Bachelor Number Five (The Bachelor Series, Volume 1) (10 page)

“I told him some girl from his high school just got a job here.  He had no idea who you were.  I didn’t remember your name or I would have told him.”

“Oh, that’s ok, I hardly knew him,” Amanda looked away.  “He was a couple years older than me.”

“That’s funny, ‘cause he said it wasn’t that big a school he went to.”

“Uh, huh.  Does he come in here very often?”

“That’s the first time since he got fired.”

“I thought he quit.”

“Quit, fired, whatever.  It was mutual.”

“Did he say where he’s working now?”

“I think he’s getting some money from that show.  You know, the bridal show.”

“
The Bride
.”

“Yeah, I don’t think he’s working anywhere else.  I didn’t ask, though.  He was always doing auditions, you know.  Maybe he got a commercial or something.”

“Hmm…”  It was the second time in the past week that someone she’d known had run into him.  Amanda was bound to meet Grant before too long herself.  Fate would bring them together.  She had to believe it.

A woman close to Amanda’s age came into the restaurant by herself and was quickly seated by Chelsea, the hostess.  “Looks like we’ve got our first movie star of the day,” said Ariel.

“Who is that?”  Amanda looked the woman over but didn’t recognize her.

“Bridget Peterson.  You don’t know her?”

“I don’t think so.”

“That’s good.  I don’t want you to act all funny on me.  Movie stars are people, just like anybody else.  You have to remember that.  You get used to it after a while.”

“Do a lot of them come here?” Amanda wondered.

“We get our share.”

“What has
she
been in?”  Amanda tried to keep her voice down so that only Ariel would hear.

“Some movie about this handsome billionaire guy. 
The Cure for a Broken Heart
or something.”

“Oh.  I never saw that.”

With their tables set, Amanda and Ariel made a quick pass through the room, clearing away a few extra dishes and taking them into the back.  “Her boyfriend is the really famous one,” Ariel continued.

“What’s his name?”  They dropped off their dirty plates at the dishwashing station.

“Warren August.”

“Oh yeah, I know who he is.  Who doesn’t?  He was that homeless guy,” said Amanda.  “I read about him.”

“Well that’s his girlfriend whose order you’ll be taking, so don’t screw it up!”

“I’ll do my best…” said Amanda, a sense of thrill coming over her.  She remembered Bridget Peterson now as well, staring back at her from the magazine rack at the Quincy Market.  This certainly wasn’t Lucy’s Diner anymore.

“No asking for autographs or anything like that.”

“Don’t worry Ariel, I’m not going to screw it up!”  Amanda led him back out into the dining room where they saw Warren August himself being seated at the same table.  “Maybe we should give him some time to read the menu?”

“Come on, you know how to handle this.”

“Right…”  Amanda tried to pretend they were just any other customers.  She had to be careful.  She was still only training.  If she did mess up they could very easily let her go.  She led Ariel to the table and flashed her best smile.  “Good afternoon and welcome to The Hamburger Hut.  My name is Amanda and I’ll be your server today.  Can I bring you some drinks while you look at the menu?”

“I’m ready to order, myself,” said Bridget Peterson.

“All right, what will you have?”

“The Asian salad with grilled chicken and an iced tea, please.”

“You got it.”  Amanda turned to Warren August.  He was as handsome in person as he’d been on TV.  Maybe even more handsome, if that was possible.  “Do you need a few minutes?” she asked him.

Warren grasped his chin with the fingers on his right hand.  His brow furrowed as he perused the menu.  After a moment he seemed to give up, tossing the menu onto the table.  “I’ll just have a hamburger, medium with fries.”

“A Hut Burger?” Amanda asked.

“What is that, just a regular burger?”

“Yep.  But if you want anything else on it, I could add cheese, guacamole, bacon…”

“Cheddar cheese.”

“Cheddar cheese it is.  And to drink?”

“Iced tea for me as well.”

“You bet, I’ll get those drinks right out.”

Amanda took their menus and moved off, dropping them at the hostess desk as she went.  It was only when she got back to the kitchen that she realized she’d hardly been breathing at all.  “How did I do?” she asked Ariel.

“Not bad.  I won’t recommend firing you.  Yet.”

“What do you mean?!  I did great!”

“Ok, fine.  So far.”

Amanda punched her server code into a terminal and started to enter the order.  “What table number is that again?” she asked.

Ariel looked at her with feigned disbelief.  “Four?!”

“Yeah, right.”  When she had the order in, Amanda gave Ariel a quick smile.  “There you go, piece of cake.”

“Just wait until we get busy and see how easy it is then!”

“At least I have you to rely on, Ariel.”

“Huh!”  He feigned laughter.  “Once we’re done with training, you’re on your own, sugar!”

Amanda gave a light laugh of her own.  His rough exterior was all for show.  Ariel was the kind of server who would do whatever it took to keep things running smoothly.  She knew she’d be able to count on him.  She hoped he’d be able to count on her, as well.  If not, it wouldn’t be for lack of effort.

Amanda was already beginning to get a feel for the place, learning the eccentricities of the cooks and finding out that it was better not to get in the way of Wanda, who was working the outside section.  “Never pick up one of her orders by mistake,” Ariel warned Amanda.  “That is a wrath better left unleashed.”

“Your warning is duly noted.”

“Mostly she’s ok.”

“Good to hear.”

As the restaurant filled up for the lunch rush, Amanda struggled to keep up with her tables, though Ariel didn’t let her fall behind, picking up the slack when needed.  When Bridget Peterson and Warren August’s plates were empty, Amanda was right there to clear them.  “Was everything ok?” she asked.

“Terrific,” Bridget answered.

“How was your burger?” she asked Warren.

“Good.  Next time I’ll try the guacamole.”

“I’ve heard the guacamole-bacon burger is fantastic.”

“You’re still training?” Bridget asked, casting a quick glance at Ariel.

“Yep.  Today is my first day.”

“You’re doing a great job.”

“Thank you very much,” Amanda lifted Bridget’s empty plate.

“Are you new in town, or just the restaurant?” Bridget went on.

“I just arrived last week.  A small-town girl in the big city.”

“I know how that is.  Are you an actress?”

“Me?!  Noooo.  Everybody keeps asking me that, though.”  She lifted Warren’s plate and put it on top of the salad dish.  “I moved out here for a change of pace, that’s all.”

“That’s good.  You’re better off not getting involved in the whole movie scene.  It can grind you up and spit you out.”

“Thanks for the advice.  I don’t think I’m in much danger of that, though.”  There were a million questions that Amanda wanted to ask.  Where had Bridget come from herself?  How had she ended up in the movies?  What was it like being a star, with her picture in all of the magazines?  Amanda knew better than to make any such inquiries.  She felt Ariel’s eyes boring into her skull as it was.  “Can I get you two anything else?” she said instead.  “Maybe a refill on those iced teas?”

“Just the check, thanks,” said Warren.

Amanda saw the way Warren flashed a quick look at Bridget, his eyes revealing how desperately in love with her he was.  It made Amanda’s own heart flutter.  That was what she wanted.  At least this evidence that it existed in the world was enough to give her a momentary rush of hope.  “Sure thing, I’ll bring the check right out,” she said.

By the time the lunch shift was over, the adrenaline that had kept Amanda going through the afternoon was beginning to wear off.  She and Ariel cleaned the last of the tables in their section and then he showed her how to tabulate their receipts for the day.  “Sorry you don’t get any tips today.  That’s how it goes when you’re training,” he told her.

“That’s ok, thank you for today.”

“You did good.  I’ll give you this to take home as a souvenir, but don’t let it go to your head.”

Ariel handed over the customer copy of one of their checks.  On it was a hand-written note.  “Good luck to you in your brand new home! – Bridget Peterson.”  Below that was a second note, “Thanks for the great burger – Warren August.”

“Wow,” Amanda was glowing.  “That was so nice of them!”

“Like I said, don’t let it go to your head.”

Amanda gave him a quick salute.  “Aye, aye, captain!”

Ariel pursed his lips and then walked off with a rag in his hand to give the dining room one last look.  “I’ll see you tomorrow, same time!”

“See you then.”

Amanda took a last glance at the receipt before pressing it into her pocket.  She could hardly wait to call back home.  Piper would never believe it.

Chapter Thirteen

“I heard you playing some of your songs yesterday.  You’re pretty good.”  Peter was standing on the landing at the top of the stairs as Amanda came back from the supermarket, her arms loaded with groceries.

“Thank you,” she answered, thinking to herself that the next time she’d play in her room, with the door closed.

“It was a little muffled, but I could tell that you have some talent.”

“I appreciate that.”  She put her grocery bags on the ground and then fumbled with her keys to find the right one.

“So when are you going to line up a gig so I can go see you?”

“I’m not.”

“What do you mean?  Why not?”

“I’m just not.”  Amanda put her front door key in the lock only to find that it was already open.  She turned the handle and eased the door ajar before picking her groceries back up.

“But you’re in Hollywood!  If you play around here you never know who might be listening.  You could get your big break.  Half of the people around here work in the entertainment business.  Capitol Music is right up the street!”

“I’m not looking for my big break.”  Amanda pushed the door further open with her hip and moved on through, leaving Peter standing just outside.  “Thank you, though,” she added before closing the door behind her.

“What is going on between you two?!”  Lauren’s head poked out from her bedroom.

“Nothing is going on between us!”  Amanda answered, tired of the drama surrounding these two.  She moved into the kitchen and put her grocery bags on the table.  Lauren followed right behind.

“It doesn’t seem that way,” Lauren said.  “It seems like you two have gotten to be pretty chummy!”

“What’s it to you?!”  Amanda spun around to face Lauren directly, surprised by her own venom.

“I don’t want him hanging around!  That’s what!”

“Are you trying to tell me who my friends can be?!”

“In this case, yes I am!  You know how I feel about him!”

“Lauren, I don’t care!  You need to get over this!  Darren is obviously crazy about you.  Why can’t you just appreciate that and look to the future, not dwell on the past?  Peter lives next door and unless we decide to move, there’s nothing to be done about that.  I’m going to run into him.  We’re both going to run into him.  You need to come to terms with it.”

“Don’t be lecturing me, Amanda!  You have no idea what kind of a guy he really is.  This stuff all precedes you.  I’m doing you a huge favor by warning you away from him.  You should be thanking me!”

Amanda opened her grocery bags and began putting her food away, frozen items first.  “I’m a full-grown adult if you hadn’t noticed, Lauren.  I can take care of myself.  I don’t need you telling me how to live my life.”

When Amanda looked back around, Lauren’s face was turning a bright shade of red.  “Do not invite him into this apartment.  Do you understand me?!”

“What the hell happened with you two, anyway?  He didn’t want to marry you?  Is that it?”  Amanda knew better than to say any more, but she couldn’t help herself.  “You thought you were the one to turn him around and make an honest man out of him?  Come on, Lauren!  You see the girls coming in and out of there!  How could you have expected anything other than what happened?”

Lauren looked like she’d swallowed a toad.  Her mouth hung open, her eyes grew wide.  Instead of responding, she fled across the living room and into her bedroom, slamming the door behind her.

Amanda stood where she was, her body shaking.  She abhorred conflict.  Normally she’d do all she could to avoid it.  So why had she snapped like this?  It didn’t make a lot of sense, even to her.  After taking a few deep breaths, Amanda moved across to Lauren’s closed door.  “Look, I’m sorry!” Amanda pleaded.  “I shouldn’t have said those things.”