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Damn. Brick to gut.
She smiles then. “But I figure what’s going to happen will happen.”
A grin splits my face. “That’s a great attitude, Ava. A great attitude for sure.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
AVA
It’s not a lie, either. To be sure, our age difference was something that concerned me…until I drew that tarot card right before our date. The knight of cups.
It’s telling me not to get swept away.
Which means I’ll be tempted to get swept away, despite the age difference or anything else. I’ll be cautious. Or try to be, anyway.
Brendan’s so funny. He got a little red when he was talking to me about how he canceled the date with Sadie last night.
I’m not angry with him. Sure, he shouldn’t have accepted the date if he wasn’t interested, but at least he didn’t keep it. He just should have told her the truth right away. But that would have hurt Sadie’s feelings. He was trying to be nice.
Of course, Sadie ended up finding out anyway, so her feelings were hurt.
Honesty is always the best policy. That’s what my family always says.
So I’ll be honest with myself. There’s a spark here. A spark with Brendan Murphy that I haven’t felt in a long time, if ever.
And I’ll keep the tarot card in mind. I’ll try not to be swept away.
But my God, he’s handsome. Handsome in such an unconventional way.
Sadie returns then. “Here are your waters and your bourbon, Brendan.”
Brendan smiles. A wide smile that shows off his perfectly straight teeth and full lips. Dark-auburn stubble graces his jawline.
“Thank you,” he says.
“Yes, thank you, Sadie,” I agree.
“Are the two of you ready to order?”
“I think we’ll both have the eggplant parmesan,” Brendan says. “Sound good, Ava?”
Normally, I would be a little miffed that a guy ordered for me, but when Brendan does it? It just seems gentlemanly. I’m not upset at all. After all, I told him what I wanted.
“Yes,” I say. “It’s my favorite.”
“Anything else? Some garlic bread?”
Brendan looks at me with his eyebrows raised.
“No, thank you.”
“Right,” Sadie says. “You’re the baker, aren’t you?”
“Guilty,” I say.
“Lisa makes her bread from scratch, from one of her ancestors’ recipes. I can see why you wouldn’t want to try it.”
I wrinkle my forehead. “I love Lisa’s bread. I just don’t want any garlic bread.”
“Oh,” Sadie says. “I’ll bring you a breadbasket then.”
Once Sadie’s gone, I regard Brendan. “You sure pissed her off.”
“I know. This isn’t turning out to be a very good date, is it?”
“I think you need to apologize to her,” I say.
“Ava…”
I dig in my heels. “Just go. Take her outside. Tell her you’re sorry, that you shouldn’t have accepted the date when you were interested in someone else.”
“God.” He sighs. “This is something I really have to do, isn’t it?”
“That’s really your own call,” I say. “But it’s what I would do.”
Honesty is always the best policy.
How many times have my mother and father drummed that into my head? It was a mantra growing up in the Ryan and Ruby Steel household.
“I’ll do what you ask,” Brendan says. “But she’s working.”
“I know that. It doesn’t have to be right now. You just need to apologize to her. If you notice that she goes on break, you can do it then. Otherwise you’ll have to call her or go to see her outside of work.”
Brendan nods. “You’re right. I’ll take care of it.”
I smile with satisfaction. Brendan Murphy is a good man. I’ve always known that. The fact that he was trying to let Sadie down easily isn’t really a problem. The problem is that he shouldn’t have accepted the date in the first place.
He takes a sip of his bourbon and smiles.
A wave of warmth settles over me.
Oh boy…
I do need to heed the warnings of the card.
A busboy arrives with a basket of bread, and then he pours some olive oil on a small plate for dipping and sprinkles some salt and pepper on top of it.
I grab a slice of bread. I wasn’t lying when I told Sadie that I love Lisa’s bread. It’s like a French baguette, only softer. I have no idea why Sadie thought I wouldn’t eat anyone’s bread but my own. She’s probably just being pissy because I’m here with Brendan.
Brendan moves to take a piece as well when his phone rings.
He pulls it out of his pocket and takes a look.
“Do you mind if I take this? It’s Hardy. Maybe something new on my case.”
“No, that’s fine.”
He smiles at me and then puts the phone to his ear. “Hey, Hardy. What’s going on?”
Pause.
“I’m kind of in the middle of something.”
Pause.
“All right. Hold on for a moment.” He turns to me. “Hardy’s got some stuff at the station that he needs me to look at. He says it’s important that I look right away.”
“Oh.” I try not to let my disappointment show too much. “I assume it’s involving your case, so I understand. Go.”
