Page 6 of Miss Treated

The thought of fish and a tortilla didn’t automatically mesh for me, but it did sound a hell of a lot better than a pretentious restaurant, not to mention a whole lot quicker. But wait. “Why would I have to lie?”

“Because my father will ask how the restaurant was, and your answer will be about the excellent risotto. It’s hardly a lie. Merely a recommendation for a menu item at the pretentious restaurant. All four tablespoons of it. Come on.” He led me out to the parking lot.

“You’re asking me to lie to your father?”

“No, I want you to avoid noting the fact I didn’t take you to the restaurant of his choice. Practice with me. ‘How was your lunch, Kelsey?’ ‘Good, thank you. The risotto earned its reputation.’ See, not really a lie as you’re not saying you ate it. You’re—”

“Omitting the truth.” Good grief, did he think semantics made it okay? I’d always been a terrible liar and a great rule follower. Not that either had done me a lot of favors. “Maybe we should just go for the overpriced salad.”

“Live a little, Kels.”

He threw a smile my way, the brilliant beam wreaking havoc on my stomach. Good Lord, this guy was too much. Especially the way he shortened my name as if we were familiar.

We stopped at a large blue and white SUV which looked to be decades old. Hardly a luxury vehicle, it was not at all what I’d expected Dominic to drive. “This is you?”

He unlocked my side with a key in the door before going around to his own. “It is. No doot, doot on this beauty.”

My head was spinning. I wasn’t sure if it was from the delicious smell of his cologne as we both climbed into the vehicle or the way everything out of his mouth was unexpected. “Doot, doot?”

“Yeah, the key fob which doot, doots your car when you press unlock. This is a 1974 Ford Bronco, reconditioned to its former glory two years ago and perfect for dogs and surfboards.” He patted the dash. “This is Beatrice.”

What now? “You named your truck?”

He started the engine, which was anything but quiet. “Of course I did,” he said with a shrug implying I was the crazy one for asking.

Ten of the noisiest minutes of my life later, we pulled up in front of what I’d call a tiki bar. Palm trees lined the parking lot, the beach was visible along the right side, and the interior was straight out of a Jimmy Buffet song. Looking around at the lunchtime crowd in their flowered shirts, shorts, and flip-flops, it appeared Dominic and I were severely overdressed.

The cute, blond hostess lit up like Times Square upon spotting Dominic. “Nic, great to see you. I almost didn’t recognize you in a suit.”

He grinned, obviously no stranger to the attention. “Yeah, business lunch today.” Unexpectedly, he turned to me. “You okay with sitting outside?”

“Um, sure.” It took me off guard to be consulted.

“Great. We’ll take a table outside if you have one.”

“We do. Right this way.” She gathered two large laminated menus and led us through to the balcony overlooking the beach, stopping at a high-top table for two.

She spared a glance at me before turning toward Dominic. “Hope to see you this weekend. I’m working both Friday and Saturday.”

He smiled. “Yeah, I might be in. Thanks for the great table, Allison.”

I hung up my purse on the provided hook on the wall and was starting to peruse the menu when another blonde came up, all smiles. Jesus, was I with a celebrity or something?

“Dominic, what a surprise to see you on a workday. Wow, nice suit.”

He was all dimples. “Thanks, Megan. Yeah, I wanted to bring Kelsey here to try the fish tacos.”

She focused on me, and her smile dropped a fraction. “How nice. What would you like to drink?”

“Water would be great,” I ordered under Dominic’s gaze.

“Make that two. Oh, and an order of the ahi nachos to start. You’ll love them.”

I wasn’t convinced. Fish on tacos was a stretch, but fish on nachos? Must be a California thing. “Sure. Sounds good.”

Megan wrote it down. “Perfect. And I know what you want, Nic. Have you decided, miss?”

Nic spoke up. “Why don’t you give us a few minutes?”