“I’ll give you a moment then. Just wave me over when you’re ready,” she said before leaving once again.
Natalie laughed. “Goodness, she is trying so hard,” she said. Suddenly, a flush came over her face and she reached for her cup of water. She also seemed to be consciously avoiding my gaze and I suddenly realized why.
I supposed she felt a bit hypocritical, considering that whole yoga display she had staged for me earlier.
Unable to stop myself, I chuckled.
“All right, enough you two,” Speaker Finley said, his eyes narrowing at the menu’s dinner entrees.
I breathed a sigh of relief, seeing that he had been distracted from asking me about my love life again.
Although the answer to the question really wasn’t all that complicated, I just didn’t feel like talking about it in front of Natalie. I couldn’t talk about it in front of her, knowing that she was the only woman I wanted right now, but couldn’t have.
I stared at the menu before me, trying to focus. But the only thing I could really focus on was Natalie’s presence across from me. Under the table, her foot brushed against mine. She looked at me, startled, and mouthed a ‘Sorry’ before turning her gaze back to her menu.
Just at the brush of her foot, my heart had begun to race. It didn’t make sense, the effect this woman had on me.
I looked up again when she cleared her throat, and gave a start over the fact that both she and Speaker Finley were looking at me. I raised an eyebrow, confused. And then I realized one of them had likely said something to me and I had been too lost in my thoughts to realize it.
“I’m sorry?” I said.
Speaker Finley laughed. “Was just wondering what you were having, but I see you need your concentration right now.”
I forced a laugh. “Yeah, sorry…” I said, remembering that he was treating me to dinner.
“And don’t worry about the price of what you want. Get whatever looks good to you,” he added, as if sensing my thoughts.
“Well, I’ve got simple taste,” I said. “I’ll settle for baked chicken, steamed vegetables, and mashed potatoes.”
“Simple, but hardy,” Speaker Finely said. “I like it. I think I’ll have the same, but I’ll switch out the chicken for a nice steak. Do you know what you want, dear?”
Natalie closed her menu. “I’ll just have a grilled chicken Caesar salad.”
“Looks like we’re all set then,” Speaker Finely said, and waved his hand to alert our waitress. She had been on the other end of the restaurant, but it seemed that she had been watching our table the whole time, waiting for the Speaker’s signal.
She returned with a smile on her face. “Ready for me to take your orders?”
“Certainly,” the Speaker said. “I’ll take the steak—medium rare—with vegetables and garlic mashed potatoes. And if you got any more beer back that, that’ll be welcomed too!”
“Of course, sir. And for you, ma’am?”
“Grilled chicken Caesar salad.”
“And you?”
“Baked chicken breast, steamed vegetables, and mashed-potatoes.”
“All right. Coming right up.”
“I don’t
know Dad…” Natalie said once the waitress had left again. “Seems to me you should take a chance every now and then. You’ll never know if the right woman is out there if you aren’t willing to take a leap of faith.”
She stared off into the distance as she spoke, but something told me she was well aware of how her words resonated. I halfway wondered if she had noticed the way I looked at her after all, even though I had been trying so hard to keep my feelings hidden. I should have known better though—Natalie wasn’t dumb.
“I guess you’ve got a point there,” the Speaker said. He fixed his gaze on me, clearly about to say something else, but my attention was suddenly drawn elsewhere.
It appeared the waitress wasn’t the only one keeping an eye on the Speaker Finley.