And then she saw us.
I watched her carefully.
The shock on her face was instant, followed by a subtle tightening around her mouth before she quickly broke eye contact.
Jiya then walked toward our table. “Hi guys!” she said, her lips pressed into a polite, professional smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. “What can I get you for dinner tonight?”
Her voice sounded calm, but the strain beneath it was impossible to miss.
“What are the specials again?” I asked, looking directly at her.
We had not spoken since the argument in her kitchen. I wanted to see how she would react to finding me here with Stephanie.
And the answer was written plainly across her face.
“Well,” she said quietly, glancing down at her notepad, “there’s a lobster thermidor with roasted potatoes and carrots, a Chilean sea bass with lemon butter, mashed potatoes and turnips, and tiger prawns on a bed of saffron rice and Mediterranean vegetables.”
“Baby,”Stephanie said sweetly beside me. “I’m gonna have the tiger prawns. What about you?”
I turned toward Stephanie and took the menus from her hands before handing them back to Jiya. “I’ll have the lobster,” I said calmly, “and a bottle of the most expensive white wine for Stephanie.”
“Sure,” Jiya replied tightly. “It will take about twenty minutes. Would that be all?” Her foot tapped once against the floor before going still.
“Hmmm…” I said, glancing toward Stephanie. “Would you like anything else, hun?”
“No, baby,” Stephanie said smoothly. She smiled at me and traced her finger along mine. “Remember to leave room for dessert… you know what I mean.”
I bit back a laugh, aware of the strain radiating from Jiya despite the professional calm she was trying so hard to maintain.
She’s a great actress.Stephanie had gone far beyond what I had even asked her to do.
“I’ll get you some bread in the meantime,” Jiya said. Her eyes narrowed slightly.
Then she turned and walked away.
I watched her retreat toward the kitchen. My chest tightened slightly at the tension in her shoulders. From the corner of my eye, I could see her glance back toward us.
So I leaned slightly closer to Stephanie, playing with her fingers and lifting her hand to my lips.
“I knew deep down you liked Jiya,” Stephanie said quietly, still playing with my fingers. “We never really made sense anyway.”
Earlier that week, when I called her and explained my plan, she had listened carefully before agreeing to help.
“You were nice to me and treated me so well,” she continued softly. “Thanks to you, I got the job at the modelling agency.”
I smiled faintly. “I’m glad it worked out.”
When our food arrived, I began eating slowly, forcing myself to stay relaxed.
As I dug into the lobster, I paused to enjoy the music.
Then my eyes drifted across the restaurant.
Toward Jiya.
Her face went rigid, like a mask snapping into place. She stood near the counter for a moment before turning and walking quickly toward the back of the restaurant.
I leaned back slightly in my chair and allowed myself a small breath of relief.
