Surprised by what she’d said, and that she hadn’t meant for it to sound so flirty, she gawked and looked down at the menu with wide eyes. Thankfully he laughed, just as a waiter came and intervened, saving her from putting her foot further into her mouth.
Something gained her attention in the window, and she looked down to the sill on the other side.
Two glowing, beady red eyes looked up at her.
Oh my fucking god.The table vibrated from her magic, subtle enough that only she noticed it.Shit! Shoo, ferret bat!
“Your order, ma’am?” the waiter asked, his tone polite despite the fact that she was rudely not listening.
“Huh?” She turned to him and then looked down at the menu, pretending she hadn’t already eaten here a dozen times and knew exactly what she wanted. “I’ll have the panang curry and a glass of Frangelico and Sprite.”
“Sure. Anything else?” he asked them, and she and Oliver exchanged a glance and shook their heads.
“No. We’re good,” Oliver answered, and the waiter took their menus.
She eyed the creature watching them and then pushed her arm against the window to hide it.
“Y-you have a daughter, right?” she asked with strain, reaching for any topic. “What’s her name?”
“Clare.” Then he fished into his pocket to pull out his phone. “I have some photos of her if you’d like to see.”
Perfect! A distraction that would have his eyes anywhere but looking outside.
She wished that would’ve been enough.
The ferret bat ducked its head up over her arm to see what was going on, and she moved her hand up to cover it. It didn’t relent, ducking under her arm instead to peek inside.
She tried to listen to Oliver as they moved into ‘getting to know each other’ conversation, but it was hard when she was distracted. She did her best, even opening up a little about her past – how her father had died when she was little and her mother only a few years ago – unsure if she was supposed to share such gloomy things on a first date.
But it was the truth, and he had asked about her family.
To lighten the mood, she quickly delved into the countries she’d travelled to before she opened The Bean Alchemist, to which he explained he’d always wanted to leave Australia but hadn’t had the chance to yet.
The more they spoke, the more at ease she was with him, and the more panicked she grew that he’d notice the creature. She stopped trying to hide it when Oliver kept looking at her arm whenever she moved it.
She begged silently that the otherworldly creature remained invisible to him.
Chapter
Twenty
Skylar wished their food would hurry up so she could fiddle with something other than the seams of her cloth napkin.
Her gaze slipped around the very,verybusy restaurant. The table seated next to them had arrived before them and still hadn’t received their food either.
It was unsurprising, since this establishment was popular, especially on weekends.
The music was calm, soothing, and she couldn’t pick what it was – only that it was instrumental. Chatter surrounded them from other patrons, as did laughter and the clinking of cutlery upon plates and bowls. The aromas had settled now that she’d been breathing them in for a long while – still mouthwatering, but they weren’t enough to keep her stomach from twisting.
“Hey, I know this is really forward, but I’m having a great time already.” Oliver reached across the table to place his hand over hers, light enough to give her the freedom to pull away if she wanted. “I kind of felt lucky when your profile popped up. You’re very pretty, and you seem to have a really nice personality. I kept hearing how awful online dating was, so I never expected things to go this well straight away.”
Skylar froze. She didn’t know what to say.
Sure, the date was going well, and she wasn’t bored, but... her heart just wasn’t in it. She wished it was, truly, and maybe if she could give it her proper attention, her stomach might have shyly flipped at his words.
His hand was warm; it was reassuring. His smile and face were appealing, his body delicious, and he was trying to be open, mature with their conversation, and not once had he made her feel wary.
I should have just gotten rid of the summoning circle.
