Oh, she was impressed with his jeans and black T-shirt all right, but it didn’t look like he was trying too hard, which was a relief. While she wasn’t opposed to dating, she was happy with her life the way it was. She didn’t need a boyfriend to be happy or content. She loved her job, her apartment was cozy, and she had some great friends.
But something about Marshall had her doing things she wouldn’t normally do. Like inviting him to come to Duke’s while she was working.
Please don’t be a douche, she thought as she approached the table.
Marshall “Aleck” Smart saw Kenna from across the restaurant as he walked toward their table. She was near the bar, laughing at something one of the bartenders said. He was struck immediately by her smile. He wanted to find out what was so funny. What had her looking so happy.
“That her?” Jag asked as they arrived at a large circular booth. As Elodie and Lexie scooted around the table to sit in the middle, Aleck nodded.
“She’s cute.”
Aleck whipped his head around to glare at his teammate.
Jag simply laughed. “Easy, tiger. I just didn’t get a good look at her this morning. Besides, she looked different with wet hair.”
“Your waitress will be with you soon. There’s a cocktail menu on the table, and we have wine, as well as beer on tap. I highly recommend Duke’s blonde ale, if that’s your thing, or a traditional mai tai, or perhaps a coconut mojito for an island flair. Aloha!”
Aleck didn’t even look twice at the blonde woman as she walked away from their table. He only had eyes for one person.
“Here she comes,” Pid said from next to him.
Aleck had already noticed Kenna walking toward the table with another woman. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to see from their uniforms that both of them worked at the restaurant. Aleck was confused for a split second, and he couldn’t help but feel a small pang of disappointment that he obviously wasn’t going to dine with her and get to know her as he’d planned.
“Hi! I’m Carly. I’ll be your waitress tonight,” the smaller woman said.
“And I’m Kenna. I was the woman who jumped on your friend this morning. Well, not jumped on him, but almost.”
It was clear Kenna was nervous, but Elodie beat him to reassuring her.
She stood up as best she could in the booth and reached her hand across the circular table. “It’s so good to meet you!” she gushed. “When Scott came home this morning and told me what happened, I could seriously picture it in my head.”
“And I swear that’s something I would’ve done,” Lexie said with a wide grin. She shook Kenna’s hand as well.
Kenna smiled at them both. “Thanks. But it was so embarrassing. I’m sure poor Marshall was wondering what the hell was going on. One second he was supervising all you guys, and the next there was a huge splash and I was there.”
Aleck slowly stood and held out his hand. Kenna smiled shyly up at him, and he couldn’t help but notice how smooth and soft her hand was when he shook it. His own was covered in calluses from his job and working out. “I was surprised for sure,” he told her. “But once I realized what had happened, I was impressed. Not many people would do what you did. Get involved. In fact, no one has ever done what you did before today.”
She blushed, and it made her even prettier. Her high ponytail had a cute flip at the end and her dark brown eyes were so expressive. He loved that she was only a few inches shorter than he was, so he could see her gaze clearly. Right now, he could tell she felt awkward and maybe a little embarrassed about how they’d met.
“Which just means everyone else is smart enough to realize you were in the ocean for a reason and that you weren’t actually drowning,” Kenna said.
Everyone chuckled, and he could see Kenna visibly relax.
“I’m Jag,” his teammate said, making Aleck realize that he needed to introduce Kenna to the rest of his friends. But when he turned, he saw that Jag wasn’t looking at Kenna.
He was staring at the other waitress.
“I’m Carly,” she replied, staring back at Jag as if they were the only two people in the restaurant.
Knowing he’d give Jag shit later, Aleck quickly introduced his other friends to Kenna. “This is Mustang and his wife Elodie. That’s Midas and his girlfriend Lexie. Jag already introduced himself, and that’s Slate and Pid,” Aleck told her.
“Hi,” Kenna said, waving a little self-consciously before turning back to Aleck. “Can I talk to you for a second?”
“Of course,” he said without hesitation. As if it was the most natural thing in the world, he reached for her elbow. There wasn’t much privacy in the busy restaurant, and Aleck heard Carly asking the others what they wanted to drink as he led Kenna into a small hallway that connected the dining area to the reception podium.
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you I worked here,” Kenna said without hesitation. “I wasn’t trying to mislead you or anything. Honestly, you threw me off guard by asking me out, and when you asked when and where, Duke’s just kind of popped out. Probably because I’m here a lot.”
“It’s okay,” Aleck told her. “I’m sure you didn’t expect me to show up with all my friends either. But when I told Midas that I was meeting you here tonight, he invited himself and Lexie along. Lex told Elodie, and the next thing I knew, everyone had invited themselves to our date.”
She blushed again, and Aleck had to force himself not to reach up to cup her cheek.
“I wish I could hang out and get to know everyone, but I really am working tonight,” she apologized.
“It’s okay. We’ll just have to plan something for another night,” Aleck said, the words coming easily and naturally. He wasn’t just saying them to be polite; he really did want to see her again.
“I think I’d like that.”
“Good. Me too.”
“Kenna! Table thirty-five wants their check,” a man said from the end of the small walkway they were standing in.
“I’ll be right there, Justin. Thanks,” Kenna told him.
The man waved and disappeared into the dining area once more.
“I guess I need to go take care of that,” she said, looking up at him.
“Okay.”
“If it’s all right…I’ll stop by to talk as much as I can.”
“It’s more than all right,” Aleck said.
“And…at eight-thirty, I get a fifteen-minute break,” she added. “If you’d be interested in hanging out with me?”
“Definitely.”
“Okay.”
“Okay,” Aleck echoed.
They stared at each other for a long moment before Kenna chuckled and scrunched her nose. “This is weird. I’m sorry.”
“It’s not. It’s fine,” Aleck reassured her. “Elodie and Lexie were thrilled to have a girls’ night out. I’m guessing they’ll bail on us guys at some point and go hang out at the bar.”
“Paulo will love that. He’ll probably grill them about all of you. I don’t suppose any of your friends are gay?”
Aleck laughed. “Sorry, no.”