focusing back on the task at hand, I head over to the older gentleman.

“Hello, sir, thank you for joining us this evening. We actually just had a reservation cancelled, and can offer you a better table near the window with a view of the waterfall. What do you say?”

“Why, that’s splendid,” he says with a warm smile. “My wife and I used to come here all the time when we were younger.”

“So did my parents,” I tell him happily as I guide him to the better table. “That’s what led me to buying the restaurant and renovating it recently.”

“You’ve done a bang-up job, young lady,” he says with an approving nod as he follows me to the better seat. “The waterfall looks stunning through these new glass windows. And the mountains in the distance! I wish my wife could see it. It’s her birthday today.”

“Oh, will she be joining us?” I ask him.

“No, sadly she’s not with us any longer,” he says with a sad smile. “But I like to go out to the places she used to love, and remember her. Pretend she’s still with me, and enjoy these things on her behalf.”

“Then we’ll make sure you have a wonderful meal, sir,” I tell him gently. “And feel free to pick any dessert on the house. A present for your wife’s birthday.”

“Thank you, my dear. That is very kind,” he says warmly.

I am feeling extremely cheerful after this sweet interaction. It was a good start to a great dining experience, and will surely help us get a positive review. I walk back to the kitchen, trying not to make eye contact with the gorgeous, tanned man in the glasses who seems to be staring at me intently.

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