Page 45 of My Heart Belongs to You

“Just my uncle coming to town to piss me off. Nothing worth mentioning. What’s new with you?”

The waitress returned with our drinks, briefly interrupting us. Since we came here a few times a month, we ordered our usuals. The soup of the day and their collard Caesar with salmon for me and Nadir ordered the bacon and egg croissant casserole and with side of hash browns.

Once alone, we jumped back into our conversation. I didn’t have anything exciting happening aside from my test. Instead of agonizing about it, I'd put that energy into my restaurant opening. While I listed all my to-do items, the server placed our wings on the table.

“Sounds like a good plan to me. How you feelin’, though? Anything I can do to keep you on track?”

I picked up a wing while shaking my head. “Meeting me for our weekly outing as planned is enough.”

“That’s light work.” Nadir bit into a wing, his eyes lowered and his eyebrows wrinkled. After swallowing, he wiped his mouth. “You know what your problem is?”

I placed my hand on my chest. “I have a problem?”

He nodded fervently. “Yeah, you want the world but won’t accept it from the person who's willing to give it to you.”

“Nadir.”

“Tell me I'm lying.” The look of defiance on his face made me laugh.

“I don’t have a straight answer for that.”

“Never do.”

I rolled my eyes, hating how much his words rang true. My real issue was that I didn’t want to admit he’d been on my mind all week or that I replayed our moment in the mirror too many times. Chills shot down my spine at just the thought of him calling me beautiful. I’d never heard his voice get so deep and fill with so much hunger.

“My problem is that I’m not the only person you’re willing to give the world to.”

He sat back in his seat and smirked. “Who else is there?”

I bit my lip. “I don’t know. Whoever.”

Nadir didn’t take me seriously; he laughed it off.

“I must not be doing this best friend thing right because nobody is topping you.”

I held my breath. The weight of his words loomed between us.

“It’s not that, trust me,” I said after exhaling.

He smiled. “I know. But on a lighter note, I hope you know how proud I am of you. When things didn’t go as planned, you quickly but gracefully pivoted. You juggled a lot with studying and moving forward with renovations and opening. No matter the outcome of your test, I want you to celebrate how far you’ve come. You deserve it.”

My heart fluttered from his endearing words. “I... needed to hear that. Thank you.”

“Anytime.”

“In terms of my celebration...”

Nadir chuckled. “What do you want, Robyn?”

“I’ve had my eye on the Japanese whisky in your office.”

He sighed. “Alright.”

“If I pass, we’ll share a drink.” My pulse quickened at the thought of unfavorable results. I couldn’t handle another failure so soon.

Nadir reached across the table for me. My stomach knotted at the feeling of his hands on mine. He caressed my palm then held my wrist. Goosebumps covered my skin as he dragged his thumb across my chef’s hat tattoo. “When you pass,” he said, prompting me to look him in the eyes. “Say it.”

“When I pass, we’ll share a drink.”