Page 131 of Tasty Cherry
“No. Raya’s. I’m an intern. She’s in charge of what I do.”
“Still.”
“There are some…complicated dynamics at the hotel.”
This makes Anthony’s eyebrows lift. “Havannah doesn’t like complicated dynamics. That’s why Sebastian has always been such a good fit.” He sits back against the shiny orange booth. “I sense this was Raya, then.”
“I’m not sure who all was part of the decision to banish me from the hotel, but I still live on site, so I guess that’s something.”
“You want me to check in with Havannah about this?”
“While she’s in labor? Oh, no. I’ll be here tomorrow and happy to chop.” It’s my punishment. Might as well see how all this plays out. “It’s a good place. I learned a lot. They don’t let us do much of anything in the hotel kitchen.”
“Chef Monique is a bit territorial.”
Lights flash against the windows. It’s Sebastian’s SUV.
I jump up. “That’s him. Thank you for a good day. It was nice to meet you, Anthony. I hope to meet Magnolia soon.”
He lifts a hand to wave goodbye as I rush out to Sebastian’s car.
Arya opens the passenger door. “Switch!” she says.
I halt. That’s interesting. “You sure?”
“Totally. We’re headed home.” She moves to the back.
I step into the car and plop down on the passenger seat.
Sebastian envelopes me in a hug, and we sit there a while, holding onto each other.
“Geez, y’all, it’s not like you survived a hurricane,” Anya says, but her voice is gentle.
Sebastian pulls away. “It’s been a day.” He laughs. “You smell like pickles.”
I sniff my hands. “I washed them so many times!”
“It gets in your pores,” he says. “Don’t worry. I like the smell.”
“So what happened?” I ask. “Why did they send you home?”
“Apparently so they could cut off my access to the hotel. My badge doesn’t work.”
My belly quakes. “Are they going to fire you?”
“I can’t imagine so.” He reaches out to squeeze my hand as we back out of the parking spot. “But remember what I said. We go on. It will be fine.”
But will it? Him with that huge house and a sister to support? Me, gosh, do I move in with someone I’ve been dating for two months? Because of the secrecy, I haven’t even told my parents about him. They would want to fly out, meet him, ask questions.
Only Camille knows.
Arya leans forward. “The news seems to be out. We saw Maverick, and he had already heard.”
“Maybe it’s good that I’m elsewhere, then,” I say.
We’re almost at Sebastian’s house when Brooklyn starts messaging.
Brooklyn: I heard you got caught with Sebastian! Where are you?