THE CAMELLIA TAVERN

CHAPTER 21: MISTAKEN IDENTITY

After our unexpected dance lesson and late night dinner at the Midnight Moon Shack, we drive back to Sturvis.  Warrick pulls his car into a parking lot behind Monarch Bookstore in the downtown area.  At first, I'm unsure why we're here, but then I remember him saying that his place is above the bookstore. I try to contain my excitement over the fact that he's obviously taking me to his place. 

    Once more, he opens the car door for me.

    "Careful.  You keep doing things like this and I'm going to start thinking we're on a date," I tease as I climb out of the car.

    "Well, we certainly can't have that, can we," he deadpans.

    I follow him through the small parking lot and through a backdoor which leads to a narrow staircase that looks like it's been recently renovated itself.  Once we reach the top of the stairs, I see two doors.  The one in front of us has gold letters that say "2A" and the one to the right of us has the same letters but they say "2B".  He sticks a key in the door for 2A and it opens.  He punches in some sort of code for the alarm system as soon as we're through the door.  I take a look around at the space.  It's only partially renovated but it's amazing what they've done so far.  The high ceilings and open floor plan make the place seem much bigger than it actually is.

    "2 bedroom, 2 bath," he explains before I even have a chance to ask.  "It's square footage is small, but we're making good use of every inch."  He looks around the room proudly.

    "It's really great," I say running my fingers across the big kitchen island then imagining him cooking in here. "Who lives in 2B?"

"No one yet, but I'm sure we won't have any trouble finding a buyer once it's finished."

Yeah, no kidding, I think.  I'm sure there are tons of people who would love to live in the middle of downtown Sturvis.  It would be a student's dream because you could simply walk across the street to campus everyday, but something tells me these will be out of the typical student's price range.

"I heard you hired a manager for The Camellia Tavern," I say, curious, but wondering if Im ruining the night for us both by bringing it up.  After all, if he hired Addie, I'm not sure exactly how I will feel about that.  The two of them working so closely together.  Not that he and I are together.  We're...well, as usual, I'm not sure what the status is for Warrick and me.

"I did," he says, giving nothing else away.

"And when does she start?"

He looks at me with raised eyebrows.  "How do you know it's a she?"

I sigh. "I assume that's why you brought Addie in the other night."

I hate bringing her up, but I feel like he's left me no choice.

"No, it isn't Addie," he says and relief floods through me in a shamefully fast manner.

"So you just brought her to the restaurant to show her off?" I say, trying not to sound as jealous as I actually am.

"Milly--," he starts but I cut him off.

"It's ok, Warrick," I lie, "That's your business."  I hope I sound nonchalant even though I certainly don't feel it. 

    He puts his hands on my shoulders and stares me down.

"Addie is my cousin.  We're only two years apart and we've been close since we were in diapers. She's also one of the investors of my restaurant in Tuscaloosa.  I would've told you this, but you ran off so fast after I introduced you that I didn't get a chance."

    Oh.

     He was trying to introduce me to a member of his family and I acted totally disinterested?