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I was ready to hit my pillow, but I still had five hours to go before that became a reality. “Nah, I already ate the lunch I brought earlier so I’m headed to the cafeteria. I’ll catch up with you after.”
He shook his head and reached for my arm. “Nope. We’re going to the break room.” He tugged me down the corridor until we stood in front of the blue door, and pushed it open with an odd flourish. The drab, utilitarian break room with a wide circular table in the middle looked like it had this morning, except for the food piled on the table.
“What’s all this?” The question was rhetorical because I knew the answer. I made this same char Siu a few weeks ago. The platter was decorated with more precision and everything was done much better than my efforts, but it was undeniable. “Cal, tell me you didn’t set this up.”
When I turned to Cal, he held his hands up defensively and shook his head. “All I did was mention to Antonio that you’d been roped into a double shift. This was all him.”
I didn’t believe that for a moment, but Antonio was his best friend and he wouldn’t speak ill of him. That was fine, I didn’t want him to. “I’m just going to have a salad. You and the rest of the ER department should enjoy it, though.” Not only did I not want to appreciate this gesture from Antonio, I had a fried chicken sandwich from Dad for lunch and I needed something healthy, something with vegetables.
Cal stood in front of the door with his arms folded across his chest, a scowl on his face. “Sit down and eat or I’ll lock us both in here for the next thirty minutes.” His brows arched in amusement. “That will get the hospital tags wagging which might lead Teddy to kick your ass. That might be kind of hot though, so I’m good either way.”
“Gross,” I groaned and dropped into one of the empty seats. “This is ridiculous.” The food smelled incredible, the sauce made my mouth water and I looked at the table with longing. Crispy pork with noodles, Asian slaw, dumplings and three different dipping sauces.
“Eat,” he ordered while he piled his plate high with food.
I made a plate of my own because Antonio was a damn good cook and it was no hardship to eat his food. I told myself it was a no-strings attached meal. Eating it didn’t obligate me to more. “So good.”
“He’s not a bad guy, you know.”
And here we go. Stuck in a room with his best friend to help plead his case. “I know that, and I never said he was.” I reached for a dumpling and took my time while Cal stared at me as he shoveled food in his face. “Antonio covets his bachelor status even more than you did, and I’m not looking to change that.”
Cal nodded and adjusted the chopsticks in his hand. “I did covet my status but once I realized how much Teddy meant to me, it wasn’t even a question of whether I’d change my status for her. It was a given.”
“That’s sweet.” Teddy was a lucky woman to have a man who loved her and wasn’t afraid to admit it.
“It’s also true.” He flashed a wide, knowing grin and his eyes softened at the mention of his woman.
“It’s clear to anyone with eyes that you love Teddy, but I’m not that woman for Antonio and I’m okay with that. But what I’m not okay with, is being his bit of fun while he finds that woman.”
“You think that’s what you are?”
I nodded. “I know I am. We had fun together, a lot of fun. But it was only fun.”
“I don’t know, Gus. I’ve known Antonio my whole life and he’s not the big gesture kind of guy, not even for Trishelle. This is a pretty big gesture.”
“Oh please.” I rolled my eyes. “Not too hard to figure out that the chubby girl would appreciate a meal cooked by a professional.”
“That’s not how he sees you, trust me.” Cal’s expression was intense, his defense of his best friend, unflinching. “You mean something to him, Gus.”
I tried to shrug off those words ,because warmth spread through my body the moment they hit my ears. I wanted to believe that, but it wasn’t the truth.
“I don’t, Cal. I’ve been here before and I know that I don’t. This is all because his ego is bruised because I walked away before he could.”
Antonio
With Rosie at the community center for a few hours, I used the time to myself to create next month’s production schedule. Not exactly what the world expected of the Bad Boy Chef, but this was reality. Production schedules, vacuuming and picking up tiaras and tulle. And yeah, I now knew what the hell tulle actually was, or as Rosie called it, fluffy princess dress material.
