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Chapter Four
“Can we get two glasses of Chardonnay, please?” Mimi’s squeaky voice made Tori grimace. Why was the woman there again? Surely she had better things to do. Like perhaps convince Tobias to leave Montana.
Tori forced a smile at Mimi and her friend, a woman who’d used the wrong tone of self-tanner and was a very deep shade of orange. “Right away. Our special today is eggplant parmesan.”
The women didn’t reply, so she turned and walked away. Spotting Jessie, she motioned her over. “Can you take two glasses of Chardonnay to table five for me? I think I just threw up in my mouth.”
Jessie laughed. “Either that woman loves Italian food, or she likes to torment you.” The young woman tapped her temple. “If you give me her table, she’ll know it’s working.”
“Ugh, you’re right.” Tori went to the small bar and placed two wine glasses atop the counter. She noticed both Mimi and the orange woman watching her. She forced a smile and whispered to Jessie, “I think you’re right. She’s here to annoy me.”
When she returned to the table, Mimi threw a ten dollar bill on the table. “We won’t be eating. If it takes this long just to get a glass of wine while you gossip, there’s no telling how long a meal will be.” She rolled her eyes and looked to her orange friend. “Come on, Ashley, let’s go to the sandwich shop.” Mimi slid out of the booth then grabbed her glass and took a long swig of her wine. “Oooh, a bit too tart.”
Ashley didn’t seem as convinced about leaving by the way she eyed the bread basket and then the wine. But she meekly followed behind Mimi.
Jessie came up and peered at the table. “Wow a whole ten dollars. Isn’t the wine six dollars a glass?”
“Yep, but I came out ahead, she left.” Tori huffed, picking up the glasses. “That woman is antagonizing me for a reason. Not sure what she’s got to worry about since Tobias and I hate each other.”
At ten that night, she locked the front doors to the restaurant and hitched a tote onto her shoulder. She still had a couple hours of accounting work to do. So there’d be no wine and television for her that night.
“Tori?” A man approached. Thanks to bright headlights, she couldn’t make out his features, but being they shined directly at her, she was clear to him. Whoever he was.
“It’s George Weston,” he said, acknowledging she couldn’t see much more than his outline.
“Oh, hey,” she called back. “I heard you were going to be in town. Saw your mom at the grocery store last weekend.”
She and George had dated for a few months right after college. He’d accepted a job in Helena and, being that their relationship was too young, she’d not been inclined to go with him.
“Yeah, I’m back for a bit. My parents are retiring and I’m here to help them clean out some stuff and help them with their accounts.”
When he neared, she noted he’d not changed much. With sandy brown hair, blue eyes and an athletic build, George remained handsome. The only tell he was in his forties were the laugh lines at the edges of his eyes.
He pulled her into an embrace. “I’ve been looking forward to seeing you. First night out since I got here. So I went over to the pool hall with Eric and Ernest.”
“You and those two used to be like peas in a pod,” Tori replied, genuinely happy to see George.
He tugged at her hair, a gesture he’d done while they dated. The action seemed a bit too personal to Tori, but she decided perhaps it was just something he did. “When can I spend time and catch up with you, pretty lady?”
“I happen to know this local Italian eatery that has the best spaghetti in town. How about lunch tomorrow? My treat.”
He chuckled. “Can’t take a day off spur of the moment, huh?”
“Not this week. It’s Laurel Creek Founder’s Week.” She pointed to a banner that had been stretched across the main road. “Yours truly is in charge of raffle ticket sales. And you’re spending money on some tickets, Mr. Weston. There are some amazing prizes going to be given away.”
She smiled up at him, enjoying the sparkle in his eyes. “So lunch and tickets is all I can offer this week.”
“I’ll walk you home. Still live at the cottage over there?” He motioned with his right hand and with his left, took her elbow. Although the action wasn’t intimate per se, it made her distinctly aware of how long it had been since she’d dated.
They walked to the door of her cottage, which was just down the block and across the street. He looked at the front door and then to her. “This place suits you perfectly. It’s small and very cute.”
“Thanks?” She smiled coyly. “See you around then?”
“Yeah,” he replied and, once again, hugged her. Tori cleared her throat at the sudden urge to cry. What the hell was wrong with her hormones that a simple hug from a man made her want to cry?
She went inside and leaned on the closed door. If she wasn’t careful, she and George would making out. Being he was only there for a short time, she didn’t want to enter into anything that would only make her feel even lonelier when he left.
The cell phone rang and she dug into her purse. It was Allison.
