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As I scanned the space, my eyes latched onto Mr. Roberts. He stood near the doors, his iPad in his hand, his eyes on me. Even from here, there was no missing his glistening forehead. There was no mistaking the look he shot me.Get back to work.
Right. I needed to clear plates in my section. I needed to focus on that.
I stopped by the Holland table, where all six settings were taken but one. Caroline sat beside Grant, who had a pretty blonde on his other side. I’d seen her when they’d first walked in, and I’d thought I’d feel jealous, worry if she was prettier than me, and that the resentment would be impossible to get past. But none of that had been there. Shewaspretty, hanging off of Grant’s arm as they breezed into the room, her navy dress flowing behind her. Elegant. Perfect for him.
I did, however, resent her boyfriend a little, who kept giving me puppy dog eyes.
You brought your girlfriend even though you just told me you loved me instead, I thought, making sure not a trace of it showed on my face.Nice.
“He’s so impressive,” Caroline was saying as I stretched around Mr. Holland and picked up his empty dinner plate. I’d served their table first, so most of their dishes were empty now. “A bit too straightforward at times, but very impressive, Dad.”
“Could’ve fooled me,” he muttered.
I moved to Mrs. Holland, who, thankfully, leaned back into her chair to give me a better reach. “Dear, you should really have a conversation with him,” Mrs. Holland told her husband. “He was sweet as could be when we got lunch. We’ll have to schedule another before he goes back to California.”
My fingertips slipped on the gravy smeared on the corner of Mrs. Holland’s entrée plate, but it thankfully didn’t clatter. Were they talking about Aaron, too? I stacked the plates on my tray, searching for another dish if that meant I could linger a moment longer.
And any suspicions were cleared when Caroline said, “Aaron was telling me he’d love that.” She stared straight at me. “Going out with all of us as a family.”
As a family. She and I hadn’t spoken since Sunday, when she’d come to the apartment unannounced and found me with Aaron.He isn’t going to marry you, we’d both said to each other, and this was her, trying to get under my skin.
“Lovisa?”
Despite being surrounded by people, the last thing I’d expected was for someone to use my name. And the very lastpersonI’d expected to use it was the girl sitting beside Grant.
She was squinting at my nametag. We didn’t have them as a part of our normal uniforms, but for events, it was a requirement. “Yes, miss?” I asked, straightening, trying to ignore the table falling into silence. And the fact that three of the four Hollands were now looking at me, Mrs. Holland obliviously reaching for her napkin.
Grant’s girlfriend tapped the rim of her water glass. “Could I get a refill?”
Her voice was pleasant, high and kind, and I couldn’t help but think she fit in well. She was not like me, doomed to be on the outskirts. She was allowed to be at Grant’s side. It was for the better—she clearly belonged there.
I gave her a real smile. “There should be someone coming around with water, but I’ll make sure they stop at your table first.”
“You can’t do it?” Caroline asked, tilting her head. “You are Alderton-Du Ponte’s Princess, after all. You can’t refill a water?”
There was a teasing quality to her tone, but it was the first time that I truly heard what it covered. My coworkers used the title sarcastically, and though she always pretended to be lighthearted about it, Caroline used it sarcastically, too. I’d never noticed before this moment.
“She’s got other tasks,” Mrs. Holland told her daughter when my silence stretched too long. “Thank you, Lovey. We’ll wait for the waters.”
I ducked my head, gracefully taking my leave despite my throat tight. My tray wasn’t quite filled yet, so I moved onto the next table, gaze on a pivot. I spotted Annalise, who sat at a table with her parents, her sister, Michael, and a man I didn’t recognize, all six of their seats filled. If there hadn’t been a space with them for Aaron, where had he been assigned to sit? I would’ve thought it would’ve been beside Michael.
Something turned in my stomach as I searched for the Flannagan’s table, almost afraid I’d find him there. But, no—both Mr. and Mrs. Flannagan sat with the Chatterboxes, no Aaron in sight. No Fiona, either. I wondered if that meant that she wasn’t coming, or if she was with Aaron at this very moment and they were making up.
He wouldn’t do that, I told myself, drawing in a steadying breath.He wouldn’t go back to her.
I hated that even my thoughts had an air of uncertainty to their voice.
I approached The Chatterbox’s table, locking onto all the empty dishes. “You know them,” Ms. Jennings was saying as I reached for the small stack of dirty appetizer plates she had beside her place setting. “They’re like the Conans. Always need to sharebig newswith everyone who doesn’t care.”
The ladies around the table giggled at her blatant disdain. “Probably the proposal,” Mrs. Wits said, and I nearly knocked into her wineglass as I reached for her cleared dinner plate. “I can’t imagine what else it’d be.”
“It isn’t as if he’s an important presence here.” This time, it was Mrs. Gilmartin. For a wild second, I thought I’d approached yet another table talking about Aaron. “It’d be embarrassing, using the platform at such an event to announce an engagement.”
“Maria Holland just wants the attention, as always, even if it’s for a reason as underwhelming as her son getting engaged.”
Yikes, they were talking aboutGrantthat way? The champagne hadn’t even been poured yet.
There were more dirty dishes to clear, and my tray was full. I couldn’t linger, not without becoming obvious. With my platter supported in my grip, I rounded the tables, making my way toward the kitchen.