“But it wasn’t so bad, eh?” her mother replied.
“It was fine, I suppose.”
“So, you like him?” her father asked.
Annika stopped scrubbing and turned to face her parents. They stopped what they were doing and looked at her expectantly. “He’s a nice guy. But that doesn’t mean that I ‘like’ him.” She made sure to use air quotes around the wordlike. “There’s no...spark.” An image of Chopper Guy suddenly flashed in her mind.
“That spark will come. You’ll see.” Her mother was beaming.
“Mom. Seriously, nothing has changed.” She made eye contact with them both. “Don’t do this again.”
They weren’t listening to her. They were already envisioning how great it would be to have Sajan in their family. She saw it in their eyes. They were happy. Their happiness soothed her troubled heart.
Maybe she should give Sajan a chance.
Chopper Guy’s laugh echoed in her ear, putting a small smile on her face.
Maybe.
CHAPTER SEVEN
DANIEL
ATTHEBUZZ, Daniel reached over and grabbed his phone from his nightstand. It was one of only a few pieces of furniture in his apartment.
The phone screen displayed a text from his sister.Are you up? Don’t forget to eat.
Daniel closed his eyes and lay back in bed. He’d been having a great dream starring the one and only Annika. His sister’s text had interrupted right at the good part, and he wanted to get back to it.
No dice. The phone buzzed again, demanding his attention. He threw a text back.Overnight shift. I’ll eat.
He got out of bed and hit the shower. By the time he got home from his overnight, it had been close to 8:00 a.m., and he had crashed.
Annika had seemed fine at the bar the other night. No need to go back again. It wasn’t as though he was looking for a girlfriend. He’d tried that already and it hadn’t worked out. Since then, he simply dealt in the occasional one-night stand. But Annika Mehta was not a one-night stand.
Though hehadjust promised his sister he would eat. And there wasn’t any food in his apartment. Mrs. P. seemed like a great cook. Maybe he’d head over to the bar for more of that soup. A man had to eat, right? If Annika happened to be there, well, then, she was there.
Daniel hopped on his motorcycle and took a route through the city that landed him in front of Phil’s Place. Huh. Might as well go in now. Hewashungry. And Emma would be calling to check up on him anyway.
His stomach lurched in anticipation of seeing Annika again. He walked in to find the place as busy as it had been the last time he’d been in. It was almost five, afternoon was giving way to evening, and the bar bustled with happy-hour energy. In no time, Daniel scanned the room and found the ponytail he’d been looking for. She caught his eye, and at her smile, nerves that had been on edge since his last visit settled. He walked up to the bar and sat down.
“You’ll have to move over two seats.” Bobby was looking at him, eyebrows raised.
“What?”
“Move over two seats—” he indicated the desired stool “—and you’ll be in Annika’s section.”
Daniel flushed. “Oh, I didn’t come here for... I mean...the soup the other night was so good. I thought I’d—”
Bobby stared him down and waited patiently for him to finish rambling. Sensing defeat, Daniel stood and moved down two seats into Annika’s section. Bobby’s expression did not change, but he bellowed out, “Annika, someone in your section.”
As Bobby walked back to the register, he looked Daniel in the eye. “You’re welcome.”
Before Daniel could answer, Annika was in front of him. “Didn’t have enough stare time with your bourbon?”
He chuckled. “Actually, I will have another. And whatever your next recommendation is on the menu.”
“Today, Mrs. P. is making Cubans. Hence the crowd. You may have to wait.”
