“Wonderful,” our waiter said.“Tonight’s wild game specialties are Lac Brome Roast Duck, Alberta ten-ounce Bison Rib Eye Steak, and Alberta Wild Boar Ribs.We also have a wide range of drink choices.My personal favourite is our eighteen-year-old Glenlivet.It’s perfect for frosty nights like this.”
“Oh, that sounds nice,” Jack said.“I’ll have a glass of that, please.Neat.How about you, Lily?”
“I’ll have the same, if that’s alright,” I said.“Thank you.”
The waiter dipped his head, then handed us the menus and left.
Jack glanced at me with a raised brow, and I laughed.“I’m also a bartender.So, I’m no stranger to good whisky.”
He pressed his free hand against his chest.“A woman after my own heart.Where do you bartend?”
Shit.Shit.I shouldn’t have said that.Not even Jazz knew about my second job.This whole dating thing was really throwing me off my game.“Just a small hole in the wall no one knows about,” I said.Clearing my throat, I started perusing the menu.“So, Jack.What do you do?”
“I’m a compliance officer,” he said.
I glanced up from the menu with a raised brow.“And what is that, exactly?”
“I make sure companies follow all the rules and regulations.It’s a lot of reading through legal documents.”
“So, you’re like the company’s moral compass?Do you get to bust a lot of bad guys?”
He smiled.“Not exactly.It’s more like nudging people back onto the right path before they go too far astray.But it’s satisfying to catch things early and prevent bigger problems.”
I nodded, intrigued.“That does sound interesting.I bet you’ve seen some pretty shady stuff.”
Jack grinned.“Oh, definitely.There was this one time a company tried to cover up a huge environmental violation.They had all these fake documents, but they forgot one crucial detail that gave them away.I felt a bit like a detective.”
I laughed.“I can imagine you with a magnifying glass, inspecting clues.Do you wear a deerstalker hat like Sherlock, too?”
He played along, pretending to tip an imaginary hat.“Elementary, my dear Lily.But enough about me.What about you?What do you do when you’re not bartending or working as a barista?”
“I’m afraid two jobs don’t leave me much time to do much else,” I said, snickering.
“There has to be something you do for fun,” he commented.
I hesitated, not wanting to delve into my secrets.“I do enjoy knitting.”
Jack’s eyes twinkled with amusement.“Knitting, huh?I wouldn’t have pegged you for a knitter.”
I shrugged.“Everyone needs a hobby.And it’s surprisingly therapeutic.Plus, it keeps me out of trouble.”Sort of.More like it kept Vol out of trouble, but I couldn’t tell Jack about my imp.
Jack raised an eyebrow.“I can’t imagine you getting into any trouble.”
“Oh, you’d be surprised,” I said with a laugh.
The waiter returned with our drinks and placed them on the table.“Have you decided what you’d like to order?”
I waved at Jack.“You go first.I’ll decide while you order.”
Jack nodded, then started to order the wild boar ribs.Mid-order, he stopped and shot me a wide-eyed glance.“Are you a vegetarian?”
I snorted a soft laugh.“No, not at all.”
“Phew,” he said.“Not that there’s anything wrong with being a vegetarian.I just wouldn’t want to force you to sit here and watch me eat meat if you weren’t into that.”
Something inside me melted.I didn’tknowJack beyond his coffee order and the few pleasantries we’d exchanged over the year, but from the way he’d handled the customer at the coffee shop and the way he was behaving tonight, I could tell he was a considerate guy.Handsome, kind, funny…which one of us was the actual angel here?
Once Jack finished ordering, the waiter turned to me.I thought I’d be able to make a choice rather quickly, but once I started eyeing the prices, my nerves came back to life.Jack’s rib order was forty-four dollars, plus his whisky.Add in my drink, and whatever meal I ordered—none of which were cheap—and the bill would easily come to more than a hundred-and-fifty dollars tonight.For someone like me, who usually survived on pennies, this was rather intimidating.
