by Gerri Hill
“What about the Burger Barn?”
“Are you out of your mind? That’s our competition for burgers. I can’t be seen there.”
Leah shrugged. “They weren’t very good anyway. Prices are way cheaper than you, though.”
“You get what you pay for.” Then a slight narrowing of eyes. “You went there already?”
“Yeah. You know, trying out different places in town,” she said.
Megan paused. “Well, okay, but you can’t ever go again. Besides, they’re not very friendly there.”
“No? You mean, as opposed to…say…you?”
Megan’s eyes widened in shock. “I’m very friendly,” she insisted.
“The first time we met, you stormed in here, yelled at me, wadded up my note and threw it at me,” Leah reminded her.
“What do you expect? You took away my parking spot and you weren’t even open yet! You’re still not open!”
As they stood there staring at each other, Megan slowly shook her head. “This is a really bad idea, isn’t it?”
“Oh, it’ll be fine,” she said, even though she tended to agree with Megan. It would be a miracle if they pulled it off. “We probably shouldn’t argue in public though.”
Megan smiled. A rather sweet smile, Leah had to admit. “Well, if you would just agree with me, then we wouldn’t have to argue.”
Leah laughed. “Spoken like a true girlfriend.”
“Relationships would be so much easier that way if one simply gave in to the other…all the time.”
“As long as you’re the one getting her way?”
Megan laughed. “Of course.”
Leah was about to ask if that had been one of the problems in her failed relationships, but she remembered she wasn’t supposed to know about them. She’d promised Nancy she wouldn’t say anything. So she changed the subject back to their date.
“How about that romantic place Mary Beth wanted to take you to?”
“Craig’s? Fancy schmancy dining,” she said. “Mostly tourists. Locals rarely go there.”
“Why? Is it not good? The food at the kickoff party was pretty good.”
“Oh, no. Excellent food. But expensive. Locals can’t afford it!” Megan said with a laugh.
“So if we went there, it would be a big deal?”
“Oh, yeah. Locals go there only for special occasions or if they’re celebrating something. Craig is friends with Susie. He’ll probably call her while we’re there. By the time we leave, it’ll be all over town that we had dinner together,” Megan said. She rubbed her hands together conspiratorially. “Good plan.”
“See? We agreed on something. That wasn’t too hard, was it?”
“No, it wasn’t. I hate dressing up though,” Megan said.
Leah wrinkled up her nose. “We have to dress up? That may be a problem. I ditched all of my suits and dressy clothes when I retired.”
Megan tilted her head. “Do you have black jeans?”
Leah nodded. “I actually have two pair.”
“Add a nice blouse, maybe a sweater. It’s still cool enough.”
“Okay. I’ll see what I can do. It would be kinda embarrassing if he wouldn’t allow us in on our first date,” she said with a laugh.
“He wouldn’t dare.”
Chapter Seventeen
“So you’re going to Craig’s, huh? And that’s what you’re wearing?”
Megan looked down at her neatly pressed khaki slacks and the shoes that hurt her feet. “What’s wrong with this?”
“A sweater vest? Is that even in style?”
Megan smoothed her hands over the soft wool of the navy vest she wore. It was her favorite and she admitted she hadn’t worn it in a couple of years but still, she thought it looked nice with the gingham blouse. Regardless, she wasn’t going to argue with Nancy about it. She was stressed enough about the prospect of her first date with Leah.
“Wow…you look nice,” Eileen said from the doorway. “What’s the occasion?”
Megan gave Nancy a smirk. “See? I look nice.”
“She’s got a hot date,” Nancy said. “If you can believe that.”
“Oh, my God! You’re finally going out with Mary Beth?”
“Of course not!” she snapped. “I’m not insane.”
“Leah Rollins, from next door,” Nancy supplied.
Eileen frowned. “The woman you called a ‘parking space whore’?”
Megan smiled sheepishly. “Did I really use that term?”
“Among others,” Eileen said.
“Apparently, she’s had a secret crush on her the whole time,” Nancy said.
“I do not! She asked me out, not the other way around,” Megan said. “I don’t even like her.”
“Then why didn’t you turn her down?”
Megan rolled her eyes. “Again with this? I thought I’d explained.”
“Yeah, yeah. You were too shocked to say no. Now you’ve got to suffer through a date with her at Craig’s,” Nancy said sarcastically.
“Unless we’re too busy for me to skip out tonight,” she said, knowing they weren’t. Mondays were always their slowest days.
“No. You go have fun,” Eileen said. Then she grinned. “I wonder who’s going to tell Mary Beth that you have a date.”
Megan feigned ignorance. “Why would someone feel the need to tell her?”
“Oh, I don’t know…could it be that she’s threatening to post a fully naked picture of you unless you go out with her?”
Megan squared her shoulders. “I am not going to be blackmailed into a date. Especially not with a crazy woman who has a naked picture of me!”
A loud clearing of the throat had the three of them all turning to look toward the office door. Leah was leaning casually against the jamb, smiling.
“Am I interrupting anything?”
Megan took a few seconds to look her over, noting that the smoky black and gray shirt matched her hair perfectly. Leah had also taken her advice and worn black jeans. A black leather belt wound around her trim waist and Megan finally raised her eyes, meeting Leah’s.
“No. Come in.”
Leah nodded, then glanced at Nancy with a smile. “Hello, Nancy.”
Megan wondered if Nancy would be cool to her or not. Apparently Leah’s charming smile melted some of the frost.
“Hi, Leah. About time someone dragged this one out on a date,” Nancy said. “You two have fun. I should get back out there.”
Nancy gave a quick smile to Megan as she passed by, but Megan knew it was forced. Eileen stood by uncomfortably and Megan finally found her manners.
“Leah, this is Eileen. She actually runs the place,” she said with a smile. “Or at least she thinks she does,” she added.
Eileen laughed as she shook Leah’s hand. “Nice to finally meet you, Leah. And she’s right, of course. I do run the place.” She winked at Megan and mouthed “she’s cute” as she left them.
When they were alone, Leah raised her eyebrows. “Nervous?”
“Yes. You?”
Leah smiled easily. “No. I’m looking forward to a nice dinner and an expensive bottle of wine.” She motioned to the door. “Shall we?”
Leah’s relaxed attitude put her at ease…at least a little. She nodded, then preceded her out the door.
“You look nice,” she tossed back over her shoulder.
* * *
“So Nancy didn’t have a problem with you getting away tonight?” she asked after they’d been seated.
“Mondays are fairly quiet,” Megan said.
“Same over here, it seems,” Leah said as she looked around. There were only three other tables occupied.
“Mondays are slow, at least until summer,” Megan said. “And I think Nancy’s over the whole date thing anyway. At least she’s speaking to me again.”
“Maybe I should go over for lunch tomorrow and chat with her. Just, you know, as friends.”
“Give it a few days,” Megan suggested. Then she leaned fo
rward slightly. “Craig is coming over,” she whispered.
“Well, well. Imagine my surprise to find you here, Megan Phenix,” he said dramatically as he bowed at the waist. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”
Megan waved at Leah. “Have you met Leah Rollins? She owns the shop next to our grill,” she said.
Craig reached out a hand, squeezing hers gently. “I remember seeing you at the kickoff party, but I didn’t get a chance to chat,” he said. “Pleased to meet you, Leah.”
“Thank you. I was told that this was the place to come to if you were trying to make an impression on a first date,” she said as casually as she could.
He put a hand to his chest. “Oh, my. A date?” His glance slid to Megan. “Well…this is news.” A big smile lit his face as he turned back to Leah. “With your permission, if you would allow me to select the wine…I have a special bottle for this very occasion.”
Leah’s smile faltered. “Do you by chance have a California wine?”
“California,” he mocked. “No, I only serve the best wine, love. French. I have a beautiful blend of cabernet sauvignon that I have been saving. From the Bordeaux region. Allow me to present it to you tonight.”
“Very well,” she said. “Thank you.”
Megan was smiling as he left. “You really are snobbish about your California wine, huh? You should have seen your face when he said French.”
Leah nodded. “Guilty. But I’ll try to choke it down.” She lowered her voice. “I detect a slight British accent from him…sort of.”
Megan laughed. “No. Craig just considers himself royalty in town and his accent gets a little better each year. He’s from South Carolina.” She laughed again. “You should have heard it when he first started speaking this way. It was hilarious.”
“So there are quite a few…characters in town, huh?”
Megan nodded. “Characters is a nice way of putting it. And some are bordering on eccentric, yes.”
“Well, it shouldn’t ever be boring, I guess.” She opened the menu, surprised at how limited it was—lobster, smoked salmon, prime rib, roasted duck and Cornish game hens. However, each entrée came with four or five side dishes.
“The Cornish hens are really good,” Megan said. “I love the wild rice and mushroom sauce.”
“I thought the locals didn’t eat here,” Leah reminded her.
“I’ve been a couple of times. Whenever our parents come to town, we usually bring them here. They get sick of eating burgers at our place.”
“I haven’t really looked your menu over. You have more than burgers, I assume. Tony told me to try the chicken-fried steak,” she said.
“The chicken-fried steak is popular, but burgers are our specialty,” Megan said. “And Johnny makes a wonderful marinade for rib eyes and fillets, if you’re in the mood for a good steak.”
Craig returned with a tuxedoed waiter at his side. He placed a silver tray between them containing six delectable-looking mushrooms.
“Stuffed mushrooms,” Craig said. “I know Megan has a fondness for them. Tonight, I have brought you three varieties to try—a spinach and feta cheese, a very savory crab and a spicy sausage.” He clapped his hands three times and another waiter appeared, placing a candle between them and two wineglasses. Craig lit the candle as the waiter added just the proper amount of wine to each glass. “This wine is simply spectacular, you’re going to love it,” Craig said. “Leave the bottle for them, Randal.”
“Of course,” the waiter said as he bowed slightly before taking his leave.
“Now…may I suggest the prime rib this evening,” Craig said. “I have a beautiful creamed spinach to go with it, as well as lightly grilled asparagus spears and herb-roasted potatoes and, of course, the traditional Yorkshire pudding.”
Leah nodded. “Sounds wonderful.” She glanced at Megan. “Okay with you?”
“Yes. Thanks, Craig.” She reached for a mushroom treat. “And thanks for these.”
“My pleasure, ladies,” he said. “Enjoy.”
As Megan moaned after her first bite of the crab-stuffed mushroom, Leah took one of the sausage mushrooms. It was surprisingly crispy on top and the flavor was indeed spicy.
“Nice,” she said as she finished off the small appetizer.
“Try the crab,” Megan said as she took one of the spinach and feta. “I could eat a whole plate of those.”
Leah had to agree. The crab was light and delicate, topped with bread-crusted cheese. She tasted a hint of dill in the sauce.
“Yeah, these are good.”
“Johnny is a whiz with flavors and he’s tried to duplicate these for me, but it’s not quite the same,” Megan said.
“That’s the second time you’ve mentioned Johnny,” she said.
“Oh, he’s our chef,” Megan said with a laugh. “We hired him as a fry cook when we first opened, but it soon became apparent that Nancy and I were only in his way.”
“So when you first started the grill, you were going to cook?”
Megan shrugged. “Burgers. How hard could it be?” She took the last sausage mushroom. “But anyone can do a plain old burger. For instance, the Burger Barn.”
“Definitely a plain old burger.”
“Right. But Johnny was creative. He came up with all the different varieties of burgers. And it’s not just the same burger with different condiments and toppings,” Megan said. “Our patties are hand-formed and he actually uses different seasonings for each variety, making them unique from the others.”
Leah nodded. “So you have burgers and steaks. What else?”
“We have a couple of grilled chicken entrées,” Megan said. “And we have lunch specials, which he’ll whip up and when it’s gone, it’s gone. His grandmother’s meatloaf recipe is my favorite,” she said. “He also makes a really nice lasagna. And during the winter months, he’ll usually make chicken and dumplings at least once a week.”
“So he does most of your cooking then?”
“He’s in charge of the kitchen staff and he’s bossy as hell, but we’d be lost without him.” She smiled. “And, of course, he knows it.”
“I’m assuming his salary reflects that?” Leah guessed.
“Believe it or not, the Burger Barn tried to steal him from us, among others in town. So yes, we keep him happy.” Megan picked up her wineglass, which neither of them had tasted yet. “Do you think it’s safe to drink?” she teased.
“Give it a try and let me know,” she said with a smile.
“I told you before, I wouldn’t be able to tell the difference.” Megan took a sip and nodded. “Nice. I think.”
Leah followed suit and had to admit that the wine was indeed very nice. She nodded her approval. “Not bad for French wine,” she conceded.
Megan motioned for Leah to take the lone remaining mushroom. “So tell me about Aunt Ruby.”
“Are you curious about the shop or—”
“No. Well, yes. But if we’re going to pretend to date, we need to at least know something about the other, don’t you think? I have a feeling Nancy will question me.”
Leah nodded. “Fair enough. I’ll tell you about Aunt Ruby…if you’ll tell me why you drank too much tequila on your birthday.” She saw the hesitation in Megan’s eyes, but she finally nodded.
“Okay. But you first,” Megan said.
Leah paused. “I thought today was the day Mary Beth was posting another picture,” she said.
“That’s what Nancy said. I assume she got word of our date and held off.” Megan waved her hand in the air. “Or else she got word of our date and is so pissed, she’s going to post the full body shot. In that case, I’ll have to kill her.” A quick smile. “And a good girlfriend would come visit me in prison.”
Leah laughed. “Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that. Are you ever going to tell me how she got a naked picture of you?”
“I thought I had,” Megan said. “Birthday? Woke up naked?”
Leah nodded. “Too much tequila. Why
don’t you tell me about it?”
“I thought you were going to tell me about Aunt Ruby?”
“Your story will be so much more entertaining though.”
“Maybe for you,” Megan said dryly.
“Come on,” Leah urged. “Tell me.”
Megan sighed. “Nancy planned a surprise birthday party at Mary Beth’s house. Someone brought a bottle of PatrÓn. I got a phone call from the Wicked Witch. It went downhill from there.”
“The Wicked Witch would be…an ex?” she asked nonchalantly. “Is she the reason you’ve sworn off women?”
“Erin. Yes, she’s the second reason,” Megan said. She took a sip from her wine before continuing. “Tammi was the first reason. I managed eight years before Erin charmed her way into a date.” She made a face. “I must have been insane to go out with her.”
“How long were you with Tammi?”
“Too damn long.”
“Come on,” Leah said. “Give me the gory details.”
Megan sighed. “Tammi and I were together for four years. Or at least, I thought we were together.”
“Ah. So she cheated on you.”
Megan nodded. “Friends tried to warn me. Nancy told me on several occasions that she’d heard Tammi was seen out with other women,” Megan said. “I never believed them. There wasn’t ever anything suspicious. She came home when she was supposed to, there were never late nights out where she supposedly had to work late.”
“So you confronted her or what?”
Megan met her gaze and smiled. “It’s our first date. Should we really be discussing my ex?”
“Absolutely,” she said. “If I ever want to cheat on you, maybe I’ll learn something,” she teased.
Megan leaned forward. “If you ever cheat on me, I’ll kill you.”
Leah laughed quietly. “Should I be concerned? That’s the second time tonight you’ve threatened to kill someone.”
Megan sighed again. “I have terrible luck with women. Tammi cheated on me throughout our four years together. Erin…we were only dating for six months. Apparently, two months into it, she was already seeing someone else.” Megan’s shoulders sagged. “I’m cursed. Or else I have some serious flaws that make my girlfriends want to cheat on me.”
“If you had serious flaws, wouldn’t it just be easier for them to break up with you?”