Page 33 of Along Came Alice

“They are real wood worktops,” I repeat.

“So you keep saying.”

“Hey, where’s Paul?” Romana asks as she pops her head around the doorframe.

I point under the table.

“The girls want him to watch Wish with them.”

“He’s already seen it,” I tell her as I scoop Paul up, much to his annoyance. “He’ll spoil the ending.” I hand Paul over to Romana, who laughs and takes him into the living room.

As Smithy and I clean up the rest of the kitchen, I can’t help but think about what they’ve just said. Alice told me how she’s great at lying and how she used to engineer meetings and scenarios just so she could get close to a potential boyfriend. But then why would she disclose that if it’s what she’s done with me? And why did she look so nervous on Monday when she asked me about the wedding? Is she really that good an actress, that good a liar? Is this whole thing just so she can date me for real?

If that’s the case, then why did she wait over a year of me working at Kitchen City before she plucked up the courage to ask? Am I a last resort? Has she literally run out of men to date and has settled on me?

I’m not sure how I feel about this and, more importantly, how I can go about trying to find out the truth. The thought that she’s possibly manipulated me and lied to me has me feeling a little bit sick. And now I have to bring her here to Smithy’s on Thursday.

Smithy’s right, though. It’s been three years. Three long years to get my head together. And now Alice Sutton might be ready to undo all that hard work.

What have I got myself into, and why didn’t I just say no?

Alice

“How’s Operation Wedding going?” Taylor asks as she wipes over the waxy leaves of the large plant on her desk, the one she sometimes hides behind when she can’t be bothered talking to customers.

“We’re going shopping on Sunday for outfits,” I tell her, leaning over the desk to see if she has any Jelly Babies hidden there.

“Wow,” Taylor remarks. “I’ve been with Adrian for two years and still haven’t got him to go shopping with me.”

“Yeah, but have you seen what Owen wears to work?” I point out, disappointed when I find a bag of liquorice, which I believe is the devil’s food.

“He’s a sharp dresser. I’ll give him that.” Taylor slides back behind the reception desk as I check the time on my watch.

We have fifteen minutes until we open, and I’ve yet to see Owen. We’re both on an early shift today, which means we could potentially have our lunch together again. But I don’t know whether I’m pushing things with him. There’s no urgency in getting to know each other before the wedding, especially as we’re shopping together on Sunday. That will surely take a few hours at least, which is plenty of time to get to know the basics.

“Have you asked him about Paul yet?” Taylor says.