I was the same girl with the same dark hair wrapped up tight in the same neat bun, wearing the same neutral gloss lipstick, in the same crisp white uniform, but I didn’t feel like it. Not one bit.
“Thanks,” I said, burning up so bad that I was grateful for the distraction as clients came up for drinks.
I served Kristoff and Edward with a happy smile, and then I walked over to George, who was sitting at the side of the bar. It was great to see him there.
“Thank you, George,” I whispered. “For last night. I really appreciate it.”
“Appreciate what, exactly?” he asked.
I gave him a grin. “You know. For fixing things.”
He pulled a face, confused.
“Fixing what, Katherine? I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
My surprise must have shown, because he looked at me piercingly.
“Katherine, what are you talking about? Tell me now, please.”
I didn’t know what to say as he glanced around the bar.
“Nothing much,” I lied. “Eliza and I were talking about how the place was quiet, and you told me people would be in soon.”
His eyes came right back to mine.
“Oh, I did, did I? And tell me, who showed up afterwards?”
I shrugged. “Everyone.”
“Everyone?”
“Yes. Everyone.”
“Including Frederick and Hans, I imagine, yes?”
I felt cold, as though I’d blurted out a secret.
“There was a polo game,” I said on instinct. “In Cirencester. Everyone came in afterwards.”
“And Frederick and Hans were amongst them?”
“Yes.”
“I see.”
He drank down his whisky and shoved his empty glass at me for another. I felt like a naughty kid who’d done something I shouldn’t, especially when I handed his fresh whisky over and he shot me a glare. He took his phone from his pocket and headed off to the bathroom without another word. I got a shiver as the door closed behind him.
What had I done?
I didn’t know.
I didn’t have much time to dwell on it before the entrance door swung wide and Frederick appeared. I held my breath with a silentplease,and my skin caught alight when Hans walked in after him, dressed immaculately in another black suit with black silk tie. He looked even more stunning than ever. Oh how my heart raced.
“A merlot for me, please,” Frederick said when he arrived at the bar.
“The same for me, please, Katherine,” Hans added, and his smile was so perfectly white that my legs almost buckled underneath me.
I felt like a child giving a performance on stage when I uncorked the wine and poured out two glasses. I handed them over with trembling hands.