“It has its moments, but I wouldn’t do anything else.”
“I never had siblings. Sometimes I’m sure that’s a good thing, but then sometimes not so much.”
“I hear you,” Noah said, signaling the barman to refill her wine and his beer.
“I don’t need you to buy me a drink.” She withdrew again.
“I’m drinking, and I didn’t buy it for any other reason than I don’t want to drink alone.”
She studied him and then nodded. “Okay, thanks. So why was your day so good when mine sucked?”
“It’s pretty boring.”
“I could use the distraction.” That small smile appeared again.
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
He detailed the supplies he’d purchased, the barstools his sister had wanted him to look over, and then he told her about his business. People often sat in his bar after a tough day and wanted to escape; this woman appeared to be one of those, and he was happy to oblige.
“We are looking to grow our business. You have to keep moving forward or things get old and tired real quick,” Noah said, surprised at how easy it felt talking to this woman he didn’t know.
“What does your growth include?”
“Extend, refurbish, renovate. Plus, we want to hold more weddings and corporate retreats.”
“And that excites you?”
“Very much so. I want to extend the garden bar and move things around upstairs to accommodate more guests. It’s important to have things in your life that excite you. We go stale otherwise.”
That made her shrug, but she didn’t elaborate.
She sat there and listened to him as he talked for the next hour about what he wanted to do. She asked questions, just a few words, and rarely elaborated, and occasionally he saw the small smile. It was nice, relaxing even, to talk to a stranger about his dreams, even if the conversation was one-sided. She was someone he’d likely not meet again and had nothing invested in him.
He wondered what her deal was. Her shoulders were hunched, and she kept her voice soft so no one but him could hear her. The clothes weren’t designed to attract attention either. He’d only spent a short time with her, but Noah could read people. This one was happy to be in the background; he just wondered why.
“I’m ordering food, how about you?” Noah asked after he’d signaled for another beer and her a wine.
“I’ll pay for my share, and I don’t usually drink much.”
“Me either. Occupational hazard, really. It doesn’t look good if the owner is consuming the profits constantly. As for paying your share, no worries there, I’m all about equality. If I wasn’t, my sister would castrate me.”
“Sure.” He had a feeling that was important to her.
“The burgers look good,” Noah said.
“Just fries for me.” She followed those words up with another small smile for the barman.
“Fries accompany a meal, they are not a meal,” Noah said.
“I don’t eat much.”
He looked at her skinny wrists and the edge of her cheekbones. Was she naturally slender, or down on her luck?
“You’re one of those types who eat for fuel, right, and aren’t constantly tempted by double-chocolate brownies with caramel sauce and cream?”
“I have a thing for peanut butter.” She frowned after she’d spoken, almost as if she shouldn’t have said anything.
“What does this… thing entail?”
