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I started with Sarah Woods, who happily handed me two overflowing crates of vegetables. It was more than I’d asked for since I was only cooking one portion of every menu item, but she wouldn’t take “no” for an answer. She also wouldn’t let me pay for my first order. I found similar treatment on the rest of my route. I was greeted by beaming smiles at the butcher where the twin brothers Mike and Paulie gave me their best cuts of beef and lamb and wished me luck with the new restaurant. Everyone wanted this to work for me.
When I got back in my car to make my last trip, I felt the weight of it all threatening to bend me in half. The whole town was invested in this, weren’t they? What would they think if I let it all spoil because of some silly romance gone wrong with my boss?
I gave the steering wheel a little squeeze as I drove out into the fields outside town. I felt the decision form into one final, solid choice. I wasn’t going to let anything come between me and the restaurant. No matter what happened with Greyson, the job was mine to lose, and I wasn’t going to lose it. He may not have actually been the Once Upon a Time story I’d dreamed of since I was a kid, but maybe that was only ever a dream anyway. Careers were real. Romantic love stories were just for kids.
I felt tears sting at my eyes for some reason and I angrily wiped them away. No more tears, either. I was just going to kick this job’s ass and move the hell on from Greyson Ashford.
36
GREYSON
I folded my arms and watched Harper work in the kitchen. The grand opening was tomorrow, and I’d seen enough to know she was more than ready. She was amazing, actually.
She had her short red hair pulled back and clipped over her ears as she chopped vegetables with confident speed. No matter how often I looked, she never even glanced up at me. I’d spent most of the last few days working with delivery guys to get the dining tables set up and adjust the last-minute decorations. The restaurant was perfect, and we already had a fully booked reservation list.
I’d expected as much with all the advertising I did. The real test would be if it kept up and if those reservations turned into bookings for the inn. If the worst came to worst, I could at least set Gramps up with a booming restaurant that could float the hospitality side of the inn, even if it kept bleeding money.
Zack stopped by around noon. He went over to Harper, who was suddenly all smiles and her usual sweet self for him. A spike of sadness ran through me. I knew she wasn’t flirting. She was just being Harper. She was being the person she was probably never going to be for me again.
Ever since I told her about that stupid fucking bet, it was like the sun had set. She practically radiated cold every time I was near her. I’d broken something. Even if that had been exactly what I was intending, I couldn’t help mourning the loss of what we had. But I told myself it was for the best again and again. If I said it enough, maybe I’d eventually believe it.
Harper was letting Zack try some of what she was cooking and he nodded enthusiastically. “Damn,” he said. “Is it too late to get a table for tomorrow?”
She grinned. “Yes. We’re fully booked, actually.”
“Seriously? How many people is that?”
“There will be three dinner services, so that’s twelve tables three times. It’s mostly couples but one or two big parties. I think the exact count was 94 plates.”
“Shit. And you can handle that all by yourself?”
“For now. But… he is going to bring Lin and Farrah on at the end of the week. We’ll open up more tables and an additional dinner service once I have some help.”
Zack nodded, but he hadn’t missed how she wouldn’t even say my name. Neither had I.
“Alright, well I’ll stop distracting you.” Zack snuck one more bite of food, then headed my way.
He paused with his hands in his pockets and gave me one of his annoying looks. He was trying to puzzle what was going on, and I hadn’t wanted to admit what a fucking mess it all turned into.
“I need something from my car,” I said.
“I’ll help.”
Zack and I headed out front to the street and I leaned on my car, making no effort to get anything out of it. I sighed.
“How did you fuck it up that bad?” he asked.
“Is it that obvious?”
He chuckled. “She looks like she wants to fillet you and serve you up tomorrow. I think she’d actually do it with a smile, too.”
