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“I’m not sure she loves the real me.” Sam sighed and seemed to relax. “Thanks for being so gracious. I’ve met a few of my grandmother’s alternatives who weren’t. I hope you enjoy your night.”
He felt oddly relieved at the thought of being able to order a burger to go and heading home. “You, too.”
She walked back to join her girlfriend, who finally flashed him a smile and nodded his way. Had she been waiting for him to yell at Sam and make a scene? Was that why Sam had called him gracious? He gave her a nod back as Lisa returned, iced tea in hand.
How hard was it on those two? The world might be easier than it was twenty years before, but there were still some who wouldn’t accept them.
“One iced tea.”
He shook his head. “Make it a beer, Lisa. And put their tab on mine. Someone should get a decent date out of tonight.”
He glanced back and Sam’s girlfriend’s eyes had gone wide. “Oh, my god. Is that Taylor from Janie’s World?”
That was when he realized Brynn was standing at the hostess station. Her eyes found his, and for a moment her whole face lit up and she started to bring her hand up. Then she seemed to catch herself. Her hand came down and so did the wattage of that smile as she simply nodded his way.
Connection. He felt it with her.
Maybe he should chuck the whole “everything has to have a perfect picket fence around it” and go with the flow for a couple of days. Or weeks.
She smiled at the hostess, and he watched as she told her she was a party of one. She gestured over to the bar as though saying she was fine there and didn’t need to take up a whole table herself.
“Hey, Lisa, why don’t you ask our Hollywood guest if she wouldn’t mind keeping a deputy company this evening. It’s okay if she wants to be alone, but if she doesn’t, she can eat with me.” He would be less grumpy, show her some charm. He could muster some up. Damn she was pretty.
Lisa’s eyes had widened. “Did you change your mind about that beer?”
“No.” It wasn’t a date. It was a man having dinner and passing some time with a woman. That was all.
It couldn’t be more.
* * *
* * *
Brynn liked the look of Guidry’s. It wasn’t elegant like the places in LA, nor did it have the forced kitsch she’d seen in some restaurants. Guidry’s looked like a place that had survived and thrived over the years. After the driver had dropped her off, she’d walked past the playground where kids were scrambling over the jungle gym and laughing. She’d made her way around them to get to the building’s front porch. It was wide and covered and had some rocking chairs and benches scattered about. She’d walked through the front door, and the walls on either side were covered in pictures detailing the restaurant and marina through the years, starting in black and white and ending in a picture of a pretty brunette and a big, muscular man standing in front of the Guidry’s sign.
History. This building had history, being passed down from grandparents to parents and sons and daughters.
She couldn’t wait to try the food.
“Oh, my god. Is that Taylor from Janie’s World?”
She heard the question and realized her time as an anonymous tourist might be coming to an end. She glanced around but couldn’t tell exactly who’d asked the question.
And then she saw him. Deputy Major was standing up on the deck outside the dining room. He’d ditched his uniform and wore slacks and a white shirt he’d tucked in. She’d thought he was kind of hot in his khakis. She’d thought he was hot even while wearing muddy underwear. The man was hot in anything, but she liked him dressed like this. He’d rolled his sleeves up, revealing strong forearms. It suddenly felt like the whole place had gotten brighter, even more interesting than before. She felt a smile cross her face and then remembered how shut down he’d been when she’d dropped him off at the station house. He hadn’t acted like a man who wanted to see her again, especially so soon. She lowered the hand she’d been about to wave and gave him a nod, the simple recognition of “Yes, we’re both here and I’m not going to bother you.”
“Hi, welcome to Guidry’s. Are you ready for a table or waiting for someone?” There was a fresh-faced young woman in a Guidry’s tee and a short skirt standing at the hostess station, holding a couple of menus.
“It’s just me.” Her stomach growled at the smell of something heavenly coming from the kitchen.
The hostess’s eyes went wide. “Oh, you’re Bria Knight. I heard you were doing a movie in town. I never dreamed you would actually walk in here. I thought you would stay in New Orleans.”
