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“Can you tell me about the oysters?” he purred.
“Er”—I swallowed again, “since it’s July, I don’t recommend them. The ones we offer are fried, but they’ve been frozen.”
“I see. Then what exactly do you recommend?”
“Er, well, our grits cake with shrimp and tasso gravy is our trademark appetizer. It’s excellent. Our southern eggrolls are also outstanding.”
“Hmm. They both sound delicious. I think I’ll try the grits cake, please.” That voice of his was going to be my undoing tonight.
“Excellent choice.” I moved around the table and completed the order on my end. I found myself on a mad dash to the kitchen, tossing my order at the chef and heading for the restroom again. At this rate, all the paper towels would be gone in an hour.
Thank heavens my runner was around to deliver the appetizers. I followed him to make sure each dish was delivered to the correct person and checked to see if everyone was pleased with their order. Smoky Eyes hummed with pleasure. I high-fived myself for the excellent call on the grits cake suggestion.
I took everyone’s dinner order, and all went well except for you know who. He had a ton of questions, of course. The corners of his mouth lifted a bit. He must’ve recognized the effect he had on me. I was getting annoyed already, not with him, but with myself. How could my own body betray me this badly? Ugh.
“Tell me ...”
“It’s Alexia.”
“Tell me, Alexia. Is the wahoo moist and tender?”
“Yes. It’s fresh off the boat today. It’s pan seared and finished off in the oven. It’s quite delicious.”
“Is it juicy? It’s not too fishy, is it?”
Good grief, I almost rolled my eyes. Moist, tender, and juicy?
“No, it’s a very mild white fish. Not too dense and it’s not dry at all.” I grinned.
Someone at the table said, “Just order the damn fish already, Pearce. It’s only a meal for Christ’s sake.”
“True, but it’s an important meal, isn’t it, Alexia?”
I raised a brow and said, “I wouldn’t know. But I don’t think the fish will disappoint.”
He said under his breath, but loud enough for me to hear, “It’s not the fish I’m concerned about.” Then in a louder voice, he added, “Yes, then I’ll try the wahoo.”
Thank all the gods in heavens everywhere. Smoky Eyes made a decision. Hallelujah! The entire table clapped for him, and I snorted.
He cast me a look that sent shivers up my spine. I moved along and finished taking the remaining orders.
The rest of their meal went along very nicely. I remained off the radar except for the few drink orders I had to take and when it came to dessert. Smoky Eyes ordered a very expensive port and followed every move of mine with his eyes. Man, oh man, he was sexy.
By the time they stood up to leave, it was nine thirty. I was ready for them to get the show on the road. The restaurant had emptied, and I thought about heading down the street for a few drinks afterward.
They all headed towards the door when Smoky Eyes brushed up against me. He grabbed my hand and thanked me for my excellent service and patience with him. Then he pushed a wad of bills into my palm and walked out. This tip was beyond what had already been left with the payment.
I headed back to the restroom and unfolded the wad and saw it was four fifty-dollar bills and his business card. Smoky Eyes had a name. I inspected the card. He was a trauma surgeon at the medical school and his name was H. Pearce Middleton. On the back of the card, he’d written a note:
Please call me. I’d love to take you to dinner sometime. PM
Hmm. Middleton was an old Charleston name. I wondered if he was one of those Middletons. If so, he’d been toying with me the entire time. A Charleston Middleton would know what wahoo was and would also know oysters were out of season in July. In any case, it didn’t matter, because I would never call him. He didn’t need to get involved with me. I was one hot mess and he was a totally cool, put-together guy who was hotter than sin and probably smarter than anyone I’d ever met. What in the world would he do with a strung-out sleaze that partied too hard and ended up in bed with two guys at once that she didn’t even know? Besides, I wasn’t ready to date anyone. Probably wouldn’t ever be ready to date anyone.
Three
The next morning, I had to run some errands again for Lisbeth. While I was getting my list from her, I asked her about the Charleston Middletons.
“Do you know any of them?”
