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She swipes two waffles off my plate and places them on hers. My jaw drops. In all my days, I’ve never… ever… had a woman steal my food. No one has dared. I’m not sure I’m a fan of it.

“Oh, stop looking at me like I’ve ruined your birthday. I have to get my eighteen thousand worth.”

“You’re a monster,” I deadpan, but she walks away from me, filling her plate like she’s done nothing wrong.

“You know how Joey from Friends doesn’t share food?”

“Yeah, yeah.” She rolls her eyes. “Let me guess… Colby doesn’t share food either?”

“That smart doctor brain of yours sure figures things out fast.”

She looks up like she’s about to say something but her attention snags on something behind me. “You’ve got to be kidding me.” She sets her place down and walks over to where a large photo of me hangs on the yellow wall.

She reads the plaque below the framed photo, out loud, “From Knight to Pancake Palace Prince! Colby Knight breaks the record for most pancakes eaten in one hour.”

The picture was taken a year ago, I have a napkin tucked into the neck of my t-shirt and I’m grinning. There’s even a sprinkle of powdered sugar on my chin.

Noel peeks over her shoulder at me. “Sometimes I can’t wrap my mind around the fact that you’re a successful adult.”

CHAPTER 8

NOEL

Colby and I are seated back at the booth now. The waitress that gawked at him earlier keeps peeking her head out of the kitchen and staring. Colby’s angled away from her and doesn’t appear to notice.

I watch as he dumps six little cinnamon roll creamer tubs into his coffee until it’s practically white.

“What?” he asks, looking up and noticing how I’m watching him. “You don’t use creamer?”

“I do use creamer. But I prefer to taste the coffee also.”

“The taste of coffee is overrated. It’s just a warm substance to pour yummy creamer into.”

I shake my head; this man always leaves me stumped for words. Glancing down at my enormous plate of food, my mouth nearly salivates. I add some butter and syrup to my stack of waffles and dig in, shoving a large bite into my mouth. The perks of being on a not-date, you can be messy.

“I love how much you eat,” Colby says before guzzling half of his creamer-coffee. “I hate seeing girls pick at their food, like that’s going to make them more appealing somehow.”

I swallow down my bite. “It’s ladylike to eat like a bird.” I pick up my coffee cup gently, making sure my pinkie is out, then take a dainty sip.

Colby throws his head back with a hearty laugh.

“Speaking of girls...” I hedge, poking my fork into the pile of food on my plate.

Colby calms down and wipes at his mouth with his napkin. “Okay…”

I shift in my seat, suddenly feeling awkward and uncomfortable. It’s then I realize, I’ve actually felt at ease here with Colby. I think I was even enjoying myself. Like we were something akin to… friends.

“I could use your expertise in the relationship department,” I blurt before I can chicken out.

Colby stares blankly back at me for what seems like a whole minute. He finally breaks the silence. “You think I’m a relationship expert?”

“Not a relationship expert, but perhaps, an expert on what makes men and women attracted to one another. And maybe even”—I swallow, my throat feeling thick—“how to do the attracting.”

His eyebrows shoot up to the thick, dark waves resting on his forehead. “You don’t think you’re attractive?”

I roll my eyes. “It’s not that I think I’m unattractive. It’s just. Well—”

“Spit it out, Noel.” He sets his now-empty coffee mug on the table.