“Do you love her?”
“Damn right, I do.”
“Then you’ll figure it out. Now, not to toot my own horn, but my improvisation skills are great. If you were, say, to need to take the rest of your day off, I could step in and convince everyone you had a legitimate reason for leaving. You could stay and wrap the day, of course, but I’d hate to see you bite someone’s head off. I have a hunch that aggressive streak rearing its ugly head today won’t subside until you talk to Alice. Take the day off. It’s for the good of the team.”
“You know what your special skill is? Talking so much that you confuse anyone to the point they agree with you just so you stop. But I do want to take the day off. Are you sure you can handle things here?”
“I owe you for many things. Go! I’ll take care of everything here.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Alice
“You’re going to cut your fingers.” Tim, my Blue Moon chef and all around savior, hovers around me as I’m dicing chili peppers for a marinade. Tim has been feeding me delicious things all day. Delicious and healthy things, which makes him a superhero in my book. It’s like he could see the heartbreak written all over me since I stepped into Blue Moon today. “No one wants marinade with a side of fingers.”
“Ew, I didn’t need the visual.”
“Neither do the customers, so let someone else do the dicing.”
I contemplate arguing, but the truth is my mind has been wandering every ten seconds. Nate has taken over my thoughts. I called him on Saturday, but it went straight to voice mail, and I haven’t tried calling him since. I figured he’d contact me when he sees it. No sign from him yet, so he still hasn’t turned on his phone, or—I refuse to consider another option. Yeah, I’m stubborn.
I’m giving him two more hours. If I don’t hear from him, I’m taking matters into my ow
n hands and will seek him out.
“Alice, there’s someone asking for you,” one of the servers says, poking his head inside the kitchen. My heart leaps in my throat. It could be anyone from a delivery person to a patron, but I can’t keep myself from hoping.
“I’ll be right out.”
First I wash my hands; there’s no worse way to doom a conversation—professional or romantic—than by accidentally rubbing your eyes after cutting chili peppers.
My palms become clammy as I walk into the dining area. Drawing in a deep breath, I berate myself for being downright ridiculous. But when I spot Nate pacing in front of the entrance, my breath catches. Tall and steady, his delicious gaze rakes over me immediately. I close the distance to him with quick steps, smiling at the customers on the way. When I come to a halt in front of him, my pulse is frantic.
“Hi.”
“Hi back. Sorry, I turned off my phone over the weekend, so I only saw your call today. Thought about calling back, then decided to do this in person.”
“You came here. It’s all that matters. Let’s go outside.” Some of the customers are watching us curiously, and I want this talk to be private. Outside on the deck, the air is more biting than crisp, and I shudder involuntarily.
“Here.” Nate shrugs out of his jacket, draping it around my shoulders.
“No, I’m okay. You—”
“Don’t start fighting me, Alice.”
“Fine.” Drawing in a deep breath, I add, “I’m sorry I left on Friday.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t stop you.”
I open my mouth but Nate brings his hand to my face, placing his thumb against my lips. “I’ll speak first.”
“Always so bossy,” I mutter around his thumb, then press my lips together because I’m dying to hear him out.
“I’ll talk to Horowitz and turn down the job in London. I don’t want to be away from you, Alice. What you and I have is special, and I won’t let this go. I’ll figure everything out, I promise.”
My heart drums frantically in my chest, the pounding echoing in my ears. “So, can I talk now, or are you going to boss me around some more?”
He tilts his head to one side, as if this decision requires all his concentration power. “I’m tempted to boss you around some more, just because I love seeing your reaction. But what you were going to say?”