“Are things working out now?”
I nodded.
“They do. Zainab has monetized our social media so that helps, as does the following we’ve built. And I came up with a subscription idea most of my regulars take up.”
“Subscription? What kind?”
“It’s nothing fancy. They pay a monthly fee, or their choice, for the cats, and they get points to buy books.”
Cole smiled and leaned on his hand on the table, staring at me.
“That’s… very smart,” he said. His eyes didn’t waver and neither did their effect.
It felt as if he were looking into my soul, or trying to, anyway. The longer I stayed under his scrutiny, the harder it became to breathe or swallow. The way the candle’s flame danced in thedark of his eyes was intoxicating. Something I could watch until the end of time and never get bored.
Thankfully, the waitress stopped by the table to take our order and saved me from total embarrassment.
As good as the food sounded, it tasted even better, though we stopped short of getting dessert. After Cole took care of the check, we went back out.
“I know the perfect place for something sweet,” he said.
“They had good desserts,” I pointed behind us.
Cole laughed.
“I never have dessert in the same place I dine.”
“What? Why?”
He shrugged.
“It’s just… I don’t. Neither does my brother. I guess we both know desserts aren’t the main focus of any restaurant. But those who focus on desserts and baked goods? Those are the best.”
We reached Main Street before long and got swallowed up in the flurry of the crowd visiting the Christmas market that had taken up the entire road.
We passed stalls selling hot cider, wine, gingerbread and snowpeople cookies, and hot cocoa with peppermint sticks. We stopped in front of a pastry stall occupied by a tall, lanky guy with dark features.
“Hi, can we get two cones please?” Cole told him before he turned to me. “You have to try these. They’re called…” Heglanced at the stall owner who chuckled and said “trdelník” in an accent I couldn’t define, and Cole nodded.
“Yeah. That. They’re traditional Czech pastry cones.”
“What filling do you want?” the guy asked, and I assumed his accent was Czech.
“What do you have?” I asked and paused to turn to Cole. “This is halal, right?”
“Of course,” Cole replied with a smile. “I’ve learned my lesson, Mr. Ali.”
I smiled too and jostled his shoulder. I got lost in his gaze for a moment. It seemed like a more and more regular occurrence when around him, and I didn’t know what to do about it, if anything.
I still wasn’t clear if Cole was doing this dating thing because of the auction or because he was genuinely interested in getting to know me.
One would think the way we look at each other, the way we linger when we do, would make the answer obvious, but I wasn’t sure. Maybe I was projecting or hallucinating. Or maybe I was terrible at reading the signs seeing as I was so inexperienced in the dating game.
“Are you okay?” he asked, and it took me a moment to realize I’d gone all still and quiet, lost in my own head.
I gave a quick nod, and he passed my chocolate and strawberry-filled trdelník to me.
We both dove in and wandered around the market, browsing the various stalls, and getting immersed in the holiday spirit.
