I sit up straight and lean my elbow on her desk. “What the hell did he say? Will it make me angry or embarrassed? Was it rude?”
She swivels in her chair. “It depends. You need to tell me what you think. Ready to hear it?”
“Yes, the anticipation is killing me.” My voice squeaks.
She waves her hands for me to be quiet. “The exact translation”—she lowers her voice—“is you’re very beautiful. I don’t think he was talking about Thomas.” She giggles.
Now I grab my necklace and press on the amethysts. “That’s the last thing I would’ve guessed. Are you sure? You’re not pranking me, are you?”
“I’m not twenty-one anymore. I don’t play games. He’s interested in you. If I wasn’t married, I’d be interested in him. He’s not hard on the eyes.”
“I’ve only had two meetings with him. What exactly do you think is going on between us?” Why am I being so defensive?
She rolls her chair closer to me. “Hey, I met my husband at work. You spend so much of your time at work, the probability of meeting someone is very high. The only thing I can say is, be careful. You don’t want it to affect your job or your performance.” She whispers, “However, it can be a lot of fun trying to hide it from everyone.” She winks.
“Don’t be ridiculous. There’s nothing going on between us.” I stand up to leave.
“That’s not what it looked like when you were sandwiched together in the entrance of your cube. You looked quite cozy.”
What is it with sandwiches today? “You’re crazy. Think what you want,” I say nonchalantly. “Have a good night. See you tomorrow.”
“Whatever you say. I’m here if you ever need to talk.” She turns to face her computer. “See you tomorrow, Miss Beautiful.”
“Shush.”
Light chuckles follow me from her cube.
Chapter 6
Tina
Alexa drives like a madwoman. She cuts cars off left and right with her apple-red Beetle. My right hand has a death grip on the door handle, and my left hand presses against the roof.
“It shocks me you don’t get speeding tickets. You drive like a speed demon.” I watch her profile as I pray we’ll get to the restaurant safely. You’d think I’d be used to her driving by now.
Alexa swerves one more time.
She grins just as we leave the tunnel. Her left blinker ticks. “You know I get pulled over all the time. Somehow, I’m able to convince most of the police officers to not give me a ticket. Some are harder than others. Especially if he’s a she.”
I shake my head and chuckle. “You amaze me.”
Alexa yanks the wheel right and then left, almost snapping my neck.
“I don’t know why you insisted on driving into the city tonight when we could’ve taken the PATH.”
She slows to a halt and quickly reverses to parallel park. “Because here’s a parking spot right in the front of the restaurant. Who needs public transport? Tonight’s our lucky night,” she exclaims.
I can finally loosen my grip from the door. “You’re always surrounded by luck and guardian angels.”
“Yeah, but not when it comes to good men. No luck there,” she grumbles.
She puts the car in park while I pull my plum lip gloss from my handbag.
“There better be a ginormous amount of delicious food served tonight. I’m starving,” I say as I coat my lips.
She checks her phone for messages. “You and your ferocious appetite. It’s not fair. I hardly ate anything today, just so I could enjoy the food tonight. I avoided the gym because of Tony.”
“Hey, I did Pilates when I got home from work. Don’t act like I don’t have to work for it.” I rub my lips together and toss the gloss back into my handbag.
“Not as much as others anyway,” she says.
“Have you ever heard of this place?”
She puts her phone in her bag and pulls out a tube of red lipstick. “No. Supposedly the chef’s friend owns the restaurant. We have the place to ourselves. James mentioned it’s in the basement, with a very cool atmosphere.”
Months ago, I was living alone in a small apartment in rural New Jersey. My routine was the same almost every day. I worked, went home, and exercised in my living room. Sometimes I’d go out for drinks with my friends from work. During the weekends, I spent a lot of time at Lisa’s so I could play with my niece, Felicia. Never anything to brag about.
Now I’m happily living in Hoboken. When someone asks me where I live, I’m so proud to tell them. I know it sounds childish, but I feel cool. Every day is different. I love my job, have a great roommate, and enjoy an actual social life. I’m finally living the life I’ve always wanted. But will this be enough down the road? I’ve waited so long for this. Will this excitement die down? Will it be what I imagined? I don’t think I want to get married and have kids yet, but it would be nice later on. Maybe I should think about that when I actually meet a guy I’d like to marry.
Gerry.
I step out of the car and look at an old red brick building. Maybe it was a factory years ago. The entrance has large arched doors with glistening windows. The sign over the door says Wine Cellar.
Before I close my door, I toss my sweater over my arm and peek my head into the car. “Alexa, stop with the lipstick and get out of the car. We should go inside before we’re late. It’s rude. I’m looking forward to seeing Lisa and James and mingling with Kayla and Matt.” I close my door and stand on the sidewalk.
I miss Lisa. Ever since she got married, her time is consumed with being a wife, mother, and psychologist. We don’t see each other as much as we used to since I moved. I understand and am happy for her. Her husband is an ER doctor at the local hospital where they live. They are a true power couple. Felicia is my favorite—and only—niece. James and Felicia have completed Lisa’s life. Once Lisa met him, her life changed for the better. She found her prince.
During her difficult years after the car accident, I was the one she opened up to. It was my shoulder she cried on. I cheered her up when she was down. Even if I was down or stressed, I played the peppy and positive one. I hid my sadness from everyone. But then again, no one seemed to care how I was doing. The focus was always on her and Dad.
One day, it would be nice to have someone to share my dreams with. Someone who’ll push me past my limits. To finally let go and be spontaneous. Someone I can show all my moods to without judgment. The good things and the bad. Again, Gerry jumps into my mind. Even after my embarrassing moments around him, he’s never made me feel uncomfortable. I don’t know him, but he’s had an interesting life already. I’m envious, but maybe that’s why I find him so appealing.
I tap my shoe obsessively on the pavement. “Alexa, for the love of Pete, would you please get out of the car. You know I like to be punctual.”
She finally gets out and walks over to me. “Pipe down over there. This humidity is a killer. My hair is like a fucking Chia pet. I need to look my best just in case the chef’s a hottie.”
“Speaking of hottie, I don’t want to talk about Gerry or my job. Okay? I’m not in the mood to talk about my sunglasses fiasco, even if it is really funny. Let me enjoy myself.”
“You never used the word hottie before when describing Gerry. Very interesting.” She scrutinizes me. “However, if you don’t want to focus on his hotness tonight, we can focus on the food. With blindfolds on, we’ll be too busy spilling food on ourselves because we can’t see anything.”
I tense and clear my throat. “Remember, not a peep about what I told you the other day at the gym.”
She crosses her heart. “I hope you can enjoy yourself tonight.”
I shrug my shoulders. “I should be fine. Hopefully, the food will keep me distracted.”
She weaves her arm through mine, and we walk inside. We’re greeted with a staircase of creamy white exposed stone. Lovely shades of soft orange flow through them, giving off a natural tone.
“Wow. This staircase is beautiful,�
�� I say as I brush the stone with my fingers to enjoy the cool, rough surface as we walk down the stairs. It’s a bit chilly in here but a nice change from the warm air outside.
Voices echo around us as we descend to the cellar. I hear Lisa’s laugh among the guests. Alexa and I peek our heads into the room, and we’re rendered speechless. The spectacular space is long and narrow, like a tunnel. Thousands of matching stones from the stairway cover the walls and the high, rounded ceiling. Several wine barrels are stacked neatly in two corners. Running along one wall is a huge wine rack filled with hundreds of wine bottles. I’ve never seen anything like this.
We turn to the right and are welcomed by a server with a tray of sparkling champagne flutes filled to the rim. Alexa and I look at each other and happily take one.
We clink the flutes together. “Cheers,” we say in unison.
She didn’t look at me, just like Gerry said. Don’t think about him, and don’t tell her about the seven years of bad sex. She’d freak.
I look around to see if there are any familiar faces. I wave to a couple of people I know. Then see James, Matt, and Kayla near the wine barrels.
“Isn’t this place great?” Lisa says behind me.
I turn around with a big smile. She pulls me into her arms and gives me a tight hug. I almost spill my champagne down her back. Instead it flows onto my hand and drips onto the floor.
“Be careful, killer. I just spilled my champagne. There’s no good reason to waste it.” I shake my hand to get the bubbly off.
“Sorry. I couldn’t help myself.” She gives Alexa a big hug too. “I’ve missed you both so much.”
Lisa flips a strand of Alexa’s hair. “I’ve never seen your hair this long. It looks great.”
She fluffs her hair. “Thanks. I’ve been growing it out for a while. Tina isn’t the only one who wants to try something new.”
“Well, I wouldn’t know, since you haven’t visited in so long.” Lisa glances at Alexa and then to me. “You haven’t either.”
“Okay, Mom,” Alexa mocks.
Lisa stifles a laugh and smiles. “I don’t care. I’m just so excited you’re both here.”
“I’ve missed you too. My job is crazy right now. Alexa keeps our weekends entertaining.” I nudge Alexa.
“How’s little Felicia?” Alexa asks.
Lisa’s shoulders droop. “She’s home with Beth and hopefully asleep. It was hard to leave the house because she only wants her daddy right now. The terrible twos have arrived. It’s not easy for Beth to deal with the dogs either. Speaking of James, he’s over there with Matt. Go say hello. I need to use the bathroom.”
I stroll over to the guys with Alexa trailing behind me. “Hey there, both of you,” I say as I hug James and then Matt.
“It’s about time you two showed up. You’re the last ones to arrive,” James teases.
Alexa hip checks him. “We’re fashionably late by two minutes, big brother. That’s not bad. I found prime parking right in front.” She ruffles his hair.
“You’re a pain in my ass.” He smooths out his hair, then tries to do the same to her. She dodges him and rushes over to Matt while giggling.
“Thanks for inviting us, Matt. This place is awesome. I can’t wait to eat,” I say.
Alexa bumps elbows with Matt. “Hey, is the chef cute?”
He crinkles his face. “Alexa, I’m a guy. I don’t think about those things. But from what I’ve heard, other women think so.”
She beams. “I get first dibs on him,” she says loud enough for the other women to hear. She’s already marking her territory, and she hasn’t even met him yet.
Kayla scoots near Matt. “Hey, girls. I’m so glad you could make it.” She gives us both hugs.
She tugs on Matt’s arm. “Sorry to interrupt, but we need to start.”
“Sure.” He looks our way. “Please take your seats.”
“Lisa has a table for us,” James says as he leads the way to our seats.
Matt taps his champagne glass a couple of times with a knife to get our attention. Kayla stands next to him with a smile the size of Texas. “Hello, ladies and gentlemen. Thanks for coming to this special taste-testing evening. I have a feeling most of you, if not all of you, have never done this before. Am I right?”
Silence.
“That’s what I thought.” He confirms with a smirk.
“We have a special treat for you tonight. So why don’t you find yourself a seat so we can begin. There are six tables that sit four each.”
As Lisa comes back from the bathroom, I hang my sweater over the chair and take my seat next to Alexa.
Kayla addresses the group. “Thanks for coming tonight. I’m really excited you’re here. As some of you know, my German cousin is a famous chef in France and Germany.”
“He’s the one who introduced me to Kayla when she was visiting him in France,” Matt adds.
What the hell is it with Germany or Europe in general lately? I’m surrounded by it. I try so hard not to think about Gerry or Number One, and they’re practically thrown in my face.
Alexa leans toward me. “What’s with Germany these past days?” she whispers.
“I was just wondering that myself.”
Lisa taps my leg with her foot to be quiet.
“He graduated from one of the top culinary schools in France. He’s considered one of the youngest chefs to reach executive-chef status with a Michelin star for his restaurant in Hamburg, Germany. He’s a pure natural. He decided to visit the US to take some time off. He had so much fun he decided to stay for a while. It’s a great honor to have him as our chef for dinner tonight and at our wedding too.” She beams with pride.
Whispers and giggles echo off the stone walls.
“One of the things he’s famous for is his blind taste testing. It’s a unique way to enjoy your meal, even though it can be a bit messy.” She giggles.
A woman I don’t know raises her hand. “You keep saying cousin. What’s his name again? Isn’t it something strange?”
Kayla laughs. “It’s definitely not a common name. Blame my aunt and uncle. I don’t know what they were thinking. His name is Gervais Raphael. He’ll introduce himself at the end of the meal. He’s busy in the kitchen.”
I lean over the table and ask Lisa, “Have you or James ever met him before?”
“I haven’t, but James did once or twice. Matt’s worked with him several times when he was training in Paris to become a pastry chef. I’ve heard he’s very handsome. Maybe you can give him your number.”
“Whatever. We both know that’ll never happen, though I’d be his dream date since I love to eat. Alexa already called first dibs.”
“I sure did,” Alexa says as she wipes her red lipstick off her champagne glass.
Matt chimes in again. “Here’s how the evening will flow. You’ll be given a black velvet blindfold before the first course is served. Once you put it on, you’ll notice a difference in your senses immediately. Take your time and enjoy the food by smelling, tasting, and feeling the texture without seeing it. It’ll truly be a different experience. Try to guess what you’re eating. I’ll tell you what it was after you’ve finished each course.”
Kayla takes over. “We’ll start off with a traditional French hors d’oeuvre that won’t be served at our wedding. When the main course is served, you’ll be given two different small portions to test. One is a traditional French entrée, and the other is a traditional German one. At the end of the evening, you’ll be given a card to fill out with your choice. Matt has recommended a dessert for tonight, but he’s not the one making it.”
Boos ring out throughout the room.
Kayla lifts her hands up. “Sorry, everyone. Tonight’s all on my cousin.”
“I’ve never eaten true French or German food before. Well, maybe I have. Sauerkraut is German, right?” I say.
Everyone at the table chuckles.
Alexa crinkles her nose. “There better not be sauerkraut. It’s so nasty.
I came here for a gourmet meal.”
Matt walks over to a table near him. He picks up black blindfolds and hands them out. I receive mine and inspect it. Pure black velvet. Very sexy. The blindfold I had years ago was a dishtowel. Nice upgrade.
“You can take your blindfold home with you,” Matt yells over the loud group.
“I wouldn’t mind taking these home. It could be a lot of fun,” James whispers to Lisa.
Her face flashes bright red.
Alexa reaches over the table and smacks his arm. “We can hear you. Don’t gross us out. We don’t need to know what you two do in the bedroom.”
James waggles his eyebrows. “Who says it would be in the bedroom?” he instigates.
Alexa covers her ears. “La-la-la. I’m not listening.”
“Fight nice, children,” Lisa jokes.
James and Alexa are always a riot when they’re together.
Matt speaks up. “I hope you listened to our instructions and didn’t wear expensive clothes. It’s guaranteed you’ll spill some food. I suggest laying your cloth napkin on your lap. Don’t worry if you spill something. There’s plenty of food, so you’ll be served more if you’d like. As you can see, there are no candles on the table, to prevent a chance of fire.”
Loud chatter fills the room.
“I’m serious. Once you’re blindfolded, you’ll become disoriented and want to shuffle your hands around the table.” Matt walks between the tables toward the kitchen. “I’ve done this before, so I know what I’m talking about.”
“Someone should film us,” Alexa says as she shakes out her napkin and places it on her lap. “I can’t wait for the wedding. It’ll be fun to dress up for once. Maybe there’ll be some eligible bachelors for Tina and me to pick from.” She lightly jabs my arm.
“I thought you wanted the chef?” James baits her.
She taps her chin. “Oh, right. I already forgot about him. Let’s wait and see when he introduces himself.”
Matt returns from the kitchen. He claps his hands. “Okay, everyone. It’s time for the first course. On the count of three, blindfolds on. One, two, three. Ensure you can’t see anything. No peeking at any time. I’ll be watching you,” he says playfully. “Kayla and I wish you a memorable experience. The servers will wait a few minutes to serve the first dish so you can orient yourselves and figure out your silverware.”
Dreams Collide: Collide Series Book 2 Page 6
