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Shut. Up.Carrie willed the voice to stop.
‘Sorry. I didn’t mean to embarrass you. You just are very pretty. Objectively speaking,’ Rory said, his expression unreadable.
Was he flirting with her, or just making conversation?
‘Thanks, I guess,’ she responded. ‘It was just a bit—’
‘Inappropriate? Yes, sorry. It’s been a while,’ he said, and then looked uncomfortable. ‘And that piece of information was also inappropriate. You’re not here to talk about my love life. Or a lack of it.’
‘Not really, no,’ she replied.
‘Sorry,’ he sighed. ‘You probably get this all the time. Men falling over their words around you. Not knowing where to put themselves.’
‘Actually, no. I don’t think that’s ever happened.’ Carrie laughed, despite the fact that she was still blushing and itwasan inappropriate workplace conversation. Still, somehow, she didn’t really mind.
‘Really?’ He gazed at her, looking genuinely astonished. ‘You just can’t have noticed. It probably happens all the time.’
‘No, it doesn’t.’ Carrie frowned.
‘Huh. What’s wrong with men?’ He shook his head.
‘I don’t know,’ Carrie replied, truthfully.
Their eyes met, and they both started laughing at the same time. It was a reflex on her part, born of the awkwardness that stretched between them, but it also felt good to laugh.
‘I’m sorry. Shall we start again?’ Rory spluttered, wiping a tear from his eye. ‘How’s the mac and cheese? A reasonable and entirely appropriate question for a chef to ask his assistant.’
‘It’s really lovely. Thank you,’ Carrie replied, deadpan.
‘Delighted you’re enjoying it,’ he said, equally as formally.
‘I am.’
‘Good.’
There was another silence, but it was comfortable this time.
‘So. Why has it been a long time?’ she asked, already halfway through the bowl.
He laughed and looked up at her. ‘What? I thought we agreed. No inappropriateness in the workplace.’
‘I didn’t agree. You apologised and I said it was okay.’
‘Oh.’ He raised an eyebrow. ‘I see. Well, in that case… ah, it’s complicated. I was away a lot for many years. Hard to have a relationship. And then I got to Loch Cameron and… I dunno. Never really met anyone here I liked.’
‘Oh.’ She nodded. ‘But there are always people coming to the restaurant. Isn’t that a good way to meet people?’
‘Not really. I can’t very well write my phone number on a bay leaf and hope they’ll find it in their food. Or ask them out after they pay the bill. It’d be weird.’
‘I hadn’t thought about it that way, but I can see that.’ Carrie smiled.
‘You’ve still not told me what you did for a job before.’ He pointed at her with his spoon.
‘I was a temp. Just office work. Remember, you asked me at the interview and you said this job wouldn’t have many opportunities to do mail merges.’
‘Oh, yeah. I do remember, now.’ He frowned for a moment. ‘I imagined you’d have been something else. I dunno. Like a caring role or something.’
‘Why?’ Carrie looked up.
