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“Is it good?” he asked.

She gave a shrug. “Not my cup of tea. Cindy, what do you think about the pumpernickel?” she called over her shoulder to another server wiping a table down.

“It’s kind of ass.”

Chris glanced at me, and we shared an amused look.

“What do you think?” he asked.

“Pumpernickel’s rye, right? I like rye,” I said.

“Me too,” Chris said. “Ass can be subjective. We’ll take it.”

The waitress mouthed “Ass can be subjective” while she wrote the order down. Then she grabbed our menus and left.

“I’m not really his girlfriend,” I said once she was out of earshot.

He lowered his coffee cup. “Oh. Sorry. I just didn’t know how else to—”

“It’s fine. We’re just seeing each other right now. It’s not anything official.”

“Noted. Do you have a pen?”

“I think so.” I dug in my purse and handed him a generic ballpoint. He started writing on a napkin.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

“Making a bread-ranking scoreboard.”

I watched him with amusement while he drew a grid. “You’re really serious about this,” I said.

“Aren’t you? This is important work we’re doing.”

He finished the tally sheet while I emptied three vanilla creamers into my mug. I took a long swallow and the calories and caffeine flooded my system like liquid energy. I felt instantly better.

When he was done with the scoreboard, I took the napkin and started drawing a floral border around it.

“So I need to know,” he said, sipping his coffee. “How did you end up barefoot with Lexi at a Jaxon Waters concert?”

“Someone threw up on her boots in the bathroom,” I said, shading a daisy. “They could not be saved.”

“So you gave her your shoes?”

“I did. One of us had to piggyback the other one out, and she’s stronger.”

“Did you get your shoes back?”

“Yes. She returned them the next day—but it was touch and go for a while there. She is known to take things. Mostly hoodies.” I held up the napkin to show him my sketch. He gave me an approving nod.

“Did you know Lexi before you started working together at the diner?”

“Yeah. We used to live in the same building,” I said. “She got me the job.”

“Do you like working at Donna’s?” he asked.

I shrugged. “I like the hours. I’m a morning person.”

He scoffed. “I’m not.”