Jeans didn't help Rainer thought as he rose when she entered the restaurant the following morning.
When she spotted him she gave him a warm smile and headed right towards him. He couldn't help noticing some of the appreciative male glances that looked her way. She wasn't classically beautiful but she had a look of youth and innocence that made men want to either automatically protect her or use her.
Her short hair was still damp and she wore no make-up. How many women had the confidence to pull off no make-up? He noticed the smattering of freckles across her pert nose. The jeans that he was hoping would help were well-fitted and she had on a thin cotton t-shirt that hugged her torso. Her dress yesterday may have shown some skin but it at least hadn't had clung to her curves. Her face looked like she was sixteen but her curves were definitely all woman.
He gave a strained smile.
"You O.K.," she asked noticing his strain. "Didn't you sleep well?" She laid her napkin in her lap as she settled into her seat.
The waitress was with them the minute she sat down. This time she was tall and thin with a mountain of dark hair piled in her head but she was obviously just as interested in Rainer as the one yesterday had been. He wasn't a vain man, and he by no means thought that every woman was interested in him, but he had learned to read the signals of an interested woman over the years.
Rainer gave her one of his killer smiles focusing on her and not Alice.
"I bet you get a phone number this time." Alice whispered as the waitress left.
Rainer shook his head at her teasing while picking up the menu.
"So Al, what are you having this morning?" he asked. He shortened her name hoping it would make her feel more like a friend.
She seemed not to notice as she scanned the menu. "I'll have an omelet today."
Rainer had seen her eat twice and he was shocked that she was going for an omelet only, that was until he heard her order it. She asked for everything imaginable and extra cheese plus a side of hash browns and a fruit plate. "For dessert." She said.
She had to be the only person he knew who had dessert at breakfast. When he said as much she laughed out loud.
"I never thought about it that way. I just have a really big sweet tooth." She sipped her water. She had taken his lemon again and squeezed it into her glass. "As I said yesterday my mother tells me it's unattractive for a woman to eat so much but I think it is even less attractive if my stomach starts growling."
"How is it a young beautiful girl like you isn't married?" He leaned back sipping his coffee watching her blush at the compliment. He was hoping she had a boyfriend that way he had a reason not to think of her legs.
Alice shrugged "I came close once. How about you, how come such a handsome and famous man such as yourself isn't married?"
"I came close once." He frowned, "I'll have to tell my mother I'm famous next time she tries to make me help around the house, maybe it will get me out of having to do any work." He said changing the subject. The last thing he wanted was to tell that story, even his family didn't know that story. He had no idea why he had even mentioned it.
"I am sure she knows you're famous. That's kind of the point of being famous."
Rainer just shook his head. In his family fame was the norm but he wasn't going to tell her that either.
"So you're not married but you must have a guy in New York who is upset and will be coming down here to tell me off for keeping you from him for a few extra weeks." He knew if the situation was reversed he would do that very thing.
He set his coffee cup down harder than he had intended to at that thought. He wasn't sure where it had come from. He had been without female companionship to long, that must be it. Maybe he would look up one of his girlfriends when he got to London.
"No I'm a single girl. It seems libraries don't make the most romantic settings for dates."
"I wouldn't say that." He gave a wicked smile when she blushed again. "Are you really blushing? I didn't know anyone still did that."
*******
Alice didn't know what was wrong with her. She had casually hugged this man yesterday and today everything he said made her blush. Something in their vibe had changed and she didn't like it. She would have to be the one to stop it before it got any worse.
They were silent as their breakfast was served. The waitress hovered a little too long until Alice was forced to say thank you in a very forceful tone.
"Look Rainer," she said pausing between bites, having decided to grab the bull by the horns, "sex is all well and good but we're not going to go there. I work for you for one thing and you're way out of my league for another."
Rainer started choking on his food and had to grab a drink of his water.
"Are you all right?" she asked concerned that she had gone a little too far but she felt better for having said it. She felt like her feet had found their way back beneath her and she was standing on steady ground again.
The waitress came rushing back with a fresh glass of water.
"Very few people shock me but you just shocked the hell out of me." He said with a gravelly voice while waiving the waitress away.
Alice continued as if he hadn't spoken eager to get everything out now that she had started. "I'm not going to assume that there is any interest on your end. I saw the woman you were with yesterday morning and I know the type you go for-,"
"But that was-,"
She cut him off, "none of my business is what it was. I like you Rainer, I think we get on well and yes, I admit it, I am attracted to you, what girl wouldn't be, but I'm not going to even think about that. You're my boss and besides I don't think I have enough energy to fight off all of the waitresses in Texas."
When she finished he was staring at her as if she had grown a second head.
There she thought, he might think she was crazy but it was out there now so she could move on and not worry about trying to hide her attraction. She watched as he ran his large hand through his thick red hair and she gulped. She would still have to fight it though. Her brown eyes met his sky blue ones and they just stared at each other for a minute.
"You have no fear, do you?" he eventually asked after a few tense seconds which felt like an eternity.
"No I have plenty of fear, I have no filter." She went back to eating. She knew he was watching her but she pretended that he wasn't. "Can I have some pancake?" she motioned to his plate.
"Can I have some omelet, it looks really good."
"Sure help yourself." They started to eat off each other plates, commenting on the other's food, their friendly vibe slowly returning as the awkward moment faded.
"So how long of a drive is it to Fredericksburg and San Antonio?"
"Between four and five hours to San Antonio but only about three to Fredericksburg there are few stops we'll make along the way but we should arrive in San Antonio this evening sometime" he said off handedly his thoughts preoccupied with something else.
Nodding, she finished her water as Rainer motioned for the check. "Are you ready or do you need to go back to your room?" He asked absently.
"No I left my bag at reception." He nodded his approval.
They were silent while they waited for the check. "What was your room number?"
"I took care of it." Alice said. She wasn't going to let him pay for her few days here. She had made the choice to stay here even with the astronomical rates.
When he shot her an exasperated look she held up her hands in defense. "I promise you can pay from here on out."
He took the receipt in one hand as he rose. "Ready."
"Yes but there is one more thing?" she grabbed the receipt from his hand. "Yep, next time we're making a bet on it." She handed him back the receipt with a grin.
He looked down at it and shook his head when he realized that the waitress had written her phone number on the bottom.