I flash him another quick smile and a nod, then I turn on my heel to leave.
“Alice?”
Glancing over my shoulder, I realize Ethan’s following behind me.
“I need to speak to you in my office,” he says, then seems to notice my trepidation and clarifies, “about tonight’s reservations. Come.”
I follow him to his office and my heart-rate speeds up as he closes the door behind us. He doesn’t move toward his desk chair. Instead, he looks down at me as we stand just inside the door.
The intense look in his eyes is unreadable. Did I do something wrong? Am I being fired? Is he… Is he going to kiss me?
“Have you rung everyone to confirm reservations?” he asks.
I snap my gaze away from the bow of his lips and look him in the eyes, trying not to look too disappointed. “Yes. There was only one cancelation.”
“Who canceled?” he asks, and I can’t tell if he looks hopeful or shocked.
I purse my lips as I search my memory for the person’s name. “I think it was…Peter or Perry. Something like that.”
“Peter Badgely?”
“Yes! That’s it. His assistant said he’s out of town. But everyone else confirmed. And I checked the online reservations. A few of those were canceled, but I don’t remember the names. Do you want me to get those?”
He shakes his head. “No, that won’t be necessary.”
“Great,” I say, reaching for the door handle so I can leave.
His large hand lands on top of mine. “Wait.”
My heart hammers against my chest, so hard I swear he can hear it at this distance. “What?” I say, my eyes focused on our hands, too afraid to look up at his face.
He slowly removes his hand from mine. “You need to know that Edward will be here tonight…for the opening.”
There’s a finality in his tone, but he also sounds apologetic.
The flush of attraction I felt a moment ago morphs into disappointment. “I know,” I say, tilting my head back to meet his gaze. “I had no illusions he wouldn’t be.”
His nostrils flare as he looks down at me. “I tried asking him to come another night, when we’re less busy, but he really wants to be here to support me. This being my first American restaurant, and all.”
I clench my teeth to keep myself from launching into a tirade about Edward’s idea of being supportive. “I understand.”
He doesn’t seem convinced by my words. “I have to be in the kitchen tonight, but I promise Ollie will keep an eye on him.”
I nod. “Thanks.”
He narrows his eyes at me. “Why does it look like you don’t believe me?”
I draw in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Everyone here, including Ollie, knows who Edward and I are by now. And if you think anyone is going to side with a hostess over a Michelin-starred chef, you don’t know this industry as well as I thought you did.”
He laughs at this. “Why would anyone need to take sides?”
“You really don’t know your brother, do you?”
“Not nearly as well as I thought I did, apparently.”
I stare at him for a moment, confused by this answer. “Why did he never talk to me about you? Did you guys have a falling out before he moved to New York? What happened?”
He rolls his eyes as he crosses his gorgeous forearms over his chest. “After A-levels, he decided he wanted to go to culinary school, like me. But he didn’t want to go to the same one. So, I moved to London, and he moved here.”
“And what? You never spoke after that?”
He shakes his head. “No, we spoke pretty often. Until I dropped out and opened my first restaurant. He was there for the opening, but after I got that first Michelin star, we sort of lost touch. Only saw each other occasionally at family gatherings.”
“Because he was jealous of your accomplishments?”
He shrugs. “Things got really hectic for me after that, and he was busy with school, so it was difficult to get our schedules to line up with phone calls and such.”
I nod as if I believe him, but I’m pretty certain we both know that’s a load of crap. “Well, I may not know your brother as well as you used to. But I’m fairly certain I know him a bit better than you do these days. And I’m going to tell you this now, so you’re not surprised when it happens. If he tries to humiliate me tonight, I will quit. I will walk out that door, and this time I will not come back. Do you understand me?”
He unfolds his arms and his expression turns grave. “I will do my best to make sure that doesn’t happen, but you have to promise me one thing,” he says, his hand reaching up to brush a strand of hair out of my face, making me shiver.
The serious look on his face softens as he seems to notice the effect his touch has on me.
“Promise you what?” I murmur as I focus on regulating my breathing.
“Promise me if my brother does anything to upset you tonight, you’ll allow me the honor of yanking his eyeballs out through his nostrils before you do. Can you promise me that?”
The half-smile he flashes me makes my stomach flutter with giddiness.
“I can promise that.”
We stand there for a while, frozen in the moment, his gaze roaming over my every feature until it lands on my mouth. I hold my breath as I realize this is it. Ethan is finally going to kiss me.
I know I should stop it, but there’s no way I can resist this man.
I close my eyes and part my lips ever so slightly, my breathing slow and steady as I wait for his mouth to make contact with mine. Just when his breath becomes a whisper on the tip of my nose, we’re interrupted by a knock at the door.
My eyelids snap open and I’m surprised to see Ethan looking down at me with a curious smile on his face. Did I imagine his breath on my nose? Did I imagine that entire moment? What if he never had any intention of kissing me?
He wiggles his eyebrows at me as if he knows exactly what I’m thinking, then he reaches up and swipes his thumb across the corner of my lips. “You’ve got a wee bit of drool just…there.”
I shove his hand away, feeling utterly mortified. “I should get back to work.”
He chuckles. “Good luck, Alice,” he says as I open the door to find our brace-faced line cook, Warner, standing there. “And don’t forget that, if tonight goes well, we can start using you in the kitchen soon.”
I push past Warner, not bothering to acknowledge Ethan’s declaration. When I arrive in the dining room, the other hostess who will be working with me tonight is trimming leaves on the plants behind the reception desk.
Lily grins when she sees me, but her smile vanishes as I get closer. “Your face is really pale. Are you not feeling well? You really shouldn’t come to work if you’re sick.”
I blink a few times and put on a stiff grin. “I’m fine. I just…I found out my ex-boyfriend will be here tonight.”
She scrunches up her pert, freckled nose. “Yeah, I heard Edward was coming. But maybe he’ll come in later in the evening. It’s not like you’re working until closing.”
“I am working until closing. Aren’t you?”
She looks at me like I’m crazy. “You know I never work past eight. I have to go home to nurse Aaron.”