Page 12 of Aloha, Seattle

I stop a second and realize I never asked him what he does for a living. Of course I would forget to ask such a simple yet important question. I slap my hand against my forehead.

“I didn’t even ask him what he does for a living!”

“Damn, he’s that gorgeous you forgot one of the basic five.” Eve shakes her head and I swear I catch her lick her lips.

Since the moment I met Eve, she has claimed there are the Top Five Questions one should ask a potential mate before wasting time on a second date.

What is your name? (Obvious.)

What do you do for a living? (Also, obvious.)

Are you a morning or night person? (Because one needs to have a full eight hours of uninterrupted sleep and not be woken by someone too cheery the next morning.)

Are you a cat or dog person? (Apparently ‘neither’ is not an appropriate response.)

Where do you see yourself in five years? (If they don’t have direction now, they won’t get there later.)

So far, I know Theo’s name and I know he doesn’t hate puppies. If I were taking a test, I would be failing. And by the look on Eve’s face, I have failed royally.

“I know his name.” I offer in an attempt to get back into her good graces.

“Well thank the Lord for that.” Eve motions for me to continue. “Well? What’s his name, Kit Kat?”

“Theo Bennett.” I say, proud I can at least answer the most important and basic of the Top Five Questions, when I realize they are staring at each other in stunned silence. “Are you two alright?”

“TheTheo Bennett?” Tommy seems to be in awe.

“Ummm…. Is there another Theo Bennett I should know about?” My eyes are bouncing between Ma and Pa quickly, expecting any minute now they will let me in on the secret.

“He’s a pretty famous chef in Seattle.” Tommy obliges, scratching his round, clean shaven face. “He owns eight or nine restaurants along the West Coast.”

I scoff, “No way. You’re making that up.”

“No, ma’am.” He shakes his head furiously; his eyes meeting Eve’s and she too is bobbing her head. “I just read an article about him opening his newest restaurant in downtown Seattle this upcoming January to kick off the new year.” Tommy scrolls down his phone until he finds the picture he is looking for and turns it around for Eve and me to see. “Is this him?”

There he is. On Tommy’s phone. Flashing that wicked smile of his. Those dancing, dreamy green eyes and a white chef’s coat with his name scribbled across the front pocket.

I barely manage to nod my head. “Yes,” I whisper, my voice not feeling like my own.

“Praise again!” Eve nearly leaps to her feet to shimmy around the cramped back area. “Kit Kat,” she grabs my hands with a warm grin, “marry him. If you don’t, I surely will.”

“Look,” I bring her hands to my lips and plant a kiss. “We are not really dating -”

“Yet.” Eve wiggles her eyebrows up and down.

“This is real life, Eve.” I don’t use her nickname and by the look on her scrunched-up face, she notices. “This is not one of your rom-coms.”

“First of all, Kit Kat, you better address me properly before I knock some sense into that stubborn head of yours.” Eve’s brown eyes narrow. “And second, last time I checked, you watched every single rom-com with me. Who knows? Maybe your fake dating will turn into real dating.”

Always the peacemaker, Tommy stretches his legs and asks, “When are you planning to see him again?”

“Tonight, when we get back to Seattle.” By the shakiness in my voice and my circular temple rubbing, they see I am rattled with this new information.

If I am understanding Ma and Pa correctly, Theo is a famous chef and restaurant owner in the Seattle area. And I am a flight attendant who knows how to press START on my microwave and order off a menu. I scratch my fingers down my face.Horror. I am feeling the horror and sheer embarrassment that I didn’t know who he was. And now this adds another layer of problem to the fake dating situation. If he is as well-known as Eve and Tommy have made him out to be, that means there’s a chance people will recognize him and begin to wonder about me. I start sweating and starting gnawing at my fingers before Tommy has a chance to stop me.

“Cate.”

Hearing Eve say my name pulls me back.

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