“I ran into your friend, the cook, at the gym this evening.” Ward Breaux held open the door of Palermo’s Italian Grill and ushered Meredith in before him.
She tried to think which of the cooks he might have met who would have claimed to be anything but an employee of hers. “Which one?”
“Major O’Hara.”
“Oh, he’s a chef, not a cook.”
Ward chuckled. “Isn’t that the same thing?”
“No. The title ‘chef ’ is usually reserved for someone who’s been to culinary school.”
“And that’s a big deal?”
“It would be like me calling someone a contractor who doesn’t have a license.”
“Yeah—I guess it is a big deal when you put it that way. Anyway, I saw
The idea of Ward sitting down one-on-one with Major scared her for some reason. “Let me know when so that I can give you my input as well.”
Ward launched into his ideas for the kitchen design. Meredith only half listened as they followed the hostess through the large restaurant to a table near the rear windows overlooking the University Lakes. As usual when in public, the other half of her attention was focused on looking around to see if she knew anyone in the room. It wouldn’t do to walk past a former client without at least a greeting—that was one of the first things she’d ever learned from Anne.
Meredith opened the large, leather-like menu and started perusing the many selections. She’d eaten here only a couple of times since they’d open a year ago, and then with the family, so they had ordered the family-sized dishes and shared.
The waitress came to the table, introduced herself, and asked if they wanted drinks and an appetizer.
“Go ahead and bring us a basket of fried mushrooms and two iced teas.”
“Actually, make mine Sprite with a twist of orange, please,” Meredith hastily corrected, miffed Ward had assumed what she would want.
As soon as the waitress departed, Ward covered her hand with his. “Sorry, I should have asked instead of guessing.”
“That’s okay. I do usually drink iced tea, but sometimes I get in the mood for something else.”
They discussed the menu items, and Meredith wasn’t any more ready to order when the waitress came back with their drinks than before.
“Do you need more time, Mere?” Ward looked at her with those heavenly eyes.
She wished her heart would pitter-patter or skip a beat or something. “Go ahead and order, and I’ll make a decision by the time you’re finished.”
After the waitress finished flirting with Ward with her eyes, Meredith ordered crawfish and shrimp alfredo and gave the waitress her menu along with a warning glance. The girl had the good grace to look apologetic.
Though the tight waistband of Meredith’s skirt warned her she shouldn’t indulge in the fried mushrooms, once she tasted one with the sweet horseradish dipping sauce, she couldn’t help but eat a few of them. She didn’t want to go back to the much larger size she’d gotten to in college—turning to food after Brent announced his engagement to her roommate—but she wasn’t so concerned about her weight that she wouldn’t allow herself to indulge in treats every so often.
As they ate dinner, Ward told stories about his siblings, and Meredith shared a few about hers.
“Do you ever get to a point where, while you still love them, you’re just good and sick of your relatives?” Ward asked.
“Yeah, that’s what I’ve been going through for the last two weeks, as a matter of fact.”
“Really? What happened?”
“You.” Meredith grinned at him.
“Me? Was it because we ran into your brother?”
“Sort of, but it was what you said on our first date—asking me if I ever got away from them. And I realized, I never do. That project house has become something of a refuge for me, and I didn’t even realize it until you put it into words. The whole reason I’ve been so gung ho about doing the renovations myself is because that was the only place I could think of where I could get away from all of them.”
“Good for you.”
“Yeah, it was amazing—I realized I had no private life with my family, and that I needed to take a stand. I decided not to tell them about you.” Meredith kept her face straight—because Ward’s was so expressive when she teased him.
“You don’t want them to know about me?”
“That’s right. Unfortunately, one of my younger brothers occasionally goes out with one of the receptionists at the office, and she told him about you coming to pick me up last week; so he asked me about it in front of a bunch of siblings and cousins last night.” And Major. She still cringed at that. But everything had seemed pretty normal during their meeting this morning.
“And what did you tell them?” Ward swirled his tea in his glass. The sugar sludge in the bottom barely budged. She still couldn’t decide if it was endearing or just gross that he added sugar to already sweetened tea.
“I didn’t have to say anything. Forbes—the brother you met—came to my defense. Of course, that was only after I blasted him Sunday afternoon for prying.” And then she’d run out like a child. But he didn’t need to know that part.
“Can I interest you two in dessert? Tiramisu or apple crostata or amaretto cheesecake?”
Meredith’s mouth watered at the mention of cheesecake, her favorite dessert.
“What do you want, Mere?”
“We have a chocolate Gianduia cake that’s to die for.”
“I’m not real big on chocolate.” It shouldn’t be that hard of a decision. “I think I’m going to have to pass. My rule is usually that I can have either appetizers or a dessert, but not both. And since I’m taking half my meal home with me...”
“What about this?” Ward reached across the table and took her hand. “Why don’t you order whatever you want, and I’ll split it with you?”
How could such a completely generous and caring man engender absolutely no emotional response from her other than gratitude and a general liking? “Okay. Do you have a cheesecake that doesn’t have almonds or amaretto? I’m allergic.”
“We have a mascarpone cheesecake, but it has walnuts in the crust.”
“Walnuts are fine. Let’s go with that.”
“I’ll be right back with it.”
Meredith liked the warmth of Ward’s hand around hers—and the idea that anyone in the restaurant looking at them would think they were really a couple ... that she really had feelings for this handsome man, that someone had chosen her.
“You slipped away from me there for a minute.” Ward’s thumb circled her palm. “Where were you just now?”
“My mind wandered.”
He grinned. “Fine, keep your secrets.”
“I have to start somewhere. I need the practice.” The feel of his thumb rubbing her palm nearly sent her into a trance. She squeezed his hand to get him to stop.
“Do you already have plans for Valentine’s Day?”
“I do. I’m working that night. It’s one of our biggest events of the year—a charity banquet and auction to benefit the cardiac care unit at University Hospital.”
“Let me see if I’ve got this straight. You work New Year’s Eve. You work Valentine’s Day. Let me guess ... you work the Fourth of July?”
“Not usually. But you did skip Easter.”
