"How many dates have you been on?"
"This is my third."
She nodded. "I used a different dating service up until recently. An app, actually. And I learned the hard way to pay for my own stuff during the first few dates."
Intrigued, he leaned forward and crossed his arms on the tabletop. "The hard way?"
Her eyes drifted down to his arms before they flicked back up to his face. "Let's just say that several of the men I've dated expected a more...physical form of compensation after they bought me dinner a couple of times."
Clay couldn't help it. He scowled. "Seriously?"
"Yes."
"Assholes."
For the first time since she walked in, Dylan smiled. It lit up her face and brightened her eyes until they were nearly purple. Those tiny silver flecks glowed intensely. She was radiant.
"That is an excellent observation."
The waiter had perfect timing because he arrived with her drink and two menus, which saved Clay from staring at her, speechless and with his mouth hanging open.
He didn't even hear her thank the waiter because he was knocked completely off-kilter.
"Have you ever been here before?" Dylan asked him, opening her menu.
"Huh?"
She glanced up, a small smile on her face. "Have you ever been here before?"
Clay gave himself an internal shake. This woman was the first one he'd met in a long time that affected him like this. He had to get his act together or she'd never want to see him again.
"Yeah. Food's pretty good."
"What's your favorite thing on the menu?" she asked, dropping her gaze to the laminated page in front of her.
"The Cajun crab dip."
"Then, we should get that to split."
"Yeah, sounds good." He took a desperate sip of his beer. Okay, they had to talk. Shit. He was in trouble. He hated small talk and meeting new people, so he was out of practice. What was that thing his mom had said about starting a conversation?
Oh, yeah. Ask them about themselves. Easy enough.
"Where's your favorite place to eat in town?" he asked.
She glanced back up from the menu, the corner of her mouth turning up. "I'm not sure if you're ready for that conversation."
Dylan looked so mischievous that he couldn't help smiling back at her. "Is the answer that complicated?"
She nodded. "Absolutely. I'm very serious about my food. I even have a list of my favorite local restaurants, ranked and categorized."
"Seriously?"
"As a heart attack."
"I have to hear this."
She was in the middle of explaining how she separated her favorite places based on whether she preferred to dine-in, order take-out, or have it delivered and then ranked them in order from her most favorite to her least when the waiter returned.
