Eli sighed. “I can’t even joke about it. It would have been terrible.”
Their food was brought to the table, and they both ate in silence. It wasn’t until both of their plates were almost empty before Eli spoke up.
“Is your family still in Denver?”
Molly nodded and finished chewing the food in her mouth before swallowing and taking a drink of water. “They are. It’s just my parents. I’m an only child.”
“How did they feel about you moving here?”
“Fine. They didn’t have too much of an opinion on it.” She shrugged. “They understood why I wanted to go, but I think they hope I’ll come back to take over the family business. I’m worried I’m disappointing them. They haven’t spoken to me much since I left.”
She knew answering that question would open a whole can of worms, where she needed to explain, but with Eli it felt different. She didn’t mind telling him all about her life. For so long she felt judgment from people around her who knew who her parents were. They were powerful in Denver, but even if Eli knew them, she didn’t think he’d judge.
“Have you tried talking to them about it?”
She shook her head. “No. They’re busy.”
He tilted his head. “Obviously, I don’t know them, but I’m sure they’d love to hear from you.”
“Maybe,” she said softly. Not talking to her parents had been harder on her than she let on. It weighed on her to think she was disappointing them.
“What kind of business is it?”
She smiled softly, thankful he had changed the subject. “They run the business analyst company I used to work for.”
Eli leaned back in his chair and studied her. “Do you plan to go back eventually?”
Molly would love to say “yes” to that question. To be exactly what her parents wanted and to take over their company. But her heart just wasn’t in it. Right now, her heart was in Storyville, working for a cafe.
It was what her body needed: a break.
“No. It’s not for me, and I’m enjoying the slower pace here.”
In the short time she had been there, Storyville was becoming her home, and she had no intention of leaving.
The date had been going well.Molly was a fun person to talk to. She was incredibly intelligent and far too smart to be working in a cafe, but he understood why she wanted to do something else. He took his work home with him far too often. Constantly worrying about selling enough books to pay the bills and keep them afloat stressed him out. He could usually lose himself in a book to forget for a while, but it always gnawed at the back of his mind.
After their dinner, they went to the rooftop bar. The retractable roof was currently open to the night sky. A gasfireplace was lit in the center of their table, putting off enough heat to keep them warm.
“It’s so beautiful here,” Molly said. “I love that I can see the stars so clearly.”
Eli watched her staring up at the sky with a soft smile on her face.
“Molly?”
“Hmm?” She met his eyes, and he wanted to reach across the table and take her hand, but the fire hindered it.
“I want this to be a real date.”
She furrowed her eyebrows. “A real one?”
His throat felt as if it were thickening, and he had to swallow to clear it. “Yes. I want this to count as an actual date. Not just one for show. Or we can have a redo, and I’ll do it properly.”
“I’m pretty sure you’ve already done it properly. You brought me flowers.”
He smiled. “You deserve them.”
She blushed. “I think I’d like that. Going on a real date.”
