“Not on your best day,” Nova retorted. “I’m small, but I’m scrappy.”
“I guess we’ll just have to have it out and see.”
“I guess we will,” Nova said.
She didn’t wait for Addie’s response, instead turning on her heel and stomping back into the dining room. Ulrich’s gaze was worried when he saw her.
“You’re not in trouble with your boss, are you?” he asked when she sat back down.
Nova forced a small smile. “No, I’m not in trouble. She’s the manager but she’s not really my boss.”
He nodded but he didn’t relax.
Glenna, one of the waitresses, came over and smiled at them. “Hey, Nova. What can I get y’all to drink?”
Before Nova could order, Ulrich spoke up. “We’ll both start with water and a glass of red wine.”
Since red wine tended to give her a raging headache, Nova spoke up. “I’ll have a glass of white wine instead,” she said to Glenna. “Something light and not too dry.”
Glenna nodded and walked away.
“You don’t like red wine?” Ulrich asked.
“No, it makes my head hurt.”
He didn’t say anything else, but his jaw tensed as he studied the menu in front of him. He seemed irritated.
Nova didn’t know why because she wasn’t the one who ordered for him without asking his preferences first.
Still, the night had started okay. This was just a blip.
“Do you like seafood? The shrimp and grits here is very good.” Nova asked, pretending to study her own menu even though she basically had it memorized.
“No,” he said shortly. And that was it.
Well, it seemed like things were heading downhill. Hoping to salvage the evening, Nova asked, “What’s your favorite thing to eat? Burger? Steak?”
“I don’t eat red meat,” Ulrich answered. Then, he fell silent again.
Not one to tiptoe around a touchy subject, Nova dove right in. “Is there a problem here, Ulrich?”
He finally looked up at her and, judging by the expression on his face, he most definitely had a problem.
“Why did you embarrass me like that?” he replied, a question for a question.
Since Nova wasn’t aware she’d done anything to embarrass him, she asked, “What do you mean?”
“As soon as we got here, you left me alone at this table. I had to ask the waitress to come back when she saw you return. Then, when I ordered for us, you changed it.”
Okay, so he had a point with the first part of his statement, but the second? What the hell?
“I am sorry I walked away to have a conversation during our date, Ulrich. That was rude.” She cleared her throat. “But as to the second, while I appreciate good manners, I don’t appreciate you ordering for me without even asking me for my preferences. To me, that was rude.”
He blinked at her. “What?”
“How would you feel if I ordered shrimp and grits for you without asking if you liked seafood?”
His jaw tensed again. “I wouldn’t like it, but that’s different.”
