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Today she was wearing a silky rose-colored blouse that showed a bit of cleavage and cut in at her narrow waist, with slim summer pants that were light pink. Her dark hair hung over her shoulders, and when she saw him at the bar, her luscious mouth turned up in a smile.
When Noah waved to her, Phil followed his gaze and said, “Why didn’t you tell me you needed a table for two?”
Noah spoke in a soft voice. “Because I wasn’t sure she would show.”
The older man snickered and led him to a table that was slightly off to the side. Phil often preempted the hostess’s job when it came to his regulars.
“Did you have any trouble finding your way?” Noah asked her.
“No. In fact, I’ve been in a few of the local shops already.”
“So, you’re not a NoFo girl then,” Phil said.
“She’s a South Fork girl,” Noah said. “This is Phil Sheehan, the owner of Albatross and one of the best chefs around. Phil, this is Julie Vaughn, Bryce’s sister.”
“Aha! So you two met at the wedding party this past weekend.” Phil pulled out her chair.
“Actually, we met when we were students at NYU,” Julie said. “But I did meet your nephew, Harper, there, and his wife and children.”
“We missed seeing you at the party,” Noah said.
“I had a special event booked here. Next time.” He tilted his head. “Did you taste the soup yet?”
“Phil, you know I’m not too good at identifying ingredients.” Noah looked at Julie. “He always puts secret ingredients in his recipes and challenges people to guess what they are.”
“I’ll bring you a bowl of my Tuscan bean soup and see if you can do better than this guy with the palate of a cow.”
Julie giggled, her eyebrows lifting as Phil walked away.
“Yeah, he has that effect on people,” Noah said. “It’s why this place is always crowded. He makes everybody feel at home.”
When Phil returned, they talked about him being retired from FDNY and the fact that he’d been at the Twin Towers during 911 and lost his brother there, Harper’s dad. Noah knew some guys would not like Phil dominating the conversation when they brought a date, but he was glad for it today, since it would keep him from probing Julie about her marriage, which was eating at him still.
The three of them shared some New York City stories, and when Phil found out her father was Trevor Vaughn the architect, he told her he had a book that included some of his buildings and had gotten it signed by her dad.
Julie went quiet, almost seeming embarrassed, but Noah said, “You never realized that’s who Bryce’s father was?”
“Bryce never says much to anyone,” Phil said.
“He has always been on the quiet side,” Julie said of her brother.
“And I’m a big talker, so unless you want to guess my secret ingredient for the soup, I’ll mosey on and let you two enjoy the rest of your meal.”
Noah had ordered a feta cheese burger with a salad and Julie fish and chips.
They decided to skip any liquor since they were going to a wine tasting after this.
Not wanting to risk a subject that ruined the fun mood, Noah said, “Which shops did you go to?”
“I looked at several, including a couple nice galleries, but I wound up in a bridal and dress shop because I saw a design of mine in the window.”
“Yours? A wedding dress?” He set down his burger so he did not choke on it.
“Yes, mine, but not a wedding dress. When I had Molly, I began creating a line of clothing and accessories for little girls, but I kind of gave up before it got very far. I still have a couple dresses out there with two wholesalers and, to my shock, one of them was being displayed in the window of Yes, Lexi.”
“That is great,” Noah said, remembering how much she loved to sew. “Why didn’t you tell me you were doing that when I asked about your career?”
Julie shrugged. “I guess because it is not really a career. It’s just something I tried and, typical of me, did not follow through with very well. And Molly is the most important thing in my life, so that part was true.”
