"That one from the other day."

"Which one? Geez, my brother has a load of chicks."

Grace took advantage when she saw Julie walk up to the bar, by taking her order and she started putting the drinks together, trying not to think about what Sofia had just said. The bad feeling she had in her stomach about letting herself get caught up with Sal just got bigger.

"You know the blonde girl in the suits," Melanie said. "She's been here a couple of times. I wonder if he's actually getting serious with her."

"No way," Sofia said, as she walked away. "Sal doesn't do serious. She's probably just another one of his many. I don't think he left with anyone. He was on his way to Angel's." Sofia stopped and turned back to Melanie. "He's coming back. Why did you need something?"

"No," Melanie smiled. "Just being nosey."

Oscar walked up to the bar with another order for her, reminding her about what Sal had told him. Maybe she'd bring it up tonight. This time of day usually got busy and Grace welcomed the distraction-anything to get her mind off worrying.

By the time Sal returned, things were slowing down. She saw him stop and talk to Julie, giving her that smile she wished he could reserve for just her. Julie was the only other single girl around his age that worked at the restaurant and Grace could tell even on that very first day when she walked in for the interview that she enjoyed flirting with him. Her phone buzzed in her pocket snapping her out of her thoughts. It was a text from Joey.

I can hardly wait! You better not forget to call me tonight. No matter how late. =) She frowned texting him back.

I won't cause I'm worried now.

She didn't bother putting the phone back in her pocket she knew he'd be texting right back. Her phone buzzed almost immediately.

What now woman?!

That made her laugh. Joey always said she was a worrywart. But she had very good reason to be this time. She'd never been this emotional about any guy much less one who she wasn't even in a relationship with. It scared her to death to think what it might do to her if something actually happened between them and like Sofia said-he didn't do serious. Joey had been right. kd beath to th She evidently wouldn't be able to handle anything less.

She texted back.

EVERYTHING! We'll talk tonight. =/ They'd gotten so busy and with Grace continuing to think about Sal she'd forgotten all about eating.

At the end of the night, everyone trickled out until it was just Sal and Grace. He walked up to the bar where she'd just finished cleaning everything. "So did you think about where you wanna go on our date?"

The smoldering stare was the same one that made her insides mush the first time he told her he'd been impressed by her cooking. There was an overload of mushing going on now. She cleared her throat. "I'm kind of hungry. I skipped my lunch."

His eyebrows pinched. "Why?"

"I dunno. We got busy and I just forgot."

"You can't be doing that, Gracie. I'm gonna have to write you up," He smiled and she had to take a deep breath. His smile this close was breathtaking. "So what do you feel like eating?"

Nothing sounded particularly appetizing, but then she had a thought. "I know. Why don't I make us something here? You can try out another one of my grandmother's recipes."

His brows shot up. "Sounds good to me. But it's still a date, Gracie. Just so you know."

"Got it." She started walking toward the kitchen; her insides were completely out of control now. He had to stop saying that. She was ready to swoon again. And as obvious as her emotions were to everyone else, he was bound to notice.

It took a few minutes to get everything she needed gathered over by the stove. She knew exactly what she would make for him.

"I'm gonna grab a beer. You want something?" he asked, walking out of the kitchen.

"I'll take a beer too."

A few minutes later Sal walked back into the kitchen, carrying a tin bucket of Coronas on ice and small bowl with sliced up lime wedges. "So what are you making?" He opened up a beer bottle then stuck a wedge of lime in it and handed it to Grace.

She took the beer. "It's a surprise." She squeezed the lime into the beer and pushed the wedge all the way in. It wasn't until she sprinkled the salt on the rim that she noticed he was staring at her. Her heart fluttered and she took a longer drink than she normally would, hoping it would take a little edge off her nerves. "This isn't on your menu either, but I think after you taste it you'll consider adding it."

Sal opened a beer for himself and leaned against the counter. "Consider? If it's anywhere near as good as your casserole I'll be demanding it is."

Grace regretted taking such a big drink of her beer because she needed to burp now. It wasn't happening in front of Sal. She turned her back on him and placed her hand on her mouth praying it wasn't loud. Thankfully, it wasn't and she turned around to face him again.

"You okay?"

She as kh="acesured him she was and put the beer down to begin cooking.

"Oscar said you're seeing someone. Yet here you are on a date with me. So what gives?"

Grace looked up at him completely taken off guard by his question. She knew they'd be talking tonight but this was totally unexpected. Even when he mentioned this being a date several times, she didn't actually expect him to take it this seriously. His eyebrows went up and he didn't smile. Apparently, he was very serious.

CHAPTER 14.

Grace's expression wasn't what he expected when he asked the question and Sal wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing, so he waited while she picked up her beer and took another drink.

"You asked him if I was seeing someone?"

"No. He just mentioned it the day after he gave you a ride home-said you were talking to someone."

She put the beer down and began pouring rice into a saucepan. "Did you say something to him about staying away from me or me being off limits?"

Sal laughed. "He told you?"

She stopped what she was doing again and looked at him. "So you did?"

With a shrug he took another drink of his beer. "Something like that."

"Why?" She walked away to pour water into a cup.

Sal took advantage of the moment to size her up. The craziest thing was happening. The more he had her here to himself the more intense his need to know if she was free for him to make his move got. "Oscar's a good guy but he tends to look at women like objects. I just reminded him not to do that with you or any of the employees."

Grace glanced at him before pouring the water in the saucepan with the rice. She hadn't fried it beforehand and she added nothing else but a little salt. Steamed white rice was not something he'd ever considered putting on their Mexican menu.

"Oh. I think he took it differently," she said, looking up at him.

"I know he did, and I'm glad." Sal stared at her. "Means he'll definitely be staying away. But Gracie...you haven't answered the question."

"Can I ask you something first?"

Sal took a deep breath. He didn't care what it took he was getting an answer tonight. "Go ahead."

"Why does it matter?"

He squeezed the bottle of beer. "Why wouldn't it? We are on a date right? I'm not in the habit of dating girls who are seeing someone else. That's not my thing."

"What is your thing?" She took a pan down from where it hung and splashed a little cooking oil on it, setting it aside. "Because I hear serious relationships are not it."

Sal was usually very patient but for some reason this really irritated him. "Who said this? Oscar?"

"No, your sister did, actually." She began dicing peppers.

Sal noticed how at ease she seemed in spite of the nature of their conversation and his obvious growing impatience. She appeared a little nervous earlier but it was almost as if being in her element had calmed her. He wished he could say the same for himself. He'd grown more anxious by the minute.

She shrugged. "Just seems that if that's the case, dating someone who's not looking for anything serious because they're already seeing someone else would be ideal."

He clenched his jaw, surprised at how much that irritated him. "No. It wouldn't. And for the record, just because I've never had a serious relationship doesn't mean I don't do them."

She hadn't looked at him since she begun dicing but she stopped now and glanced at him. Then she took a drink of her beer, but still didn't answer his damn question.

"So is that a yes?"

She shook her head and he exhaled slowly. Now for his next question: something he'd thought about all night. "So whatcha do last night? With your dad's friend."

"Step-dad." That had a little bite to it and she began dicing a bit faster.

"Okay, step-dad's friend. Were you two on a date?"

"Sort of."

Sal clenched his jaw. Was she being vague on purpose? "What does that mean? Are you into this guy?" He was going to throw all the questions at her tonight. He had to know now.

"Just because I go out with someone doesn't mean I'm into them."

Ouch. "Is that right?"

"Yeah, my mom wanted to make sure my step-dad got a job with this guy so she asked me to entertain him a few times."

"What? Your mother asked you to? What kind so? divof entertaining?"

Adding to the incredible annoyance he now felt, Grace laughed. "Nothing bad. Just go out and have dinner one time and last night we took a walk on the pier then had a drink. "

Even that pissed him off. What kind of mother asks her daughter to entertain a man to get her husband a job?

"So tell me about Melissa." She started frying chorizo in the pan.

At this point Sal had given up trying to figure out what she was making. He'd fill her in on Melissa, but he was getting back to her mom. She did say it was a long story and they had all night. At the time her mother hadn't interested him much but now she did. He knew where Grace came from, she couldn't have the best lifestyle but having a mom that pimped her out was a whole other ballgame. He wanted to know more.

He told her about how he met Melissa, not mentioning too much about Melissa being so clingy, but he did make it clear that he wasn't interested in her.

"So you were just using her for her basketball tickets?" She smirked, taking a break from her cooking and drinking the last of her beer.

Sal took the empty bottle then opened another one for her. "No. I wasn't even going to respond but I made the mistake of mentioning the tickets to Romero and he went all crazy, insisting I get them. Otherwise, trust me I wouldn't have."

Grace went back to cooking, taking the done rice away from the heat then sauteing the peppers, onion and chorizo with a generous amount of shrimp. "She seems very into you."

"She's persistent. I'll give her that." He was beginning to love watching her cook. He'd watched many cooks at work in his time but none were as graceful as she was. His mom was the only one that came close, but he'd never look at Grace like he did his mom, so there was no comparison. "You said your mom was a long story too. Tell me about her."

The smirk went flat as she cracked an egg off the side of the pan in which she was sauteing the vegetables and shrimp and began scrambling it. She took a deep breath. "My mom is actually my step-mom, but I've always called her mom because she's the only mother I've ever known."

Feeling an ache for her, he had to ask. "What happened to your real mom?"

She dumped the rice into the large frying pan in which she'd been sauteing and added more spices. "She died giving birth to me. In Mexico, it's not like the states. There is no insurance. My dad couldn't afford to take her to the hospital so a mid-wife was called in. There were complications and they rushed her over the border to a hospital in El Paso. They barely made it to the hospital in time to do an emergency C-section. I nearly died, too, from what my grandmother told me, but my mother didn't make it. My dad never really talked about it."

She paused to take another drink of her beer and Sal wondered if she was getting upset again like the night she told him about her dad. He was ffraid to ruin the night so he wouldn't push for more unless she offered on her own. She did. "It was just me, my dad, and grandmother for years. Then when I was five, my dad started dating my step-mom and I begged him not to marry her. I didn't want anybody else in our family. He promised he wouldn't, then a few months later she was pregnant and he said he had to do the honorable thing. They wer singy. He e married and my grandmother assured me having a sibling would be a good thing." She finally smiled. "She was right about that. Rose was my little doll, then she became my little shadow. But my step-mom didn't seem to have the same adoration for her as the rest of us did. My grandmother told me when I got a little older that some women just weren't meant to be mothers and my step-mom was one of them."

When she paused for another drink, Sal decided to change the subject even if it was just for a moment. It was getting somewhat heavy and even though he now wanted to know everything about her, he didn't want her getting upset. He knew she was probably near the part about how she lost her dad and it made him nervous.

"That smells delicious, Gracie. Are you gonna tell me what it is now?" It really did smell great. The mixture of the spices with the chorizo and shrimp was heavenly.

She turned back to her creation and covered it, smiling. "There was only one Chinese restaurant near the area where my grandmother's restaurant was in Juarez. So it was pretty popular. One of their most popular dishes was their shrimp fried rice. My grandmother decided she could top it, adding a Mexican flair to it and put it on the menu. It was an instant hit. Even the owner of the Chinese restaurant came over one time to compliment her on it."

"Mexican shrimp fried rice?" Sal eyed her, then leaned over and lifted the lid to get another look. His arm brushed against her and just like the time she nearly collided with him, just being that close to her excited him. It was like nothing he'd ever experienced. Maybe it was that she was an employee and it felt a little wrong or maybe it was that he remembered her aversion to him in the very beginning and the thought of any chance with her seemed like an impossibility at the time. Whatever it was, the feeling got stronger with each moment he stood next to her.

Another look at her dish and he had to admit it looked as good as it smelled but he could hardly concentrate. Now all he could think of was touching Grace. "Is it ready?"

"Almost, it just has to sit for a little bit. You can make it with chicken or beef also but shrimp was always my favorite. This was also another one they used to order a lot for parties because it can easily be made in large quantities."

Sal turned to her. Standing this close he was tempted to lean in and kiss her but really had to be careful. Sure, she agreed they were on a date, but things would get incredibly awkward if he tried something she wasn't ready for and she rejected him, especially since they'd still have to see each other every day. She blinked her big almond shaped eyes. "It's actually really good served with Cadillac Margaritas."

"Well let's do this." Sal pointed towards the bar. "Who better to fix them than you? I want the whole experience here, Gracie."

She smiled and started toward the door. God what she did to him was insane. He walked behind her, wondering how long he could put off making a move. Even if it wasn't a physical one. Not much longer that was for sure. Getting her to agree to give him a chance would more than suffice for now.

Grace went to the bar. Sal grabbed a lighter from just under the counter and walked out to one of the booths in the corner to set it up.

"What are you doing?" She asked from behind the bar.

"I'm setting up the table. I told you already. Just bec sady"> "Whaause we're here doesn't mean it's not a real date." He lit the candle in the middle of the table, glad he managed to derail any more talk about her mom and dad. He wanted to know all about it-all about her-but the intense stuff could wait for another time. Tonight he had other subjects he wanted to touch on. Like what his chances with her were. She'd already mentioned dating someone didn't mean she was into them. He knew she'd been referring to her date last night but it could've been her subtle way of hinting he shouldn't be putting too much weight on tonight. He'd get it straight before the night was over. After grabbing a couple of the pre-wrapped silverware, kept under the hostess desk up front, he walked back to the booth. Grace had already poured the margaritas and walked them to their table. She placed them on the table then smiled at him. "I'll be back with the food."

No way could he stay away from her now. "I'll help you."

He followed her into the kitchen and watched as she pulled out two plates. Sal inhaled deeply. "God, it smells good."

"I haven't made it in a while, but I think I got everything it needed." She spooned some on both plates.