“Thank you, and you did too.” The temptation to blurt out that I had chosen wrong was so strong that I don’t know how I held them back.
“It was fun.”
“It was,” I told him, and then looked him in the eye. The least I could do was apologize. “I’m sorry.”
For a second, I thought he would approach me. God, how I wanted him to, but instead, he stepped back. “Hey, you had to do what you felt was right. I hope safe is working out for you.”
What? What did he know about safe? Had Holly told him what I said? Oh, my god! She did!
“I’m sorry. That was rude, but I do hope that you two are doing well and you are happy. Look, I’m going to go see what is taking him so long. I’ll make sure that someone else comes back to help Mike so that you don’t have to see me again. I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.”
I watched him leave. Oh, Holly Melton, wait till I get my hands on you! I put my face into my hands and sighed. A moment later, the door opened, and I jerked my head up, expecting to see Harvey, but it was only Mike.
“I need to take a few measurements. You don’t mind, do you?”
“No, do anything that you need to do.”
He started to take measurements and looked around, jotting notes on a pad. “Don’t mind, Melton. He was a little brokenhearted when you picked the other guy.”
“Did he tell you that?”
Mike chuckled. “No, he didn’t need to. He refused to talk about it at all. That’s not him. When he’s upset, he shuts stuff down.”
“How well do you know him?”
“He’s like a brother.” He grinned toward me. “And that’s why I’ll say this. If things don’t work out with that other guy, let Harv know. He is a good man.”
“Thank you,” I replied. I wasn’t ready to mention to Mike that I wasn’t with the other guy anymore. The world would know soon enough. In fact, only three more days, and everyone would know that I had chosen wrong.
I waited while he did what he needed, then Mike explained that he would need to get the right cameras and would need several hours to put them into position. We discussed an approximate date and decided that Friday night after the restaurant was closed—if we were able to open at all—I could meet them here, and they could set it all up.
Mike explained that he would have a couple of guys with him and then paused. “If having Harvey around is going to be a problem, you let me know. I’ll have someone else come.”
“No, it won’t be a problem for me, but if he’s not comfortable, don’t make him or give him a hard time about it. I don’t want to upset him.”
He laughed. “You’re nicer than I would be. I’ll give you a shout in a day or so to let you know that we are a go.”
“Sounds good, thanks, Mike.”
As I showed him out, I stood at the door and locked eyes with Harvey, who sat behind the steering wheel in the pickup. He lifted his fingers off the wheel and waved. I waved back, and then slowly closed the door.
I pulled my phone out of my pocket and called Holly. It went to voicemail, and I growled after the beep. “You lied to me again! Holly Melton, if you don’t stop lying to me, I’m not going to be your friend anymore, and there will be no more decadent midnight mousse for you!”
I set the phone down and then replayed the whole scene over again. He really was a handsome man who exuded strength and power—and sex. It wasn’t that he was large or overbearing; it was the way he looked at you like he wanted to devour you—I shivered. My god, I wanted that. Why did I ever think safe was the way to go?
Chapter Twenty-One
Harvey
Even though I was furious, I knew it wasn’t Mike’s fault. The two of us discussed the number of cameras and positions that would be best for the kitchen. He decided that unless stations were really close, each one should have a specific camera, and then several other blind locations would need eyes. We decided that we wanted every inch of the room covered. If we were going to do this, we were going to do it right.