"Ah, yes," Heath replied, his face impassive but he shifted slightly in his chair, and Drew knew he hated being recognized.
"I sincerely hate to trouble you," Sophie went on. "My boyfriend is probably your biggest fan. Would you…would you mind?" She tentatively extended a scrap of paper and a pen out to him.
"Not at all," Heath said, taking the paper and the pen. "What's his name?"
"Ben," Sophie replied. "And thank you so much. I really hate to bother you, but he would never let me hear the end of it if I didn't get your autograph."
Heath smirked a little and signed his name to the paper, then handed it over. "Thank you," Sophie said fervently.
"No problem," Heath replied. When she went away, he sighed. Drew laughed at him.
"You're a hometown celebrity," she said. "You have to get used to things like this."
"Bullshit," Heath countered, taking a sip of his water. He shook his head. "I hate that sort of thing. Not that I want to be an asshole to people who support me. I just hate being looked at like…that."
"I understand," Drew said.
Sophie returned with her glass of Shiraz and set it down gently in front of her. "Just wanted to let you know, I told the chefs to prioritize your order," she said with a slightly sheepish smile. She looked at Heath. "Thanks again."
"You didn't have to do that," Drew exclaimed. "But thank you."
"No problem at all," Sophie said emphatically. "You two are so dressed up, I thought maybe you might be heading to the ballet tonight. So many diners in here are, and they need to get out of here in time to make it for the show."
"Oh, ah, no, we're not," Drew said. She smiled. "So really, you didn't have to put any priority on our order."
"We appreciate that, though," Heath spoke up quickly. "Very nice of you."
"Oh," Sophie continued brightly. "Well, it was my pleasure. The least I can do for disrupting you. Let me know if you'd like anything besides water," she added. "It's on the house."
"No, no," Heath said hastily. "No, thanks."
"Wow, chef priority and free drinks, all for an autograph," Drew teased when Sophie left. She nudged him playfully with the toe of her heel under the table. "I guess I'm rolling with the big-shots."
Heath laughed ruefully. "Right." He sipped at his water again and tore a roll in half, then tore the half in half again and set it on his plate. He laughed when Drew looked at him scornfully and grabbed a full roll and sliced it open, and began slathering it with the seasoned, whipped herb butter that accompanied it while looking at him pointedly.
"I wish I could be like you, I do," he chuckled.
"And I'm so glad I don't have to torture myself like you," she replied. She took a bite of her roll, the flavor of the herb butter making her close her eyes. "Mm. I'd die without bread. Or pasta. I'm Italian, after all."
Heath watched her with a half-smile. "So at the risk of bringing up a sore subject," he began, "what's this ballet all about, anyway?"
Drew set her roll down and took a sip of her wine. "Giselle is about this young and beautiful peasant girl who meets this duke," she explained. "He's disguised himself as a fellow villager because he sees her and falls in love with her, even though he's engaged to someone else. Giselle falls in love with him, too. She eventually meets his fiancée, not knowing who she really is, or who he really is. When she finds out, she dies of a broken heart." Drew had a dreamy smile on her face. "And that's all just the first act. The second act is about her spirit rising from the grave to find the duke and forgive him for his deception."
Heath was more interested in the softness that had come to her face when she spoke about the ballet, but he cleared his throat. "Sounds interesting," he replied. "Maybe if it's a traveling show, you'll get to see it in another city sometime."
Drew's smile turned wistful again. "Maybe." She tore off another piece of her roll with her fingers. "If not, it's okay. Like I said, I've seen it before, and I have it on DVD. I just love that ballet so much. I saw it for the first time when I was so young and it inspired me to grow up and become a ballerina." She ate the little bit of roll she'd pulled off and took another sip of wine. "So, are you starting to get nervous for your tournament?"
It was obvious she wanted to change the subject but Heath appreciated the question anyway. "Nervous?" he repeated. "No. Not really nervous. Just focused. And honestly, ready to get it over with. I sparred with Connor the other day and it went pretty good."