Bachelor Number Five (The Bachelor Series, Volume 1) by Kenneth Rosenberg Read Free Book Online Page A

wrong with stacking the deck a little bit in her favor.  Amanda pulled her phone from her pocket and checked the time.  It was 10:45 in the morning.  If she made her way across town, by the time she’d found a parking space and walked to the restaurant it would be just about time for an early lunch.
     
    From the outside, The Hamburger Hut didn’t look like much.  The building itself was a small, converted one-story house, the only structure on the block that wasn’t purpose-built for commercial use; a throwback to simpler times, perhaps.  The place did have some character, Amanda decided, though it was in need of a paint job.  A small yard out front held eight tables, half of them occupied.  A short set of stairs led up to a covered porch with a few more tables.  Amanda made her way up past them and on inside what must have once been the house’s living room but was now the restaurant’s main dining room.  She took a quick look around.  Grant was nowhere in sight.  Amanda tried to contain her apprehension.  Surely everyone in the place would recognize her true intentions.  They would have to realize that she wasn’t there just for lunch.  All by herself at a sit down restaurant?  That was nearly as embarrassing as the truth.  And what if she did see Grant?  What would she say to him?  That his true love was finally here?  Amanda fought the urge to simply turn and run.
    “Can I help you?”  A bright and cheery hostess stood behind a small pedestal.
    “Um…” Amanda froze.
    “Would you like a table?” the hostess asked.
    “All right.”
    “For one?”
    “Yes, please.”  Amanda gazed down toward her feet, trying to hide her shame.
    “Inside or out?”
    Looking back up to take in her options, Amanda did a quick calculation.  If she sat outside and Grant was working the dining room, she might never spot him.  From the porch she could see the yard, the rest of the porch and through the window to the inside.  It was her best bet.  “Can I sit on the porch?”
    “Sure, no problem.”  The hostess picked up a single menu.  “Follow me.”
    When she’d settled in at her table, Amanda watched through the window as two servers moved in and out from a kitchen in the back.  Neither was Bachelor Number Five.  One was a slight Hispanic male with an antic air who darted up and back from the tables in the yard carrying plates on a serving tray.  The other was a more measured black woman about Amanda’s age who was working the dining room.  They seemed to be the only two on duty.  Amanda felt an unexpected wave of relief at not seeing Grant.  She didn’t have to be afraid anymore.  The rest of her life was not going to hinge on this one moment after all.  Yet how many times would she have to come back here, all alone, to finally catch him?  And what if he didn’t work here anymore at all?  She’d still apply for a job either way.  She needed to survive.
    Amanda opened her menu and quickly perused it.  Twelve dollars for a hamburger?!  It was twice as much as Lucy’s diner for the same exact thing.  With a drink, tax and tip, Amanda could hardly afford this place.  She eyed an escape route across the porch and through the yard and was just about to flee when the waiter appeared before her.
    “Can I take your order?” he asked, notepad in hand.
    “Uh…” Amanda looked back to her menu.  “Do you have a small salad?”
    “Sure.  A house salad?”
    “Yes, please.  With vinaigrette dressing?”
    “You got it.  Anything else?”
    “No.”  Amanda closed her menu and held it out.
    “I’ll bring you some water.”  The waiter took the menu and darted back inside.  At least the service was good.  While she waited for her salad, Amanda took a better measure of the other customers in the place.  The crowd was a mix of ages and types.  Some sported tattoos and body piercings.  Others appeared to be on break from nearby office jobs.  One couple in their 20’s