Rashid didn’t even look at her. “Why is this place so full, anyway? It’s a Thursday afternoon.”
“I guess because of their Christmas menu. It’s been all over Instagram.”
He scoffed at that. “So, because some entitled influencer was comped a meal here, the rest of us have to deal with these crowds?” He was standing near Ruby and was quiet enough that she doubted the twins heard him. They were focused on stabbing their cherries with their little swords, anyway.
“Girls, don’t make a mess,” he said. “The staff here is going to have to clean all this up.”
A server, who was clearing a nearby table, turned to them, smiling. “Oh, it’s fine. I have a son about that age—I know how hard it is to keep them busy while they’re waiting. Your daughters are adorable. Twins? They certainly take after your wife!”
“Oh, they’re not our kids!” Ruby said. She frowned. Did they look like her? Maybe… in that they were Brown. But that was it.
“And we’re not married,” Rashid said. Ruby couldn’t miss the contempt in his voice, like how dare anyone assume he would choose to marry someone like Ruby. Ruby sighed. She’d been right. This was a mistake.
The server looked back and forth between Ruby and Rashid, no doubt trying to figure out the relationship between them and questioning why they all looked so miserable. “Okay. Well, I hope you get your table soon.” She headed back to the bar with her tray of empty glasses.
“You didn’t have to lookthatdisgusted at the thought of being with me,” Ruby said quietly. She should probably keep her mouth shut, but she was hurt by that look on his face.
He didn’t say anything to that because Noor started whining that she spilled her drink. Then Tara complained that it had spilled on her skirt. Ruby sighed, looking around the festivelydecorated restaurant with the gold streamers and plastic bells covering the ceiling. Maybe Rashid was right—there was nothingmagicabout dozens of tired and hungry people squeezed into this place with dollar-store decorations waiting for their overpriced tiny pancakes because some wannabe celebrity ate them. This was herfavoriteseason. And hanging out with the Grinchy Dr. Rash was taking away Ruby’s joy.
She exhaled and took a sip of her tea, which… Was that cinnamon?
“What kind of tea is this?” she asked.
“You didn’t say what kind you wanted, so I got you cinnamon-gingerbread,” Rashid said while dabbing Tara’s skirt with a napkin.
Ruby frowned. On Sunday, she’d had a gingerbread latte. Had he remembered that she liked gingerbread-flavored things? That was incredibly thoughtful.
Maybe Dr. Rash wasn’t such a Grinch after all.
THANKFULLY THEY WAITED INthe bar only long enough for Ruby to finish her tea. The Shirley Temples—or, rather, the tiny sword fights—invigorated the girls, and Rashid seemed to lose his irritation, too. When the hostess brought them to a lovely little table in the tasteful dining room, they ordered more drinks and some pancakes-for-dinner creations.
“I didn’t think it would just be pancakes,” Rashid said, frowning, after the waitress left their table. He’d ordered Chicken Little pancakes, which was a stack of cornbread pancakes topped with chicken, avocado, arugula, barbecue sauce, maple syrup, and cilantro. Ruby ordered the gingerbread molasses pancakes, and both girls got the strawberry SantaCakes.
“The restaurant is called Milk and Honey Pancakes. What did you expect, fish and chips?”
He shook his head. “Oh, I’m not complaining. Just not used to pancakes for dinner.”
Ruby looked at him curiously. Not complaining? Was itpossible that she was misinterpreting Rashid’s rants? Or was he completely clueless about how he was seen by others?
When their drinks arrived, Rashid asked Ruby if she wanted a picture of her drinking her eggnog martini for her socials.
She chuckled with surprise. After his rant about Instagram, this offer was unexpected. Rashid used his own phone this time and took a few pictures of Ruby sipping her martini, and then some of the girls with their strawberry milk.
The food finally came. The strawberry SantaCakes were small buttermilk pancakes topped with sliced strawberries, crème anglaise, and a little Santa made from a whole strawberry and whipped cream. Ruby’s gingerbread pancakes were little dark gingery rounds topped with cinnamon whipped cream and salted caramel molasses. Rashid even seemed impressed with his chicken and cornbread pancakes. They both took pictures of the food and of the girls grinning with their pancakes, too. After taking her first bite, Ruby closed her eyes and made an embarrassing sound. “Oh my god, this is the best thing I’veeverput in my mouth,” she said under her breath. The girls seemed to be distracted by their own food, so hopefully they didn’t hear Ruby’s hardly G-rated moan with pleasure.
Rashid heard her, though, and chuckled. She turned to him. “Seriously, you have to try this.”
He shook his head. “It’s basically dessert for dinner. I don’t know why I agreed to let the girls order those.”
Ruby smiled mischievously. “Because it’s festive, and breaking the rules sometimes is a bit of harmless fun. Here, try mine. I guarantee it will be life-changing.” She prepared abite for Rashid, getting a bit of the gingerbread pancake and dipping it first into the salted molasses, then in the whipped cream. She held the fork in front of his mouth.
He started to roll his eyes, but then he suddenly stilled, looking at her with intensity. The table was small, and since they were sitting next to each other, they were only inches apart. She could smell that intriguing cologne and see the smoothness of his touchable skin. Why was he looking at her like that? And why did that look on his face make it harder for Ruby to remember that she did not like this man? Rashid’s eyes traveled from her eyes to her lips, and finally to the bite of food on her fork.
She smiled slowly. “Iknowyou want this.”
He let out a soft laugh and opened his mouth. As she slipped her fork in, she wondered if this was his bedroom expression. If so, she envied his past lovers. It was a heady experience to be on the receiving end of his sultry gaze.
The corners of his lips upturned as he chewed the bite. “Okay, I don’t know about life-changing. But I agree, that’s excellent. Dessert for dinner certainly has its merits.”
