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“I think I’ll have fish. So white.”
After ordering red wine for himself and white for Laurel, Zack ordered a couple of small plates of stuffed mushrooms and cheese puffs. He’d done a little research before bringing Laurel there and those were two of the most frequently talked about appetizers.
A little while later, the waitress took their entrée orders and returned shortly afterward with their hors d’oeuvres. “I know cheese puffs sound boring but these are supposed to be phenomenal,” Zack said while splitting both the appetizers.
Laurel reached for a puff and bit into it. “Oh, my God, these are delicious. I wonder what kind of cheese they used?”
“No idea. I just know what I like to eat,” he said, grinning. “How are you liking the job?” They had talked about the job, naturally, but he wanted to be sure she was good with it. “Any problems? And yes, please be honest.”
“That won’t be hard,” she said with a smile. “I love it. Although it’s accounting, it’s still different from my job at Kelly Boots. It’s a nice change of pace.”
“Good. You’ll let me know if you need anything, won’t you?”
“I don’t know what I’d need that I don’t already have,” she said. “The accounting software you bought is the latest and it’s wonderful to work with.”
They talked until their entrées were served. Ahi tuna for him and sea bass for Laurel.
“This is really good,” Laurel said, “but it’s so rich I’m not sure how much I can eat.”
“Save room for dessert.”
“Oh, I will. I hope they have something chocolate.”
“What do you keep looking at?” he asked. Laurel had been glancing behind him and to his right for the past several minutes.
“There’s a woman at a table across the way who is staring a hole through us. She looks like she wants to skewer me. But then she looks at you and it’s a whole ’nuther story.” She motioned toward some people a few tables over. “Someone you know?”
He looked where she pointed and barely stopped himself from grimacing. Sabrina. She waved at him and he waved back. “Yes. Sabrina York. My ex-girlfriend. I’m not sure who that is she’s with.”
“Whoever he is, she isn’t paying much attention to him. Do you need to go talk to her? I don’t mind.”
“I’ll stop and say hi on the way out.” With any luck, Sabrina and her date would already be gone.
“I’m guessing it was your idea to end it.”
“It was but why did you think that?”
“The way she’s looking at you. She wants you back.”
Damn. He suspected Laurel was right, which made him feel bad. Sabrina was smart, beautiful and a nice person. But she wasn’t right for him. “We broke up months ago. She wanted to get married. In fact, we almost got engaged. But I realized that while I liked her and enjoyed being with her, I couldn’t see myself being married to her. So we broke up.”
“She’s beautiful,” Laurel commented.
“Yes, she is. But you’re more so.”
Laurel laughed. “That’s very sweet and flattering but completely untrue.”
“Do you ever look in the mirror?”
“All the time. To make sure my hair is brushed and that I won’t scare people at work.”
“You really don’t know how pretty you are?” he asked curiously.
“How am I supposed to answer that? If I say yes I sound conceited. If I say no it sounds like I’m fishing for more compliments.”
“Maybe you should just say thank you, Zack.”
“Thank you, Zack,” she repeated obediently.
