Designing Abigail Kilton's Dress - #1 The Wedding Dress

Chapter 12 - No Raw Fish. No Nuts.

"So, what do you do, Kayleigh?" Jack Monroe asked politely, oblivious to the tension in the air. It was a simple question, yet Kayleigh felt as though he'd asked her to recite the Periodic Table in front of a live audience. Lucky for her, Abigail Kilton was a pro at live audiences.

"Kayleigh is the most talented fashion designer I have ever met," she beamed dropping her menu. "In fact, she is designing my wedding gown!"

Kayleigh kept her head down and pretended to scour the menu that may as well have been written in Japanese.

"Isn't your wedding this summer?" Jack turned to Marcus for confirmation, but he wasn't getting anything from him. His steely gaze was set on his drink, his jaw firm under his trimmed beard.

Abi nodded her head enthusiastically, making up for her husband's lack of response, and Jack blew a low whistle as he turned in his seat to address Kayleigh again. "You must be under a lot of pressure."

Kayleigh barely raised her eyes as she returned his smile with a shy nod.

"There's no reason for her to be nervous," Abigail went on like a proud mother. "She's a natural. She started with us as an intern two weeks ago and got promoted on her first day."

"That is impressive. I don't know much about the industry but I hear Kilton's House of Fashion has very high standards," Jack stated still not taking his eyes off Kayleigh.

"We do. He's right, Kay," the social butterfly agreed. "You need to give yourself more credit."

An expectant silence fell over their table and Kayleigh felt the obligation to say something. "Uhm... okay. I'll try."

The waiter arrived to take their order and Kayleigh panicked. Not only did she not have a clue as to what she was having, but she had no idea what the items on the menu were. So, she went with the one thing that stuck in her mind.

"I'll have the Satay Skewers?" She sounded as uncertain as ever but Jack Monroe shot her an assuring grin when she looked over at him hesitantly.

"Excellent choice!" he cheered.

But his praise was met with firm protest from across the table. "You're not having that," Marcus Burrows stated. "Satay is peanut sauce."

"So?" Abigail shrugged partly confused, partly irritated.

Marcus looked hesitantly at Kayleigh before answering. "Kay has a severe nut allergy."

Understanding dawned on Abi's face and Kayleigh thought it transformed momentarily into suspicion before her usual composure graced her face. 

Marcus took the menu from Kay's hand, purposely ignoring the waiter's subtle taps against his tablet as he waited for someone to order something. Meanwhile, Kayleigh tried counting from one to ten, but she seemed to have forgotten the numbers in between.

"She'll have the Chicken Udon. Don't add cashews to the sauce or garnish or anything. Just the ingredients on the menu, yeah?" Marcus stressed to the boy. Then, he added, "And we'll have another bottle of sake."

The waiter tapped in Marcus's instructions and almost turned to leave when Abigail cleared her throat. "And I'll have the tuna sashimi and a salmon skin roll," she requested.

The waiter swept his gaze over their table to confirm that nobody wanted anything else and left with a curt nod. They looked at one another, smiling politely, except Marcus and Abigail who were suddenly avoiding each other's eyes. Finally, Marcus decided to break the quiet. 

"How was your fitting with the girls this morning, honey?" he asked, clearing his throat.

Kayleigh almost kicked him from under the table. It would have been less painful than Abigail's short reply. "It was cancelled, darling. I told you already."