And if she got to go on fabulous vacations with her mate while Pauline was still working here as a waitress, well, envy wasn’t a flattering look on anyone. Pauline summoned up a return smile and said, “Good to see you, Stella. How are you doing?”
“Wonderful.” Stella glanced over at her mate—what was his name? Pauline couldn’t remember—and their gazes caught as they smiled at each other.
It was adorable. Adorable, Pauline told herself firmly. She was happy for Stella.
“Nice to meet you, Pauline,” another voice rumbled.
Stella, Stella’s mate, and anything to do with Stella dropped right out of Pauline’s mind like the bottom had fallen out of it.
The big man in the expensive suit was still giving her that look.
But now he was holding out his hand.
Pauline fumbled her notepad, caught it, then dropped her pen. It bounced on the floor and skittered away, and Pauline’s face lit up red as a fire engine.
“I see it.” The man slid out of the bench seat with a grace that was startling, given his size. He crouched, catlike, to retrieve the pen from underneath another table. When he rose to his feet to hand it to her, he towered over her by at least eight inches.
“Thanks.” Her blush was never going away. Ever. She was going to be red-faced for the rest of time. “Sorry. Clumsy of me.”
“Not at all.” He smiled for the first time, and it transformed his face. His eyes crinkled, and Pauline realized he must be at least as old as she was. He was handsome enough that he looked younger.
“How about we try that again.” He was holding out his hand. Pauline blinked, focused, and reached out—without dropping anything this time, hallelujah—and shook.
His hand was warm and dry, and something sparked when they touched. Static, probably. Pauline tried not to jump.
“I’m Carlos,” he said.
“Very nice to meet you,” she managed. “Are you in town visiting friends?”
“Sort of,” he said, which didn’t quite make sense. But Pauline wasn’t about to make this any more awkward by interrogating him while they were introducing themselves.
“Carlos is an old friend of ours from the Marines,” Lynn’s mate Ken put in from behind her. She was momentarily startled—she’d forgotten there was anyone there but the two of them. “He’s been in New York City all these years, but we’ve finally tempted him to come check out the countryside.”
“Well, I hope you have a lovely time here,” she got out, without stammering or dropping anything or even blushing any more.
Oh, but she was now standing between him and his seat at the booth. Great job, Pauline. He probably just wants to eat dinner, but he can’t while you’re in the way.
Hastily, she stepped aside, and addressed the whole table. “Can I get everyone started with some drinks?”
Stella’s were the only eyes she felt comfortable meeting after that stunning display of ineptitude. The other woman was giving her the most inscrutable look, though. Pauline couldn’t tell what that expression meant.
“Just water for me,” Stella said after a long moment, which prompted the rest of the table to put their orders in.
Carlos slid back into his seat, again with an ease that seemed unlikely, given his size. He didn’t look like he was squeezing himself in at all—more like the space just magically became comfortable for him.
Pauline took all of their drink orders with careful attention, digging her pen into her notepad, forming each letter like it was a message for the President. When Carlos’ turn came, he said, “Water for me, too, thanks.”
How could those five innocuous words—words she heard every day, from all sorts of people—hit her right in the chest like that? His voice wasn’t even loud. Though it was incredibly deep, every word he’d said so far had been quiet.
But they’d all struck as deeply as if he’d shouted.
“Coming right up,” she said, her voice as steady as she could make it, and speedwalked away from the table.
Once out of sight of the customers, she leaned back against the wall and took a deep, shuddery breath.
What had that been?
She’d never had that kind of visceral reaction to a man before in her life. Heck, she’d been married, and her husband’s voice hadn’t ever thrilled her deep in the pit of her stomach like that.