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“Relax, Josie,” Grayson whispered, walking closely behind as we were escorted to our table.
“I know, I’m sorry. This is just a little different from Lenny’s Pizzeria.”
“Say the word and we’ll leave.”
I caught his eye as we were seated and his expression was dead serious. “No, no. This is fine. More than fine. It’s amazing.” I gazed around the room at the elaborate chandeliers, expensive silverware and crystal glasses, wondering how the hell I got there.
A few people glanced my way, eying my hair. I’d worn it up so my rainbow streaks were prominent amongst the auburn curls, but now I regretted it. Feeling self-conscious, I took out a few pins and let my hair spill over my shoulders.
Grayson reached out and slid his hand over mine. “You look stunning, Josie. Don’t change for them.”
Heat crept up my neck and I shrugged, keeping my eyes lowered.
A waiter appeared at our table and handed us menus. As I perused over the mains, I scrunched up my nose—it was all written in French. I peeped over the menu at Grayson, who was watching me with an amused smirk.
“Need some help?”
I chuckled and shook my head. “How’s about you just order for me?”
The waiter came over and Grayson reeled off an array of French dishes, rolling each ‘r’ with perfection.
“You speak French,” I said. Of course he does.
He shrugged. “A little. Enough to understand what I’m eating.” He winked and flashed me his dazzling smile.
“I’m guessing you’ve been to France, too?”
His face turned pink and he cleared his throat. “Yeah. I’ve spent a few summers there.”
“Just a few summers, hey?” I almost laughed. “I hope to get there one day.”
“You will.”
His confidence surprised me. “You seem pretty sure about that.”
“I am,” he said, with a casual shrug. “Where else do you want to go?”
I leant back in my chair, mulling on the question I asked myself weekly. “Europe, initially. Then Asia, maybe Africa—oh! And South America…argh, all of it really. My list keeps getting bigger unfortunately. I need to stop watching those bloody travel shows.”
Grayson laughed before narrowing his gaze. “And when do you plan on doing all this travel?”
“As soon as I can afford it,” I stated with a smile, before rolling my eyes. “So never.”
“I can’t say I’m not relieved. Maude needs you to stick around for a while.” He opened his mouth to say something else, but our attention was stolen by the arrival of our meals.
Without the faintest idea what I was eating, I devoured everything. The portions were concerningly tiny, but the incredible flavours made up for it, and after six courses, I was ready to curl up and sleep.
“We better get going if we’re going to make the show,” Grayson said, signalling the waiter for the cheque.
My heart leapt. “We’re going to a show?”
“Broadway.”
“Really?” I clapped my hands like a seal, before remembering where we were. “I’ve always wanted to go to the theatre.”
“You live in New York and you’ve never seen a Broadway show?”
I gave his foot a tap under the table and widened my eyes. “Struggling artist, remember?”
