“What do you think?” Leo asked as he returned to the boat after tossing some last bits of debris into the Dumpster.
“I can almost see it.” She showed him the scaled drawing with the tables. “It’s going to be a little tight, though.”
“You’ll have to hire skinny wait staff.”
She rolled her eyes. “Right.”
“What about the galley? Do you have it figured out yet? Jack was asking before they left.”
She pulled out the drawing that showed the layout of the commercial appliances, workspaces, and storage areas. “I already put in orders for the stovetops and ovens, dishwasher, and refrigerator. Julie has a cabinet guy coming out on Monday.”
“Cool.” He pointed to the stairwell to the lower level. “Jack asked if you’d figured whether the appliances would fit down that or if we will have to cut a hole in the side of the boat.”
“Very funny.” She glowered at him. “Julie reminded me of that, and the appliances I ordered are specifically designed for ships. The salesman assured me they would fit.”
“Okay.” Leo held up his hands. “Just checking.”
She pursed her lips, looking at him and wishing he was not so attractive. “FYI, Julie put me in charge of the interior spaces. Remember?”
“I remember.” He made his charming smile. “It’s just that we’re together in this. I want to be helpful.”
She softened. “Yeah. To be fair, that was a good question. I didn’t honestly think about that myself until Julie pointed it out.”
Leo’s phone was buzzing now. “Oh, yeah,” he said as he checked it. “I forgot to mention that Natalie made plans for you for tonight.”
“What?” Tia asked sharply.
“Sorry. She asked me to tell you that she’ll pick you up at 7:00. She’s taking you home with her. Uh, she’s fixing you dinner.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know. I guess she wants to thank you for something.”
“But I—”
“Look, if you want to bail, just call Nat and tell her. I don’t want to be in the middle of this.”
“But I—”
“Hey, don’t shoot the messenger.” He made an apologetic smile. “Here’s the truth. Nat doesn’t really have a lot of girlfriends, Tia. For some reason she feels a real connection with you. Now, obviously, you don’t have to go if you don’t want to. But I think it’s sweet that Nat wanted to have you over.”
“It is sweet.” Tia frowned. “Why doesn’t Natalie have very many girlfriends?”
“She didn’t have many friends in high school. Like I told you, she was sort of an ugly duckling. Shy and insecure and totally into academics. You probably know the type. Later on, in college, she kind of blossomed. Then, it seems, the girls in her sorority resented her. Apparently it was a pretty academic sorority and they weren’t much into appearances. And suddenly Natalie was. It’s like she’s always been a misfit, you know?”
“Yeah, that makes sense.”
“Maybe you should just go with your gut and tell her you can’t come.” Leo looked torn. “But if you have room in your life for another friend, you might want to go.”
Tia felt selfish. “Okay, I’ll go. Just for the record, I don’t have a bunch of friends either. I’m pretty selective.”
He grinned. “Then I’m honored if you consider me a friend.” His smile faded. “You do, don’t you?”
“Being that you fished me out of the bay last night—that is, after you nearly scared me to death, which made me fall in the first place.” She rolled her eyes for drama’s sake. “Yeah, I suppose you’re a friend. But if Natalie’s coming by 7:00, I better get myself cleaned up now.”
As Tia changed into her cleanest pair of jeans and a fresh shirt, she became increasingly curious as to why Natalie was trying so hard to befriend her. It wasn’t as if they had a lot in common. Surely there were young women in her workplace or neighborhood or church who would be more appropriate.
“I’m so glad you wanted to do this,” Natalie said as Tia got into her pretty silver car. “Let me reassure you, I’m not cooking tonight. I ordered out.” She giggled. “Or perhaps you haven’t heard about my culinary skills yet.”
“Not really.” Tia mentally compared Natalie’s chic navy suit to her own casual outfit, which looked downright slummy now. “Sorry I didn’t dress up more.” She explained how she was “camping” on the boat with only work clothes to choose from, though she didn’t mention how even those were in need of laundering now. “I wanted to get more of my clothes from my aunt’s house, but it’s hard to carry much on my bike.”
“We can stop by and pick up your things,” Natalie said. “Let’s do it on our way back, since our dinner should be delivered shortly after we get to my place.”
“That’d be great. Thanks.”
“You’re actually living on the boat?” Natalie asked in a slightly incredulous tone. “Isn’t it kind of lonely at night?”
Tia explained how Julie was still spending most of her time at the hospital. “She comes home to sleep and shower and change her clothes, but that’s about it. We barely see each other anyway.”
Tia figured that Natalie lived in the city but was surprised at the great location—right on Market Street. “This used to be a hotel,” Natalie explained as they rode the elevator. “Built in the 1920s. It was remodeled into apartments about ten years ago.”
“It’s really nice,” Tia said as they went into the apartment. “Very uptown.”
Natalie laughed as she tossed her keys into a metal bowl atop a sleek glass-topped console next to the door. “I like modern style.” She waved to the spacious apartment. “As you can see.”
Tia looked around the somewhat spartan room. The floors were sleek, pale hardwood and the walls were painted a fairly stark white, with large pieces of brightly colored modern art here and there to break it up. A large white leather sectional dominated the space. Scattered about were spots of bright primary colors in the shape of throw pillows and area rugs. Even though it wasn’t really Tia’s style, it wasn’t unattractive and would probably make a good cover for some modern home magazine. However, it was the city view from the oversized windows that made the room interesting. “This is gorgeous,” she told Natalie as she gazed out.
“Thanks. I did the decorating myself. It’s still not finished, though.”
Tia didn’t bother to correct the misconception as she looked toward the kitchen, which was another sea of white and stainless steel. Very contemporary, and in Tia’s opinion, not very warm or welcoming. She pointed at the glass-topped electric stove. “Do you like this?” she asked.
“I’ve rarely used it,” Natalie confessed. “But it works okay. And it stays nice and clean.”
“Everything looks nice and clean,” Tia said as she ran her hand over the white countertop.
“Leo probably told you I’m not much of a cook,” Natalie said. “But I do want to learn. I’m thinking, maybe if you and I become good friends, well, perhaps you’ll help me develop my culinary talents. Or you might at least rub off on me.” She laughed as she opened an upper cabinet. “As you can see, I’ve been collecting cookbooks. I’m particularly interested in Asian and Indian foods. Are you very adept with those?”
“I know a few dishes, but I wouldn’t call them my strengths. I’m more into European cuisine. Obviously Italian, although I really like French and Spanish food too.”
“But you do like Indian food?”
“Oh, sure.” Tia smiled. “I like most any ethnic food. And I’m always interested in trying something new.”
“Good. I ordered Indian for us tonight. We have a really good Indian restaurant downstairs.” She looked at her watch. “They should be here soon. In the meantime, want to see the rest of the apartment? Although there’s not a lot more to see.”
Tia agreed and was shown a powder room painted a jarring shade of red. “It’s only a one-bedroom.” Natalie opened a door to reveal a good-sized room. The floor
s were the same pale hardwood and the walls were a deep shade of fuchsia. The bedding and linens were a mixture of other purple and lavender shades. “I know these colors aren’t exactly guy friendly.” Natalie laughed. “I suspect we’ll have to make some changes after the wedding.”
“You guys are going to live here?” Tia tried to keep the concern from her voice.
“Absolutely.” Natalie sighed. “As you can probably imagine, I wouldn’t last a night on that houseboat of Leo’s. I usually get sick within half an hour of being there. Unless I take Dramamine.”
“Leo has no idea? He doesn’t know about this seasickness thing?”
“No, of course not. It’s like I told you yesterday. Please, I’m trusting you not to tell him, Tia.”
“I haven’t. And I won’t.”
“This is my wonderful closet.” Natalie opened up two doors, exposing one of the biggest closets Tia had ever seen. It looked completely full, but not a messy sort of full. It looked more like a small department store.
“Wow.”
“Yeah, I’m kind of a clotheshorse.” Natalie giggled. “I think it’s because I spent so many years not caring about how I looked. I guess I’ve been making up for it since then. And of course, I’m a career girl. I need business outfits.”
“Where will Leo’s things go?”
Natalie’s mouth twisted to one side. “I’m working on that. I suppose I’ll have to make room. Or maybe he can take over the hall closet. Hopefully he doesn’t have too much stuff.” Just then the doorbell rang. “I’ll bet that’s dinner.” Natalie hurried off to get it, and Tia let out a long sigh as she closed the big closet and followed.
Did Leo have any idea what he was getting into? Not that it was Tia’s job to stick her nose in his business. Although he’d seemed pretty comfortable playing busybody last night when he’d questioned her relationship with Jake. Even so, she had no intention of going there. No way. Oh, she might encourage Natalie to be more open with her fiancé, in the form of a friend’s advice. Or she might simply bite her tongue and butt out. Although she did feel sorry for Leo, and Natalie too for that matter. It seemed those two had a lot of obstacles ahead. Hopefully their love was strong enough to keep them afloat—although Natalie would not appreciate that metaphor.
17
The Indian food was surprisingly good, but Tia was glad when they were done and relieved to be dropped back at the boat. Although she sensed Leo was right—Natalie really did need some girlfriends—Tia was not planning to sign on for the task. It wasn’t that she didn’t like Natalie, because she actually did. It wasn’t that she couldn’t relate to Natalie either, because in some ways she could. Oh, not when it came to things like money and fashion and citified style. But underneath it all Natalie seemed like a kind person with a good heart. She was extremely intelligent, and it was obvious that she cared greatly about her job and her clients. And she cared about Leo. Tia lost count of how many times Natalie referred to Leo as her best friend. In Natalie’s eyes, Leo was a real-life hero.
Therein lay the problem: Leo. Being good friends with Natalie would make Tia’s relationship with Leo even more precarious, and she just couldn’t afford that right now. As she put away the clothes that she’d picked up from Julie and Roland’s—thanks to Natalie—she was just grateful that the evening with Leo’s fiancée was over and done. For the next invitation, if there was one, Tia would have to come up with a really good excuse to decline.
Tia wasn’t oblivious either. She knew that part of Natalie’s plan in having Tia over tonight had been to ensure that “mum was the word” in regard to her seasickness secret.
“To be honest,” Tia had begun as she was getting dropped off, “I’m trying to keep things strictly business between Leo and me. We’re co-workers, and I feel it’s important to be professional. For the sake of the business. So, really, we don’t talk about much besides work. You know?” Okay, she knew that wasn’t exactly how it had gone down in the past, but it was what she wanted in the future.
“You’re probably right. Friendships in the workplace can be problematic.” Natalie had placed her hand on Tia’s shoulder. “But you can still be friends with me.”
Tia had simply nodded and, gathering up her things, thanked Natalie for an enjoyable evening, despite how confused and conflicted she felt now. Still, she reminded herself as she got ready for bed, this was not her problem. Not really.
Friday was similar to Thursday with more demolition, this time on the lower level, and lots of noise. Once again, Leo was on hand to help. Although the Murray brothers seemed appreciative, Tia couldn’t help but think Leo was overstepping his bounds. Especially when he started suggesting a change in the floor plan for the galley.
“I just thought it made sense,” he told Tia as they were “discussing” this with Jack Murray.
“I have to agree with him,” Jack said.
“That’s fine, but I’m the chef,” Tia reminded them. “I had reasons for drawing it out the way I did.”
“I get that,” Leo told her, “but you can at least listen to what I’m thinking.”
“Look.” Jack pointed to where Leo had sketched in pencil over her floor plan. “You’d actually gain more space if you relocated the heads to this side.”
Tia took in a deep breath and stared down at the revision. “Okay, you guys might be right. I was trying to save money by keeping the plumbing for the bathrooms in the same place.”
“It’s not as big a deal as you think,” Jack assured her. “For the little extra it will cost, it’ll be worth it.”
“See,” Leo continued, “it makes a little holding area right here. You know, in case the heads are all occupied and it’s standing room only.”
Tia nodded. “Yeah, I was a little concerned over the lack of facility. I mean, I’ve seen restaurants with fewer toilets, but being that we’re out on the water . . . well, it could get awkward.”
“Especially if the waves got rough and people got seasick,” Jack added.
Tia glanced at Leo.
“Anyone who gets seasick needs to hang on deck,” he said. “They can ralph over the gunwale.” The guys laughed.
“Okay,” Tia conceded. “I’m fine with it. Let me check with Julie over the additional expense.” As she left them, she knew her aunt would agree. Really, the revision made perfect sense. Maybe she was just jealous she hadn’t thought of it herself. Or else she was simply aggravated that Leo seemed to have no sense of boundaries.
After a quick chat with Julie, Tia texted Leo from the stateroom, giving him the go-ahead. It was just easier that way. Then she went back to menu planning. Her goal was to come up with a selection of menus that would be rotated, giving the feeling that every day was a completely new menu. That would streamline shopping and storage as well. Even though she’d never cooked on a boat before, she had a strong feeling that the restaurant would be more successful if she kept the menu simple but elegant.
She was just finishing up a menu when someone knocked on the door. Thinking it was Leo as usual, she opened it with a slightly irritated expression. Couldn’t he just let her be for a change? But to her surprise it was Leo’s sister, Melinda.
“Sorry,” Melinda said. “Am I disturbing you?”
Tia smiled. “No, I thought it was your brother.”
Melinda laughed. “Yeah, he can be a pest sometimes.”
“We were arguing over some blueprint changes earlier. I was probably still feeling grumpy about it.” Tia opened the door wider. “Come on in if you want. It’s not exactly roomy in here, but—”
“I really didn’t want to interrupt your work.” Melinda picked up one of the menus. “Mmm, this looks good.”
“You’d like that?”
“Are you kidding?” Melinda continued skimming. “I’m getting hungry already.”
“I’ve been trying to keep most of the selections on the lighter side, but I want to offer some hearty fare too. I’m not really sure what people feel like eating on a boat.”
“Have you looked into what the other dinner cruises offer?”
“I did peek around online. The most popular line seems to serve more small plates, and that’s why I started wondering if I should offer a lighter selection.”
“You should probably go on a spying mission.” Melinda set the menu down.
“That’s a great idea.” Tia wondered why she hadn’t thought of this sooner.
“If you need a date, I’m game.” Melinda pulled out her phone. “In fact, I’ll do a quick search on it right now.”
“We’d probably have to book it well in advance.”
“Maybe . . . but remember this is a big line. I doubt they run it full every night.”
“That’s true.” Tia knew from crunching numbers that the Pacific Pearl would have to be at least half full to make any profit.
“Wow, there’s availability tonight,” Melinda told her.
“Cool.” Tia nodded eagerly. “I’m in. This will be a great way to see what the competition is up to.”
“Count me in.”
“Count you in where?” Leo poked his head around the door.
“Tia and I are going on a date tonight,” Melinda told him.
“A date?” Leo looked confused.
“On a dinner cruise. We’re going to spy and—”
“I want to go too.” He pushed the door fully open. “You can’t leave me out.”
“Yeah, you and Nat should come along.” Melinda held up her phone. “We can reserve a table for four if we do it right now.”
“All right.” Leo’s enthusiasm seemed slightly diminished.
“You guys want me to book it?” Melinda looked from Tia to Leo.
“I do.” Tia gave Leo an uncomfortable glance. “But maybe you should check with Natalie first.”
“Nah. She already informed me she wanted to go out tonight. This will make for a good surprise.”
Tia had to bite her tongue. He had no idea just what sort of surprise it would really be if Natalie didn’t take a solid dose of Dramamine first.
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