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Max chuckled. ‘I’m sure I could think of some more, but that’s not what I was going to say. I was going to say that if you want an excuse to end your date early just give me a signal and I’ll come over.’
Opening and closing her mouth, Brooke stared at him. Who did he think he was? Her knight in shining armour? More like the jester standing there to point fun at her. ‘Thanks, I’ll wave my napkin if I want rescuing.’ Even she could hear the sarcasm dripping from her words.
‘There you are, Beatrice. Shall we order?’ Jeremy smiled, flashing brilliant white teeth.
‘Brooke. It’s Brooke.’ Seriously?
‘Of course, Brooke. I apologise.’ He stared at her as she sat back down before passing her a menu.
Taking the menu, Brooke slumped back in her chair. What was she even doing here? He didn’t even know her name, he’d not asked her one thing about her life, even just how her day was, and he appeared so wrapped up in himself she wasn’t even sure if he’d notice if she’d turned up or not. She looked across at Max. He was talking to someone behind the bar. She recognised them from the dinner. Was it Ollie? Elsie had said Daisy and Ollie owned the restaurant. Sighing, she looked across at Jeremy. She had to at least make it through dinner with him. She was determined not to give Max the satisfaction of admitting the date was a fail. There must be something she had in common with Jeremy. If she could just find out what that was, it might not be a complete fail.
‘What shall I order for you?’
Brooke rolled her eyes. Couldn’t she even order for herself now? Running her finger down the menu, she looked up. ‘I think I’ll order the veggie burger and curly fries. Nope, make that cheesy chips. Yes, I’m going to get the veggie burger and cheesy chips. How about you?’
Jeremy looked at her for a moment before answering. ‘Chicken breast and salad.’
Brooke nodded. ‘Okay.’
Turning in his chair, Jeremy held his hand in the air and clicked his fingers. ‘Have another drink, Bea... Brooke and I’ll order.’ He glanced down at her half-empty wine glass.
Keeping her eyes fixed on the red liquid in her glass, she avoided all eye contact with the server who took their order, just thankful that it hadn’t been Daisy who Jeremy had clicked his fingers at. Slipping her hands under the table, she pulled the cuff of her cardigan up and looked at her watch. She’d only been in Jeremy’s company for twenty minutes. She still had to wait for the food to be cooked and then they had to eat it, have a few minutes of polite conversation after they’d eaten before she could finally make an excuse not to go on for drinks. Even the thought of ten minutes more in his company made her skin crawl; she didn’t think she could cope with an hour, maybe two.
‘I don’t mean to be rude and I’m only saying this because I know so many people who don’t really think about the food they’re putting into their bodies, so, given the opportunity, I feel duty bound to teach people. You see, I took a food nutrition course last year and feel thankful that I’m now in a position to share the knowledge they taught me. With that in mind, would you mind if I gave you a few pointers on your menu choices for the future?’ Leaning forward, Jeremy gripped his hands together.
‘My menu choices?’ She could feel the deep crimson of embarrassment flush across her face, soon turning to anger. He wanted to give her pointers on what she should or shouldn’t eat? Seriously? Who did he think he was?
‘We can start with the cheese. Now, as you may know, cheese can be an excellent source of protein, but...’
Brooke picked up her napkin, glanced across to the bar and waved her hand, the napkin wafting against her wrist. Max could tease her all he wanted. She really didn’t care, she just wanted out. She just wanted an excuse to get away from the arrogant man opposite her.
‘... as for the carbohydrates in the chips...’
Look, Max. Look. She raised her arm higher, suddenly not caring if her date did notice what she was trying to do. Not that he had. He was so wrapped up in his own thoughts, so mesmerised by his own voice, he probably wouldn’t notice if the fire alarms went off and the sprinkler system soaked them all.
‘... of course...’
This was ridiculous. Max couldn’t offer to rescue her from her date and then get so wrapped up in conversation with Ollie that he didn’t even glance at her.
‘... the vegetables...’
Nope, she didn’t need this. She didn’t need Max either. Well, she might do for a minute or two if she was going to draw a line under this date, but she didn’t need him to make the move to rescue her. She could do that herself. She felt cruel, but Jeremy didn’t care one iota about her. She could literally have been anyone. He just needed someone to talk at, not to. Throwing her napkin down, she stood up. ‘I’m so sorry, Jeremy. This has been lovely, but I’ve just spotted my ex and I’ve realised that I’m really not over him. I’ll pay for dinner, but I really must go now.’
‘...food...’ Jeremy paused, blinked, and looked up at her. ‘But don’t you want to hear what else I have to say? I really think my knowledge could benefit you.’
Brooke opened and closed her mouth. How was she supposed to reply to that? He wasn’t bothered about her ending the date early, but was upset she wasn’t letting him finish his lecture? This was ridiculous. Without looking back, she took the few short steps to the bar and tapped Max on the shoulder.
Turning, Max lowered his glass and frowned.
‘Thanks for noticing my manic napkin waving.’
‘Beatrice, one final note...’
Rolling her eyes, Brooke cupped her hands behind Max’s neck and pulled him towards her, kissing him hard on the lips.
‘I see. I’d better leave. Please feel more than welcome to message me if you’d like me to go over any of the nutrition details I’ve been speaking about.’
Opening her eyes momentarily, she looked into Max’s eyes. He had a pale grey ring around his iris before the colour merged into a deep brown. She hadn’t noticed that before. She kept her voice to barely a whisper, her lips mere millimetres from his. ‘Is this okay?’
