The foursome table had broken up, and she didn’t see Flynn, so she was free to wander the room. She went to the bar and retrieved another glass of wine, then headed over to Ken.
“How’s everyone doing?” she asked.
“Good. The guests all seem to be having a great time and the serving stations are busy. Everyone loves the food. Which, of course, they should. It’s excellent.”
“Thank you. Big crowd.”
“It’s about to be even bigger.” Ken inclined his head toward the front door. “Media just arrived. I’m going to go grab Flynn.”
“Okay.”
She retreated to one of the corners to watch as Ken and Flynn met the media. She also noticed that Jameson had moved to the side, out of range of the cameras, and was talking to some of the players’ wives.
She had high hopes for this woman. Maybe she’d be a good fit for Flynn.
The lights went on and the cameras started rolling. Flynn began to talk and gesture about the restaurant. Amelia was happy to see him get this amount of press for Ninety-Two. It promised to bring in more customers. The cameras panned around the room and a few of the players stepped up for interviews.
Flynn stepped out and made his way to Jameson, who put her arm around him. When the cameras made their way back to them, it was like she’d undergone a personality transplant. Her head snapped up, she plastered on a wide smile, and she was suddenly “on,” flashing her pearly whites and totally ignoring Flynn.
Oh, no. Not again.
It was as if she was the only one on camera, and as the journalist interviewed her, Flynn stepped away.
But Jameson didn’t stop. She kept talking, completely oblivious to Flynn, who had gone to join some of his friends.
“What’s that all about?” Tara asked, coming up alongside Amelia.
“I had such high hopes for Jameson. I thought she’d be different.”
Tara frowned. “Different?”
“Flynn has a tendency to choose all the wrong women. You know the types—the ones who are after a football player only to get their time in front of a camera.”
Tara pursed her lips. “Oh. I know exactly what you’re talking about. And unfortunately they’re all too frequent in the sport. You’d think women like that would come with a warning label.”
“You’d think. But Flynn’s like a magnet for them. I’ve seen him with no less than three camera whores over the past few months.”
“That’s unfortunate. And he’s such a nice guy, too.”
“I know. I really wish he could find the right woman.”
Tara glared at Jameson, then looked over at Amelia. “I know a lot of nice women.”
“Do you? Maybe you could set him up with one.”
“I could maybe do that. Or how about you, Amelia?”
Amelia searched the room for Flynn, found him talking with Ken. “No, I don’t really know a lot of people here.”
“No, honey. I meant you.”
She stared at Tara. “Me? And Flynn? I don’t think so.”
“Why not? You’re beautiful. He’s gorgeous. You share a mutual love of food. You’re obviously hiding in the corner because you don’t want to be on camera. You’d be perfect for him.”
There was no doubt she was attracted to Flynn. But the last thing she needed in her life right now was a man. Especially not a man she worked for. “No, I don’t think so.”
“You don’t find him attractive?”
She could barely pull her gaze away from him. Despite being surrounded by a group of incredibly good-looking men, he stood out. “Oh, I find him attractive. But he’s my boss.”
Tara shrugged. “So what?”
She pulled her attention from Flynn and directed it on Tara. “That’s a big deal. I moved here specifically for this job. I don’t need to lose it because a relationship, or love affair, goes bad.”
“Okay, I see your point. Still, I think the idea of the two of you together has merit. I know you and I just met, but I can see you and Flynn together. You could fit.”
She hadn’t thought of it. Sure, she had a physical attraction to Flynn. What heterosexual woman wouldn’t? He was hot stuff. But she wasn’t looking for a relationship. Or a lover. But now both Tara and her best friend had mentioned something about her getting out there and dating.
Maybe it was time. She’d have to think about it. But she wouldn’t think about it with Flynn. He was off-limits.
She made her way back into the kitchen and worked, content to stay away from the cameras. Hours later, the party started to die down, so she helped with cleanup and then sent her staff home. When she came out front, most everyone had left with the exception of Flynn and Ken, who were sitting with Mick and Tara at one of the larger tables.
“Hey, Amelia,” Flynn said. “Come have a drink with us.”
She headed over and Flynn got up to pull a glass from behind the bar. “What would you like?” he asked.
“A glass of pinot gris would be great.”
He grabbed the bottle, uncorked it, then poured her a very large glass before handing it to her. “Thanks for tonight. If I haven’t mentioned it before, the food was outstanding. Everyone raved about it.”
“Thank you. I thought it all turned out well. You had a great showing.”
“My boss was impressed with the restaurant. And the food. Irvin loves good food and he couldn’t speak highly enough about yours. And trust me, he’s well traveled, has eaten in some of the best restaurants in the world. He’s not often awestruck.”
She took that as the compliment it was intended to be. “Thank you for that.”
They made their way over to the table and she took a seat.
“I hope you all had a good time tonight.”
Tara looked as fresh this late as she had when Amelia saw her earlier. “I had such a great night. We’re kid-free for this trip, so I get to stay out late. Our son Sam is back in St. Louis with his grandparents.”
“That must be fun for you.”
“Very fun. Not that I don’t miss our little guy, because I do. But this gives me an opportunity to go to the game and not have to contend with sticky little mustard fingers swiping down my pants, or worry about him running amok. I can also conduct some business while I’m here, which is ideal for me.”
“I’m sure that’s important for you. And relaxing at the same time.”