Come Away With Me(52)

“Oh, um…” She rattles off the white wine list and I order a sweet Riesling to go with my salad.

“And what can I get you, Mr. Williams… er… sir?” Her face is on fire.

“I’ll actually have the same as my girlfriend. Sounds delicious.”

Girlfriend!

“Okay, let me know if I can get you anything else. Thanks again for the autograph!” And off she goes.

“Are you okay?” I ask when we’re alone.

“Yeah, that wasn’t so bad. How are you?”

“Amused. I didn’t know whether to laugh at her or feel sorry for her.”

“Hey, are you saying that I’m not a heart-throb? I’m hurt.” He sits back and clutches his chest, right over his heart.

“Oh no, you definitely make my heart throb, along with a few other areas, Mr. Williams… er… sir.”

“You have a sassy mouth, Natalie.”

“I’m glad you noticed.”

We settle in to enjoy our lunch, but other waitresses and kitchen staff keep stopping by the table to get autographs or gush about how much they loved his movies, and ask him why he’s not acting anymore. Thankfully the restaurant isn’t terribly busy, so there aren’t many customers bothering us.

Finally when I’ve lost count of how many employees have come to interrupt our lunch, I excuse myself.

“You okay?” Luke asks me.

“I’m fine, I’ll be right back.” I give him a bright, reassuring smile, and leave the table.

I find Hilary near the bar. “I need to speak with the manager, please.”

“Oh, sure. I’ll grab her.” She disappears into what I assume is the kitchen and reappears with a tall redhead, about my age, who hasn’t managed to make it to our table yet.

“Can I help you, ma’am?” Jeez, when did I become a ma’am?

“I hope so. Luke Williams and I are having lunch here, and your staff has been interrupting us to ask him for autographs and to speak with him. I’d really appreciate it if you’d ask them to stop.”

She frowns as she listens to my complaint. “I’m sorry, they shouldn’t have approached you at all. That’s against policy. Can I comp your lunch?”

“It’s not about the money, it’s about the lack of privacy. I’m sure he’s not the first celebrity to come to your restaurant.”

“Of course not. I’ll take care of it. I apologize on behalf of the staff.”

I walk back to our table and overhear Hilary apologize to her boss.

There’s a bus-boy standing next to our table when I return and I tap him on the shoulder. “Your boss would like to see you.”

“Oh! Okay. Thanks for the autograph!” He grins and leaves.

“That won’t be happening again,” I inform Luke.

“What did you do?”

“I went to management. Other customers are one thing, but it’s not appropriate for the staff to interrupt us every five minutes.”

“Nat, this is just how it is sometimes.”

“Well,” I shrug. “They’ve had enough of you. This is my lunch date with my boyfriend, and I’m done sharing him.”

His eyes light up and the smile he gives me is even brighter than the drop-your-panties one he gave the waitress and I melt just a little inside.

“Your boyfriend is enjoying this lunch date with you.”

“I’m glad.” I smile shyly and take a sip of wine.

The rest of the meal is delicious and we aren’t bothered at all, unless it’s to ask if we want more wine or dessert. Hilary places the leather check holder on the table and walks away.

Luke opens it and frowns, then smiles and passes it to me. Instead of a check, there is a note.

We appreciate your patience and generosity toward our staff. Today’s lunch is on the house, and please accept this $250 gift card to join us again, uninterrupted, soon.

--The Management

“Oh my. I guess my chat with the manager worked.”

“Looks like a date night is in our future.” Luke grins and slips the card in his wallet.





***





“Natalie, I had such a good time tonight. I know my husband will love these photos.” Darla gives me a smile and a hug before leaving the studio.

“He’s going to swallow his tongue when he sees these, I guarantee it.”

“Maybe we can come in sometime before the holidays and do a couples session. It sounds like a lot of fun.” Darla slings her black Coach handbag on her shoulder.

“I would love that! Just let me know when you’d like to set it up. I’ll walk you out.”

I wave goodbye to Darla and start cleaning up from our boudoir session. Darla was a lot of fun; very pretty and flirty, and she had some great ideas too. I gather some lingerie that will need to go to the cleaners and push furniture back in place, turning off the bright photography lights when my phone pings.