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‘Too busy, I guess,’ I confided in a lower voice. I was not going to tell her I hadn’t dated in years. ‘And I can’t seem to find the good ones.’
She pulled back a little and smiled at me. ‘You’re beautiful, Charlie. If guys are not getting in line and knocking on your door, they’re idiots.’ She shook her head and took a sip of her wine.
Kay’s friend Elijah was sitting to my left and slightly leaning into me under the disguise of getting the pepper mill, as he muttered, ‘She’s right.’
I gave him a small smile and glanced back at Evelyn.
‘It’s a little on me too. I decided not to date for a few years.’
‘Oh,’ Beth piped up, looking intrigued. ‘Is there a story behind it?’
‘Other than heartbreak? Not really. My grandma got sick, I had to take care of her. Then I wanted to focus on work. I just didn’t want to deal with anyone I think. Not to mention every online date I’d been on just turned into disasters. I just thought it’d happen when it happened.’
‘Ah, being single. Sounds like heaven to me,’ Beth sighed.
‘I heard that,’ Nico piped up.
I smiled.
‘Good. I wanted you to hear it,’ Beth replied.
‘You’d miss me if you were single.’
‘Hah, you wish. What will you do if I…’
‘Please don’t start flirting at the dinner table,’ William cut in. ‘Please.’ He glanced at a grinning Nico, then at his sister. Nico raised his hands while Beth just shook her head with a small knowing smile on her lips.
I was beaming at everyone around me.
William started scooping up his peas and putting them on my plate while he was talking to Nico. I waited for him to finish, then started gathering my carrot salad and putting it on his. Once I was done and looked up, almost everyone was staring at us.
‘I’m sorry, Charlie,’ Evelyn said. ‘I wouldn’t have forced the carrot salad on you if I knew you didn’t like it.’
‘Oh, no, it’s fine. I like it, but William seems to really like carrots from what I’ve learned at our lunches, so I thought I’d share. Sorry.’
‘And she loves peas,’ William put in.
I drank some water. I’d forgotten that we weren’t alone having lunch near the office. I forgot that this was something natural for us. Usually he gave me his French fries and I gave him whatever he wanted from my plate, but we hadn’t done that in front of others, let alone his family.
‘How is working with William?’ Kay asked, thankfully changing the subject. But I could see her lips twitching.
‘He is amazing,’ I announced, giving William a sideways glance as he looked at me in surprise. When I turned back to Kay, I noticed Evelyn’s smile as her eyes went from me to her son. ‘As in, he is a really hard worker and it’s been great being on a team with him. Not to mention he is great at what he does. I wish we had more time to work together.’ I corrected to make sure they didn’t misunderstand me. ‘You must be happy now that he is closer to you.’
Evelyn’s brows furrowed in confusion as she distractedly passed more of my potato salad to Nico. ‘What do you mean, you wish you had more time to work together?’
‘Oh, umm…’ I chanced a quick look at William and he was staring back at me. ‘I’m moving to California. New job.’
‘Oh,’ Evelyn echoed, and I could tell from her expression that she was confused.
‘You’re working in your dad’s company though, right?’ Kay questioned.
‘Yes. He doesn’t know about the new job yet, but he does know that I’ve wanted to move for a while now.’
‘I’m sure he’ll be happy for…’ Evelyn started.
‘You talked to Nora?’ William cut in.
I turned my shoulders to face him. ‘Yes. Yesterday. Before I went out for the dinner we had a quick video call.’
‘You didn’t tell me.’
Was that accusation or disappointment I was hearing in his voice? ‘I… I was going to. It was a little hectic yesterday before dinner and… well then the dinner and everything else.’ I tried to make him a face, but he looked too serious.
He put down his fork and knife, reached for his water glass and took a big swallow. ‘It’s done then. She wants you. I knew she would, but… You’re leaving.’
I chuckled nervously. ‘She does want me. Thank you for talking to her. Whatever you said worked. If you hadn’t offered to help out, I’d still be looking. And I really like Nora, I think it’ll be a good fit. I’m excited.’
His eyes wandered down my face and he looked away, forehead creased, his jaw muscles working.
I gave the table a half-hearted smile, confused about William’s sudden change of mood.
‘We have work to do,’ he announced, after clearing his throat, and then pushed his chair slightly back.
