Chapter 4
CHAPTER FOUR
Vivian smoothed her hair back from her face, taking a deep breath. She felt frazzled, and even though her adrenaline was pumping enough to keep up her energy, she was a little winded. They’d just had an unexpectedly late lunch rush at the pub, and even though she’d come into The Lighthouse Grill that day with the intention of working on marketing in the office, they’d become so busy that she’d left the office to start waiting on tables. She’d just ducked back into the kitchen to put in another order, although things were finally starting to slow down.
“Wow.” Alexis stepped up to her mother, laughing wryly and shaking her head. “I’m glad we got the business, but two buses full of high school basketball teams coming in at once is quite the whirlwind.”
“Especially when Allison had just left to take a lunch break.” Vivian shook her head. “I thought I was going to have to help Kirk cook all those hamburgers myself.”
“She’s a sweetheart for coming back.” Alexis grabbed her water bottle off the counter and took a long drink.
“Very loyal.” Vivian nodded. “I’ll pay her overtime for today. At least she should finally get a break in a minute here.”
Alexis nodded. “I’m out of here in another couple of hours, so I can keep going. But you should also take a break, Mom. We’ve got everything under control now—everyone’s got their food except for that last couple you just waited on. I can run their food out to them when it comes out.”
“Oh, I’m doing just fine.” Vivian waved her hand through the air, smiling. “Thanks for offering, but I want to help put things back in order for the early dinner crowd.”
“Okay,” Alexis said doubtfully. “But my offer still stands for whenever you do want to take a break.”
Vivian patted her hand. “I might be getting older, but I’ve still got plenty of spring in my step. I love this pub, and I’ve never minded rolling up my sleeves and getting to work here.”
“I know.” Alexis smiled at her mother. “Just don’t push yourself too hard, okay? That’s what teamwork is for.”
“Mm, but the members of my team also have cause for taking a break if they need it. Particularly a certain pregnant waitress I know.”
Alexis laughed. “I’ll take a break if I need to. Right now, I’m doing great. But thanks, Mom.”
Vivian went back out into the dining room, to the beverage and condiments console that was tucked into a corner of the room. She started to marry ketchup bottles, so that the ones they had out on the tables would be full and the empty ones could be refilled from the large ketchup containers that were in storage. She stacked the ketchup bottles on top of each other with the openings touching, so that the ketchup from the top bottle would travel down into the one beneath.
She was doing several at once, and as she turned toward the sink in the console to dampen a paper towel, one of the upper ketchup bottles began to topple and veer toward the floor.
“Oh no!” she cried, but before the bottle had fully tumbled off the counter, it was caught by a man.
“I think you dropped this,” he said, smiling.
She blinked at him, surprised by how attractive she found him. He was a middle-aged man, but he exuded a youthful energy that she found appealing. He had dark blond hair that was flecked with gray, especially at the temples, and a neatly trimmed beard. His eyes were a light brown, and he was wearing a trim dark brown cashmere sweater that gave him a polished appearance.
She felt herself flush a little and she laughed breathlessly. “Oh my,” she said, shaking her head. “Thank you for catching that.”
He grinned. “You seem to be doing a lot of things at once there. Maybe you should slow down.”
He spoke in a deep voice that had a charming lilt to it. His eyes danced as he spoke to her, and he treated her as though they’d been friends for years, even though she didn’t remember ever having seen him before.
She laughed, wondering why he made her feel a bit giddy. She forced herself to adopt a composed expression, not wanting to let on that her emotions felt a little bit like a Ferris wheel starting to spin around.
“Doing a lot of things at once comes with the territory of being a restaurant owner,” she said, smiling politely. “We have to be able to multitask in order to stay on top of everything.”
“You’re the owner, huh?” He looked impressed. “Well, I have to say that the best type of boss is the kind that doesn’t mind helping out with the side work.”
She laughed. “I think it’s important for owners and managers to be willing to get their hands dirty along with their employees. Besides, it keeps me fit and young.”
“I can see that. It also keeps your reflexes in check.” He winked at her.
“Most of the time.” She winked back at him.
What am I doing? she asked herself in surprise. Am I flirting with him? Oh my goodness.
All at once, she noticed that there was a speck of ketchup on the sleeve of his sweater.
“Oh no, there’s a little ketchup on your sleeve. Just one moment, let me fix it for you.”
“There is?” he asked in surprise as she rushed to dampen the paper towel she’d been holding so that she could clean it off for him.
“Yes,” she said, having to repress a smile. She was shocked by how pleasantly flustered she was still feeling. “Here, I can?—”
“Oh, certainly. Thank you very much.” He held out his arm so that she could clean the ketchup off his sleeve. She dabbed the paper towel against the fabric of the sweater, and the ketchup smear was soon no longer visible.
“There,” she said. “Good as new. It’s a lucky thing you were wearing that nice dark color, and not something like white or light blue.”
She found herself thinking that he would look very nice in light blue, with his light brown eyes and his sandy-colored hair…
“That’s very true. That would have been a disaster.” He chuckled.
“Can I ask your name?” she said, tossing the ketchup-smeared paper towel into the trash can.
“Alan Gifford,” he said, offering his hand for a handshake.
She took it and he shook her hand firmly. “Vivian Owens. Very pleased to meet you. I’d like to offer you lunch—on the house. For your trouble.”
“Why thank you.” His smile widened.
“Any idea what you’d like?”
“Yes, as a matter of fact. I saw that your lunch special is a Monte Cristo sandwich today. I’d like that, with a side salad and those award-winning sweet potato fries.”
“You got it.” She smiled at him. “Excellent choice.”
“Glad to hear I’ve got the owner’s approval. Where should I sit?”
“Anywhere you like. When your food is ready, I’ll come find you. Would you like anything to drink with that?”
“Just water. Thank you.” He offered her another charming smile and left the beverage and condiment console.
Vivian watched him go, and after a few moments she let out a dreamy sigh. Then she shook herself abruptly, scolding herself for reacting that way—especially in the middle of a work shift.
She filled a glass of water for Alan and carried it over to the booth where he’d settled himself.
“If you change your mind about getting another beverage, our drink menu is there,” she said, smiling as she placed the glass of water down on the table. “And our dessert menu is there as well.”
“I’ll consider it all carefully,” he said, crossing his forearms on the table and leaning toward her a bit. “Based on how wonderful it smells in here, I would be a fool not to try as much as I can.”
She laughed, thrilled by his compliment, and went to put in the order for him.
While it was cooking, she busied herself with various tasks around the pub, and she kept glancing in Alan’s direction. For the most part, he was perusing the menus or typing things into his cell phone, but once or twice she caught him looking at her and smiling. When that happened, she felt herself blush scarlet, but she did her best to act nonchalant as she continued her work.
Soon his meal was ready, and she carried it out to him. She set it down on the table in front of him with a proud flourish.
“There you are,” she said. “Our Monte Cristo sandwich with a side salad and order of sweet potato fries. I got you a dish of our secret sauce on the side for the fries, and of course there’s some of the secret sauce on the sandwich along with the traditional mustard.”
The fried ham, turkey, and Swiss cheese sandwich looked incredibly appetizing, and Alan’s eyes lit up when he saw the secret sauce on the side.
“Fantastic,” he said. “Thank you so much. I’ve heard so much about your secret sauce.”
She preened, feeling proud. “It’s what we’re known for more than anything else. It’s a secret family recipe.”
As she spoke, he dipped an end of his sandwich into the sauce dish and took an eager bite. He chewed and swallowed quickly, his expression one of amazement.
“That’s truly remarkable,” he said, dabbing his mouth with his napkin. “I have to commend you. I’ll be telling everyone about your secret sauce.” He leaned forward, his smile warm and encouraging. “How do you make it?”
She laughed, flushed and pleased. “I think you missed the part where I said it was a secret family recipe.”
He shook his head. “You’re right. I was just so eager to learn that slipped right by me. It’s such an incredible taste—my curiosity is itching to know how you do it.”
“Well.” She shook her head, feeling so charmed by his attention that she could hardly think straight. “I shouldn’t tell you this, but the most important secret ingredient is cinnamon.”
“Cinnamon? Really?” He dipped his sandwich into the sauce dish again and took another bite. He swallowed, nodding his head in approval. “I think I can taste it. It’s just a pinch or two, right?”
She smiled. “It depends on how large the batch is. There’s a whole lot of ingredients in our secret sauce, but the cinnamon is part of what gives it its special kick.”
“Mm.” He smiled and dipped a sweet potato fry in the sauce. “This is a really special place you’ve got here. I heard that it was in danger of going out of business not that long ago.”
Vivian nodded, remembering that troubling time with a slight shudder. “It looked dangerous there for a moment, you’re right. We—well, it turned out that my husband hadn’t run the finances of the pub very well, and after he passed away, things were rocky. But we pulled through, my children and I, with a lot of help from the community. We had a fundraiser, you see. The people of Rosewood Beach love The Lighthouse Grill and were only too happy to help out.”
“I can understand why. This food is incredible, and the people here are so warm and friendly.” He gestured to Vivian with a smile.
“Oh. Thank you.” She laughed breathlessly. “We love it here. It’s easy to be warm and friendly when you work with people you love.” She cleared her throat, feeling as though she was letting the conversation get too personal too fast. “Where do you work?”
“I’m a car salesman.” He flashed his charming smile at her. “I haven’t come over this way for quite a while, but if I’d known that the owner of this pub was so fetching, I would have come to The Lighthouse Grill a lot sooner.”
She hardly knew what to say. She felt as though her insides had suddenly lit up, the compliment made her so happy. She managed to get out an, “Oh, nonsense,” and hoped she wasn’t blushing furiously.
“I mean it. It’s been a pleasure meeting you, Vivian.”
“It’s been a pleasure meeting you as well.”
He offered her another handshake. “Thank you again for the meal.”
“Of course. Thank you for catching that ketchup bottle.”
She smiled at him, feeling fluttery, and made her way into the kitchen. Alexis was whizzing around placing food-covered plates on a tray and Vivian stepped up to her.
“You know, I think I will take that break, Alexis. Just for a little while. You come get me if you need me, okay?”
“Sounds great, Mom. You go take a break.” Alexis gave her mother a cheerful smile before waltzing into the dining room with the tray of entrees.
Vivian made her way to the office, where she sat down at the desk and let out a quick sigh. She clasped her hands in her lap, feeling girlish and excited.
She told herself it was foolish to be so excited about Alan. She’d only had one interaction with him, and she didn’t know if she’d ever see him again, but she had to admit to herself that she’d definitely enjoyed the attention.
It’s the first time since Frank’s passing that I’ve thought of what it might be like to be noticed again, she thought. He certainly seemed to notice me. It felt wonderful.
She gazed out the window for a moment, watching the sunlight sparkle on the snow outside. She felt charged with excitement, and although she didn’t know if she was ever going to see Alan again, she hoped very much that she would.