I nod as I use my napkin to gently pat the sides of my mouth. Not that I need to, but I need to do something because he’s looking at me. Studying me, almost.Like a butterfly pinned to a piece of felt.
‘What?’ Do I have a little on my face?
‘I’m still wondering about tonight.’ My heart jolts unexpectedly somewhere in the vicinity of my panties.Tonight-tonight? After this?
‘What about it?’ I enquire evenly.
‘Aren’t you intrigued as to why our paths have crossed again? Wondering what has brought us together again?’
‘So long as you haven’t been following me, not really,’ I admit.
‘If I’d followed you, I wouldn’t be asking what brought you here tonight. Not many people are aware this place exists.’
‘And if they do, they know they’re not welcome, right?’
‘I’ve made you welcome.’
I shrug, half in agreement. The other half I’m not really sure about. ‘I’m only here because I got a little lost and a lot hungry, and well, that’s pretty much the whole story. Truthfully,’ I add, my gaze anywhere but on his, ‘I’ve had a strange kind of day, and I just wasn’t ready to go home.’ Our conversation pauses as the waiter clears away the dishes, which is now little more than a few crumbs and a smear of horseradish cream.
‘Strange how?’ he questions once we’re alone again.
‘Have you ever had a day when you’re given something in one hand but robbed of something else?’
‘I don’t think we’re ever given anything. We work for it. Swindle sometimes. Beg, borrow, and steal, but in my experience, we’re rarely gifted good things.’
I shrug under the intensity of his gaze, not knowing the answer or even the question. What the hell were we talking about again?
This time, he reaches for the champagne bottle, pouring the last few drops into my glass. ‘It sounds like you found a penny but lost a pound today, as the saying goes. Or was it the other way around?’
‘The more I think about it, the more I’m convinced it’s the penny that rolled out of my grasp.’ Maybe even less as far as values go.
‘So, on the whole, you’re having a good day.’
‘I suppose so,’ I conceded. ‘Even if I have drunk almost a whole bottle of champagne on my own. And on an empty stomach.’
‘You’re not drunk, are you?’ His brows furrow, his gaze sliding to the space behind me. ‘Dinner won’t be long.’ I realise he’s looking for the waiter and our food to appear, which makes me chuckle.
‘Don’t worry, I’m not going to end up face down in my soup.’ To begin with, I didn’t order any. I reach for my neglected water glass.
‘What did the pound represent? Was it business-related or personal?’
‘Business. And don’t ask me what. It’s not a done deal yet, and I don’t want to tempt fate.’
‘So you’re superstitious, too?’ He says this in the vein ofso you’re ridiculous, too?
‘Let’s just say I’m willing to cover all bases right now.’
‘And the penny?’
‘The experience was worth about that amount.’ And that’s all I’ll say about that.
‘Pity.’
‘Tell me about it.’
‘How about you tell me instead.’
I consider it for a moment. I don’t know him, and I’ll probably never see him again. And it’s not like Reggie will be around for a debrief as she’s off to spend time with her boyfriend’s family this weekend. But no, I can’t. It would be too weird.
