“The bread here is apparently really good,” Ruby said. “I mean, not as good as Reena’s. You should try her bakery if you’re ever in Markham. Her sourdough is to die for. They also have, like, jams and chutneys, too. Reena makes a mango cardamom jam that issogood. I like it with Greek yogurt, but it’s great on toast, too.” Ruby really needed to stop talking. Why did this guy make her so off-kilter? Probably because she had no idea what he was thinking most of the time. He was probably internally disapproving of everything he was seeing in this restaurant. Or disapproving of her.
Or maybe it was because he was really hot.
“I’m glad you like bread,” he said. This table was small, she couldn’t not look at him. Were those lashes real?
“Doesn’t everyone like bread?”
He huffed a laugh. “Not the last two women I went on dates with. One actually said I should turn in my medical license if I ate brioche. But I guess you’re not like other girls.”
Ruby’s nose wrinkled at that. She had no idea if he was aware of the sexist meaning behind the phrase—he honestly didn’t seem to be trying to insult her this time. “That’s where you’re wrong,” she said. “I’mexactlylike other girls.” He raised an eyebrow at that, so she explained. “There are women who say ‘I’m not like other girls… I like manly things like diesel and eating bread’ to imply they’re special for liking things other women don’t like. But what they really mean is that they arebetter than other women because they aren’t into things that society thinks are ‘girly’… like diet culture, pretty cocktails, holiday romances, or even makeup. It’s misogyny. The belief that feminine-coded things are less important or have less value than masculine-coded things. I love girly things. I get my nails done every two weeks, I love makeup, I work in luxury fashion, and I freaking love holiday rom-coms. There is nothing wrong with feminine-coded things unless you think there is something wrong with feminine-coded people, aka women.”
Rashid didn’t say anything to that. He looked at her for a long time with a practically imperceptible smile. Did he disagree with her? Was he laughing at her? She was almost positive that they wouldn’t make it through this meal. Ruby didn’t know which one of them was going to get up and walk away first, but she had no doubt one of them would.
The waitress came with their drinks. Ruby’s martini was the most perfect dark ruby red and had a toothpick resting on the rim with three sugar-frosted raspberries on it. It was beautiful. If she was with anyone else, she would have asked them to take a picture of her holding it… but not Rashid. She did snap a picture of the glass sitting on the white tablecloth, though.
She took a sip of her drink. It tasted even better than it looked.
“Do you want me to take your picture drinking that?” he asked.
Ruby grinned mischievously. “Why? Because of how good I look with a drink that matches my holiday aesthetic?”
He exaggeratedly rolled his eyes at that. And if Ruby wasn’t mistaken, he blushed a bit. Hedidthink she looked good.Beaming, she unlocked her phone and opened the camera app. She slid it across the table to him.
Puckering her lips slightly, she put the martini glass to her mouth and extended her pinky finger so her holiday manicure would be in the shot. Rashid took a few pictures before handing the phone back. The pictures were perfect. She uploaded one to her Instagram story right away.
The waitress finally came to take their orders. Ruby ordered the apple, chestnut, and Camembert tartine, and Rashid got a steak and Gorgonzola one. After the waitress left, they had more awkward silence.
“You said your sister keeps setting you up on dates. Why?” Ruby asked.
“Do you know about her leaving her husband?”
“A little.” She knew that the gossip Jenisha heard wasn’t true—the boy-toy was Jasmine’s older brother, not her affair partner. “You don’t have to tell me details, though.”
Rashid took a sip of his dark amber beer before answering. “It’s fine. It’s been a messy breakup. Her husband was bad news for a long time. Jasmine’s alone here in Toronto. Our parents are in England, and I’m in Calgary. She’d just opened her own practice… and Derek has been doing everything he can to stop her from opening it. He’s even spreading nasty rumors about her to the nearby businesses.”
Ruby winced. “Yeah, I heard some of those rumors.”
Rashid shook his head. “He’s such a petty asshole. Anyway, I took a leave of absence at my hospital and drove out here to help get Jasmine’s practice off the ground. I just finished the outstanding construction, and I’ll start taking her patientstomorrow until she can get back on her feet.” He chuckled. “I had no idea the whole area would turn into a Christmas market for two months… or I may not have volunteered.”
Ruby smiled. It was nice of him to come—she wished she had a big brother to help her when things went sideways. “That’s pretty cool of you. But why is she setting you up with women who don’t like bread?”
He shrugged. “My sister hates being a burden. She insists I need my own social life in Toronto and can’t only hang out with her and the girls. So, she started setting me up with women she knows.”
“And you don’t want to be set up?”
He shook his head. “I’m not going to be here very long. Hopefully I can leave by mid-February. I’m not against dating, but let’s say shedoesmanage to find someone who likes me. What’s going to happen when I leave? That’s not fair to this hypothetical woman, is it?”
Ruby smiled her sweetest smile. “Well, she did excellently with me, then, because I’m moving in January anyway. Where are you taking me next? There’s a whole Christmas village north of the city. You have a car, right?” The look of horror on his face made Ruby laugh. “That was a joke. I have no idea what your type is, but clearly, I’m not it.”
He shook his head, not acknowledging her statement. “Not to mention,” he said, “I want to help Jasmine with the girls when I’m not working. I can’t drag a couple of five-year-olds on dates, can I?”
That was a good point. He was a handsome doctor, but Ruby doubted any single woman in Toronto would be okaywith him bringing his two nieces along on every date. Even if they rarely spoke. “How is the beer?” Ruby asked.
“Very tasty. This area has great microbreweries. How’s the pretty martini?”
She smiled as she took another sip. “It’s excellent. Tastes even better than it looks.”
After their food arrived, they ate silently for a bit, save polite small talk about how nice the food looked and how delicious it was. Ruby couldn’t stop thinking about Rashid while she ate. He was such a contradiction. A stand-up guy, loyal to his sister, a doting uncle, and a man who didn’t want a woman to get too attached to him because he wouldn’t be here very long. On paper, he was such a catch. But he was so hot and cold. Sometimes he looked at her like he was utterly fascinated with her, and other times he was a judgmental prick to her.
