“Alright,” she finally said. “But I pay for myself. We go dutch.”
“We have to dress up as Dutchmen? I can’t stand for that,” Craig said with the wave of a hand.
“It’s a saying,” she replied, “it means – ”
“Is it?” he stood up abruptly. “Never heard of it. Would you like some popcorn?”
Kali didn’t make it through much of the movie – she fell asleep about twenty minutes later and only awoke when Craig stood to turn off the TV around midnight. She sluggishly went upstairs and got ready for bed before falling asleep again.
The next morning, she got up early to run some errands around town. At one point, she considered popping into a store to find a new dress for dinner. It had been ages since she even thought about buying something pretty – she wasn’t even sure if she had anything in her closet that would fit! She didn’t want Craig to get the wrong idea, though. They were only going as friends. Also, it would be wasteful to buy a dress just to go out for one night. She didn’t get out much, so she may never be able to wear it again.
Once she got home, she pulled her phone out of her bag to see that she’d gotten a text from Ashley.
“Hey Chica,” it read, “I haven’t seen you in forever. Want to come over for a girl’s night? I bought clay face masks!”
Kali smiled. That would be nice – she felt guilty that she hadn’t made more of an effort to see Ashley recently. “Sure, I’d love that! Craig is taking me to dinner at 6 tonight, though, as a thank you, so would it be too late if I came after that?”
Her reply came quickly. Too quickly. “Oh la la, a hot date! Don’t let me interrupt!”
Kali sighed. “No. It’s not that at all. I’ll come over after?”
“Sure! See you then!”
There was a decent looking dress that Kali forgot she had in her closet. She felt a bit giddy as she got ready that night. It had been ages since she dressed up or went out for fun. Even for her birthday she tended to keep things low key; and though she very well could have gone to a nice restaurant like this with Ashley or her mom, that always seemed a bit lame to suggest. It really highlighted that she was alone in the world. Even if it were true, she didn’t like to dwell on it.
Craig was waiting for her when she came down the stairs.
“Ready to go?” she asked.
He stood, mouth slightly open. “You look beautiful,” he said.
Kali narrowed her eyes. “I feel like I should make it clear that we’re going as friends?”
He cleared his throat. “Yes, of course. I know. Sorry.”
She pulled on her coat. “Good.” He stared at her for a moment more before he went to put on his own coat. He didn’t look so bad himself.
Steven gave him a ride to pick up some more clothes that week. Naturally, everything he bought fit him perfectly and made him look even more like a model.
Ashley would’ve been so delighted if she saw him. Kali made a mental note to be sure that Ashley didn’t get the chance – because then it would only be a matter of time before she gave Kali’s mom a full report of how he looked. Kali wasn’t interested in whatever scheme they were cooking up. Craig was just a friend – a tenant, actually – no matter how cute he was.
Chapter 12
It was snowing, which made the drive a bit slow, but the walk to the restaurant was quite pretty. They arrived right on time but still had to wait ten minutes to be seated. Craig didn’t mind – it’s not like he had anywhere else to be. Spending time with Kali was his favorite thing to do. And tonight she looked so stunning that he could hardly stop himself from staring at her.
She’d insisted that they were going only as friends, but to the untrained eye, they looked like any other couple out on a date. The major difference, Craig noted, was that they talked a lot more than the actual couples; it seemed a handful of the restaurant patrons were sitting at tables, looking at their phones or at the ground, anywhere but at each other. How odd.
The restaurant was small and they were eventually seated at a table in the corner. Kali poured over the menu, unable to narrow down her choices.
“I can’t decide if I want the fusilli or the gnocchi,” she said.
“They serve gnocchi in a bread bowl,” Craig observed. “That seems interesting.”
“It does…” Kali was lost in thought.
“How about you get the gnocchi, I’ll get the fusilli and that way you can try both?”
Kali smiled. “Okay!”
He leaned in. “Shall we give the calamari a go?”
“As an appetizer?” Kali frowned. “Is that octopus?”
“Squid, I believe. It’s fried, so it should be unrecognizable.”
“Alright, sure,” she said, closing the menu. “I think we’re ready.”
She set the menu down and the waiter stopped by, took their order and dropped off a basket of bread. It was still warm from the oven.
“I could just die right now,” Kali said, taking a bite of the bread. “This is so good!”
“Alright,” Craig said, grabbing the bread basket from the table. “I wanted you to be happy, but not that happy. Can’t have you dying, your mother would kill me.”
Kali laughed heartily, covering her mouth. “Sorry,” she said, “can I please have that back?”
“What,” Craig said, holding the basket slightly above the table, “this? No, I’m sorry, it’s been recalled by the kitchen staff.”
“Why?”
“They’re taking it to the homeless shelter later, actually, stop being so selfish.”
“Oh, alright,” Kali replied. She giggled.
Craig just about died himself. He’d never heard her giggle before. It didn’t seem like a serious Kali thing to do – but he very much liked playful Kali.
“But listen, they don’t know we still have ours,” he said in a low voice. “So if fresh bread is what makes you happy, I’m willing to hide it from them so you can have the rest.”
Kali raised her eyebrows. “Thanks Craig. Or should I say – Bond?”
He placed the basket back on the table and waved a hand. “Don’t thank me. Thank my Queen for training me to be this clever.”
Kali, who was taking a sip of water, choked out a laugh. “Will do,” she said, once she regained her composure.
The appetizer arrived shortly after Kali finished off most of the bread. She picked up a piece of calamari and eyed it suspiciously. Craig popped one into his mouth and nodded. “Yep, just like I remember it.”
Kali narrowed her eyes. “Of all things, do you really remember calamari?”
“No,” he said, popping another into his mouth. “But I thought it might make me remember something if I said that.”
Kali laughed and took a bite. She made a face.
“What, you don’t like it?” asked Craig.
“No, I wouldn’t say that – it’s just not what I expected.”
“What did you expect?”
She shrugged. “I thought that a gooey tendril would be inside.”
Now Craig made a face at her. “That sounds horrible. If that happened we’d have to leave immediately.”
Kali laughed loudly, eliciting a dirty look from the older couple sitting one table over. She looked down and Craig realized that her cheeks looked a bit pink.
Craig looked over. The old man was still staring at her, shooting daggers with his eyes. “Can I help you with something?” Craig asked with a smile.
The man huffed and returned his gaze to his wife’s scowling face.
Kali kicked him under the table. “Craig – be nice!” she whispered.
“I am being nice! It seemed like they needed something.”
Their meals came out just then – ridiculously huge portions on ridiculously huge plates. They took up the entirety of the table. Kali couldn’t be more thrilled – she dove in and devoured half of her gnocchi before sitting back with a groan.
“I think I’m going to explode,” she said.
�
��You’re just getting started,” Craig replied with a laugh. “Don’t you want to try mine?”
“Just one bite, maybe,” she said, reaching her fork across the table.
“And you need to save room for dessert.”
“I can’t! I’m so stuffed.” She took a bite of Craig’s pasta. “Oh wow – that’s really good too.”
“I’m not going to finish all of this,” he replied. “Perhaps we can pack it up and you can have some tomorrow?”
“No, I’m not going to steal your food!” Kali said in a hushed voice. “I’m not usually this much of a pig.”
“You could never be a pig,” he said. “You’re behaving exactly as I’d expect a woman to behave who’s survived on ‘sad single people food,’ as you call it.”
Kali rubbed her forehead. “Yes…yogurt, eggs, salads. It’s all very healthy.”
“That’s all fine, but those foods don’t feed the soul quite the same as gnocchi in a bread bowl, do they?”
“That they do not,” she conceded.
Craig caught the waiter’s eye and asked him for the dessert menu.
“Some boxes as well, sir?” he asked.
Craig looked at Kali.
“Yes, please,” she said.
Once they had the menu, Kali admitted that she could do with a few bites of tiramisu.
“Your wish is my command,” Craig said, standing up to find the waiter. He wanted to put in their order for dessert and also pay the tab. It was sweet of Kali to propose going dutch, but this was supposed to be his treat to her. It was only a drop in the bucket compared to what she’d done for him, but it was something, and he wasn’t going to let her waste any more money on his behalf.
He successfully caught the waiter and handled the bill before returning to the table a few minutes later.
“Sorry,” he said as he sat down, “had to go to the loo.”
Kali snorted. “The loo!”
“Easy now,” he said, raising a hand in surrender. “You’ll make me self conscious.”
“I’m sorry,” Kali replied, rather seriously. “Do you remember when you woke up? You asked me if you were really English or if you might’ve woken up speaking – ”
He covered his eyes with one hand. “Fifteenth century Italian. Or Vietnamese. Yes, I remember.”
“Don’t be embarrassed,” Kali said. “It was funny!”
“I suppose it was. Unless I’ve been faking my accent the entire time.”
Kali frowned. “That would be weird.”
“Would it?” Craig responded in his best American accent. He wouldn’t have risked that a few weeks ago, but by now she was familiar with his humor. Even if most of his jokes did make her roll her eyes.
“Doesn’t matter, the tiramisu is coming,” Kali said, eyes wide.
Craig laughed. She was now totally unfazed by him, which was somehow more charming than when she was slightly suspicious but still kind.
The waiter set the plate in front of Kali and she thanked him.
“Oh – there’s only one fork,” Kali said.
Craig hadn’t noticed. He was staring at her again. “What? Oh, that’s alright. I don’t need any cake.”
“You don’t like tiramisu?”
He paused. “I’m not sure, really.”
“Well – come over here and have some then.”
She didn’t have to ask him twice. He scooted his chair next to hers; the space was so tight that he could only fit if they were almost touching. She didn’t seem bothered by this.
“Here,” she said, cutting a bite of the layered cake. Placing one hand under the other, she carefully raised the fork to his mouth. It was a rather large piece.
“Despite this being the biggest bite of cake I can remember having,” he said, mouth full, “this is quite good.”
“I thought it might’ve been a bit too big, but it was too late. It was already airborne.”
He caught her eye but forced himself to look away. Taking the fork from her hand, he cut a smaller piece for her. “Your turn?”
She opened her lips and took a dainty bite. Craig had the overwhelming urge to kiss her. A flake of chocolate lingered at the corner of her mouth. He took his napkin and raised it to her face.
She didn’t stop him.
“You’ve got a little something,” he said quietly.
“Oh, thank you,” she replied.
He dropped the napkin, softly brushing the side of her cheek with his hand for just a moment. Her skin was so soft – to his surprise, she closed her eyes for a second.
Craig felt his heart skip a beat. He couldn’t resist it any longer. He had to kiss her. He leaned in, slowly. He was almost to her lips when her phone rang.
Kali snapped away and cleared her throat.
“Sorry, don’t mean to be rude, I need to get this.”
“Of course,” he replied, but she’d already stood up from the table and walked away.
Craig stayed at the table with his heart racing, staring at the slice of cake. Truth be told, despite taking a giant bite of it, he hadn’t tasted anything at all. His focus was solely on Kali. He never intended to kiss her. He knew that she insisted they were just friends. How could he stick with that, though? Despite not remembering most of his life, he knew that Kali was the most amazing woman he’d ever met. He was sure of it. He could feel it in his chest whenever he saw her laugh. Or when he thought of her, late at night, when he couldn’t go to sleep. She was all he thought about, really. How could he stay just friends when he was madly in love with her?
She came back to the table after a few minutes. She looked a little pale. Craig leapt up.
“Is everything okay?”
“Yes, everything's fine – it’s good news, actually.”
“Who called?” he asked.
“It was the police station,” she said slowly. “They apologized for not calling sooner. But they have some footage of the night you were found. And they have your wallet. And they found – they have your name.”
“My name?”
Kali nodded. “It’s Craig. Craig Watson.”
Chapter 13
Somehow the tiramisu didn’t appeal to her anymore. Kali sat back in her seat, a little further from Craig than before.
“Does knowing your name help you remember anything?” she asked.
Craig stared at the table, concentrating. “No.”
“Do you want me to search your name on my phone?”
He looked up with a half smile. “Alright!”
Kali pulled out her phone and typed Craig Watson into Google. He leaned over slightly so he could look at the results.
“Let’s see…are you this triathlete? Or this lawyer? Oh – or this boxer?”
“I don’t think I have the nose of a boxer.”
She laughed. After clicking on the links and seeing the men’s pictures, she went back to the main search. “I don’t think any of these are you.”
“Maybe try adding Britain or something?”
Kali nodded and added it to the search. The first headline was from The Sun. “Billionaire Bad Boy to Wed Heiress.”
She snorted. “Do you think this one is you?” She clicked the link. A picture of an elegant and rather expensively dressed young woman popped up.
“That’s a lady,” Craig quipped, “so I don’t think that’s me.”
Kali scrolled down in the article and hit another picture. She froze. It was like her brain couldn’t process what she was seeing.
“Kali,” he said after a moment, “am I imagining things, or does that man look like me?”
Kali pulled the phone closer to zoom in on the picture. “Uh – it kinda does look like you.” The shirtless man looked a lot like Craig – his hair, his smile. He had abs, apparently. Her heart rate picked up. She zoomed out and looked at the caption of the picture.
It read, “Craig Watson relaxing on the £30 million yacht he gifted his sweetheart.”
Kali set her phone on the table. His sweethear
t. Not only was he engaged to some sort of a beautiful model creature – he was rich. Insanely rich.
While she’d suspected that he came from money with the way he behaved, she’d never suspected something like this. The richest person she knew was a kid she went to high school with – Billy Marmalade – and he wasn’t even that rich. His dad was a successful banker. They had a Mercedes and a private basketball court and a big pool attached to their giant house. To Kali, that was as rich as rich got. Yet Billy’s dad was probably just a millionaire.
Ha, just a millionaire! Her mind kept racing. Luckily, Craig was distracted by reading the article and hadn’t yet noticed her catatonic state. A logical voice in her head told her to pull it together, but another more powerful force made her feel cold and like she might throw up.
“I think we’ve found you,” she said, trying to keep her tone bright.
Craig reached for the phone, staring at his picture again. “This doesn’t make any sense. Are you sure this isn’t some sort of prank?”
“I don’t know for sure,” she said. “But I don’t think so.”
Craig scrolled down to another picture of an older couple. “This says Phillip and Maggie Watson! I think these are my parents!”
Kali peered over. “I think you’re right. See, you did remember her name.”
“I remember them!” he said excitedly. “My mum – Maggie from Madison. My mum grew up in Madison!”
“Is that why you were here? To see family?”
He frowned. “I don’t remember.”
“Oh, that’s okay. It’s all coming back to you,” Kali said, forcing a smile.
He grabbed her hand. “It is.”
Kali quickly pulled away, pretending to straighten her hair. “We should contact your parents. I’m sure they’re worried sick about you.”
“Right,” he said.
Kali cleared her throat. “And…your fiancée too.” She tried to keep her voice steady, but it betrayed her at the end by fading out. She coughed to cover it up.
“Are you alright?” he asked.
She waved a hand. “Yes, I think I just got some of that powdered chocolate stuff in my throat. Should we get the check? I promised Ashley that I’d stop by tonight.”
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