Chapter 11
Audrey
The following morning, I went to my restaurant to accept grocery orders and to cook brunch for my sister's friends who had come in for Henry and Amelia's wedding.
I didn't have Cal, so Josie helped me cook.
She was good at it, and we had fun. We cooked for everyone.
I had told James about it, and he came by since he wanted to see everyone.
They were appreciative of the breakfast, and we had a great time together, so it was a win for everyone. I loved seeing my restaurant buzzing with people we knew and loved.
The problem was that Ash never came. I decided to check my phone to see if he had said anything.
My sister was still in the dining room, but I excused myself with a pan of everyone's dishes.
I had multiple offers to help, but I denied them.
I put the dirty dishes into the sink, and then I grabbed my phone from a table that was in the back of my kitchen.
I had three texts from Ash, and I read them all, starting with the first one.
Ash:
Good morning. I’m going to be late. I'm meeting a plumber, and he's running late.
The second text:
Ash:
He's still not here. I may not make it. Will see you later today either way.
The third text had come in a few minutes ago.
Ash: Is it too late? I can be there in ten minutes if you're still there. If not, I'll just plan on seeing you later.
I started to text him back, and just at that moment, Alex came into the back and called my name.
"Audrey!"
"Yes?" I called.
"Do we have any more food?"
"Yeah, and I can make more. Why? Are you hungry still?"
"It's Ash. He was going to stop by, but he thought he might be running too late."
"When did you talk to Ash?"
"Just now. I called him to see if he was coming, but then he asked about food, and I wasn't sure if we had any more. I told him we already ate but I'd ask you."
"Yeah, just tell him to come by. I can make more. I'm still waiting on one of my suppliers, so I have to hang out here till they show up, anyway."
Alex walked off nodding. I was glad he was the one inviting Ash. I didn't want everyone assuming he was there to see me. This took the pressure off. I knew Ash would be stopping by, though, and that gave me the strangest sense of relief.
"Grinning while doing dishes? Interesting," my sister said, coming to the back with me.
I had been daydreaming and hadn't even seen or heard her.
"Me?"
"Yeah, what are you smiling about?"
"Oh, I, uh…" I hadn't expected the blunt question, and I had nothing come to my mind but the truth.
"Alex was talking about me making more food because Ash is coming by."
"Oh, yeah, he was talking to Ash on the phone. I guess he's coming by. Wait, is that why you're smiling? Because of Ash?"
"It's not because of him. I mean, it sort of is."
"I thought you said you guys were bad together," she said, looking concerned.
"It's not that, it's just that I was still in a bad place when I was talking to him."
"Do you feel better now?"
"Yeah, I mean, you know how I've changed and everything. I'm not saying anything's gonna happen between us. I just like him like the Beatles."
"Like the Beatles?" she asked, coming to help me with the dishes.
"I'm just going to soak these," I said, seeing her. "And yes. It's just silly, the Beatles thing. I was telling him how I felt like a Beatles fan at his show, and… uh… it's nothing. Don't say I said that. It's just a harmless crush. I'm in a good place."
"When's Luna getting back?" she asked.
She didn't mean anything by it, but it stung. I deserved it. I shouldn't have been fantasizing about some guy when I was just getting situated on the right track.
"At three or four," I said. "I can't wait, I've been missing her," I added, so she wouldn't worry about me. "She's already asking if we can watch her put on a magic show tonight. She got a new kit from Kai's aunt."
"Aw, how cool."
"I know. She's excited. That's why she wants Izzy and Anna Grace to come over. She wants them to be her assistants for a magic show. She's been practicing."
"Oh, my goodness, that's going to be so good."
"I'm going to cook a couple more eggs for Ash."
"Can I help you?"
"Na, I got it. And I'll finish these dishes in a bit."
"We're going to that museum Lu likes," she said.
"I know, I still have to meet my bread guy, but I'll text you when I'm finished here and see where you are."
"Are you making more?" Judd asked, coming into the kitchen and seeing me approach the stove.
"Yeah, why? Do you want some?"
"I don't need it, but yes. Please and thank you." He said it in a funny way, causing us to laugh at him.
I took out the ingredients to do another order of my number one seller, the Eggs Benedict, which was something I could do in my sleep. Judd stayed in the kitchen and so did my sister, and before I knew it, Ash had arrived.
I knew it because my sister said, "Oh, there's Ash, I'm going to say 'hi' to him."
I was still finishing his food when he arrived, and the kitchen cleared out. I plated Ash a full breakfast, and then I portioned three more, smaller plates, knowing that Judd wasn't the only one who could eat more food. I finished and took everything to the front.
Music had been playing the whole time, but it seemed louder.
It was She Loves You by the Beatles, and I noticed in horror that my sister was near the stereo controls.
She came up from the counter with a cheesy grin, and I spent the next thirty seconds putting food out and begging myself not to blush as the song played.
Cameron was there, and she noticed that the music got louder and said something about the Beatles. I was concentrating on keeping my expression neutral and my face from blushing as I set the plate on a table that was next to Ash.
"Hello," I said cordially to him. "That's for you."
"Good morning, and thank you for this." He touched my arm. It was in a casual way that nobody else noticed, but I did. I definitely noticed. "I like your music," he said to me.
"That's totally random," I said, lying even though I didn't mean to. I was so nervous that I didn't even know what I was saying.
People were talking all around me. Some of them were talking to Ash.
I smiled at him and then casually announced that I was going to finish up in the back.
He thanked me again, and I took off, trying to act like I wasn't nervous around him.
The Beatles. I had to smile at the song that was the soundtrack of this moment.
My sister was a comedian, and I had to shake my head at her.
I let the door swing closed behind me, and I held my breath and closed my eyes, grinning at the memory of how he had looked at me just now.
He had touched my arm. I couldn’t help but think of him as the guy on the stage with the guitar, and seeing him in his work clothes made me feel so flushed. I heard the door swing open behind me, and I spun around to find Ash.
He held up his fork. "I dropped my fork," he explained loud enough that the people behind him could hear. He shrugged at me with a silly face, like it should be obvious that he was lying.
"The forks are out there," I said, smiling and motioning behind him.
He made another face.
"But I have some back here, too," I added. "Let me put this down, and I'll grab you one."
I set the tray on a table, and I went to give him a fork. I turned and held my hand out, handing it to him. "Here, let me have that dirty one."
We went to trade forks. I handed him the clean one with my right and took the dirty one with my left. He held onto my hands, and the exchange turned into us standing there holding both hands with forks in the middle. We grinned.
"Someone's going to see us," I said, glancing at the window that led into my dining room. He let go of me, taking the clean fork and leaving the dirty one with me.
"I dropped it on purpose," he said.
I smiled. "I wondered."
"Thank you for breakfast. I'm going to eat it really fast and head back to the house. The plumber's still there."
"Do you need me to make him something?"
He tilted his head at me. "No, thank you, Audrey, and please stop being so nice."
He had a serious expression, and I said, "Why?"
"Because I already like you enough. I can't take it with all the thoughtfulness."
I smiled. I wanted to say something witty that would make him like me. I wanted to flirt in the coolest, most appealing way. And I could think of nothing good to say. I just shrugged and smiled at him like I wasn't sure what to say, which I wasn't.
"Hey, can I get Lu something for Christmas? Just a little something. Would that be okay, or is that weird?"
"I don't think it's weird. Yes, it's fine. It's nice. Do you think it's weird?"
"No, I don't, or I wouldn't have asked."
"Yeah, no, I, I was trying to think if it would… confuse her or anything, but no, she knows you're my friend. Collin actually got her something, too."
"Collin?"
"Yeah, Lu goes with me to rehearsal sometimes, and she's always trying on my… he got her these little heels. They're jazz shoes, for dancing, but they have a little heel. Anyway, yes. Thank you. I'm sorry for saying all that. I was just saying it's fine for you to get her a gift."
"Well, the problem is that you had to go and make me jealous," he said.
Just then, the door swung open again.
"Definitely no need for that with Collin," I said casually to him. I finished just in time to smile at the two who had just come in.
I glanced back at Ash, and he stared at me with an irresistible mischievous gleam in his eye. He held up the fork. "Thanks for this," he said, taking a step back. Cameron and Ty had come into the kitchen together, and Ash turned to talk to them on his way out.
All he said was that he was getting Lu a gift, and somehow that made him the most attractive man in the whole world.
Who was I kidding? He was already the most attractive man in the world before he said that.
I dared not let myself hope that I would end up with Ash on a permanent basis, but it was fun to relish in the fantasy of it all.