Second Hearts (The Wishes Series) by GJ Walker-Smith Read Free Book Online

there, and if Paolo was lurking, it was worse. The dining area had a much more pleasant atmosphere.
    A lot of the patrons were regulars and I had my favourites. Merle and Betty Swanston were a sweet old couple who came in every morning for brunch. Betty loved regaling me with stories of their life together. They’d been married for over fifty years. I knew that because she’d made a point of telling me every day in the week since I’d first met them.
    Phoebe was another interesting character. She was the most elegant woman I’d ever seen, easily capable of giving Gabrielle a run for her money. Her jet-black hair was always styled in victory rolls and her lips were ruby red, reminding me of a movie star from a bygone era. Phoebe had her quirks. She never cared which table she was seated at, but was pedantic about how it was set. From a distance I’d watch her rearrange the cutlery, refold her napkin and buff her glass with a cloth she kept in her handbag.
    “Get back to work, kid. This is not a freak show,” Paolo would hiss, every time I slowed down to watch her.
    “Oh, but it is, Paolo. I love this city.”
    And I did. If I couldn’t put the pieces of my life back together and start afresh in New York, it couldn’t be done.
    Not all the customers were sweet like the Swanstons or glamorous like Phoebe. Some were just jerks. A repeat offender was an investment banker called Bryce. When he dined alone he was tolerable. But when he was sharing a meal with a couple of work colleagues, he was a pig.
    My heart sank when he walked through the door at the beginning of my shift that morning. It practically fell through the bottom of my feet when I saw two of his friends trailing behind him. Being polite to customers, regardless of how gross they were to you, was one of Paolo’s many rules. I doubt being chatted up was something he had to deal with very often.
    “You’re so beautiful,” Bryce told me, leering as I approached his table to take their orders. “Let me take you out for a drink.”
    “No,” I hissed, with forced restraint.
    “Burned, Bryce,” quipped one of his friends, making the other laugh.
    Bryce tried harder. “Okay, cutie, how about you ask me out?”
    As repulsed as I was, I managed to look him straight in the eye as I pointed to the door. “Sure. Get out.”
    The table erupted into laughter. I asked them one final time if they were ready to order.
    “Not yet,” replied Bryce, leering at me.
    I walked away muttering obscenities under my breath. Paolo was standing near the kitchen door as I approached, and by the look on his face I was almost certain he’d seen what had just gone down at table nine.
    “Pay attention,” he grumbled, pointing to something behind me.
    I turned around to see a man at table three trying to catch my eye by waving. I’d seen him a few times that week but hadn’t been the one to serve him. Tables for one were quick to turn, so other waitresses tended to claim them quickly.
    I drew in a calming breath and walked toward him, smiling so artificially that my cheeks hurt. “May I help you?”
    “I hope so, I’m hungry,” he replied.
    I smiled more genuinely. “Would you like to hear the specials?”
    “Why don’t you sit down and tell me? You look like you could take a load off.”
    Here we go again , I thought. But I had to admit this guy was nowhere near as repulsive as Bryce and his chums. He was very good looking – in a snobby, holier-than-thou kind of way. He wasn’t boyishly handsome. He was kind of dark and broody, but his brown eyes were warm and bright.
    “I don’t need to sit down. I’ve only been at work for half an hour,” I said, icily.
    He stared blankly at me for a second, making me uncomfortable enough to look away. “You think I’m hitting on you,” he finally exclaimed, looking as if the notion was ridiculous. “Look, if it makes you feel any better, I’m waiting for my date to arrive.”
    It didn’t make me feel any better. I was