Witchy Sour(43)

“Hold on a second, I’ll be right with you.” The same blonde who’d taken Ranger X’s order passed by me, turning to look over her shoulder as she waltzed down the path. She shouted to someone else I couldn’t see. “Benny, get back in here. Your break’s over, and we’ve got customers waiting.”

I stood off to the side as she turned around and waltzed back.

“Sorry,” she said with another smile. “It’s not a busy night, but Ben likes to ‘vanish’ and take a few sips of the Kool-Aid from our extra supplies if you know what I mean. Can I help you?”

I laughed. “Oh, no thanks—I’m okay. I was just out for an evening stroll.”

“You hungry? We have extra seats.” She thumbed upstairs. “Tacos are on special tonight. Really tasty and pretty inexpensive.”

I hesitated. It wasn’t like I was hankering to go home and cook a meal for one. Ranger X and I were allowed to eat at the same restaurant, even if he didn’t want my company. “Sure. I’d love to try the tacos.”

“Great! Follow me.” She grabbed a menu and flounced up the stairs. I hurried to keep up as she twirled into the main room. “Where would you like to sit?”

I planned to tell her I’d take a seat at the bar. Somehow, it felt rude to intrude on X’s dinner, even if he had invited me. What did I know? Maybe he’d handed my invitation off to someone else. That’d be awkward. However, as I glanced past the server and began to request the bar, my gaze landed once more on Ranger X. The expression on his face, peaceful, but maybe a bit lonely, did the trick. “Actually, I see one of my friends. May I go say hi first?”

The server’s face fell a bit, and this time her smile wasn’t as friendly. “Oh, the table in the corner? Sure. I just took his order. Have a seat and I’ll be right over.”

I suspected her fallen expression had something to do with the fact that Ranger X was not only the most handsome man in the bar by tenfold, but he was also the only man under retirement age.

Hesitantly, I made my way across the restaurant as if the floor might crack and shatter at any given moment. It wasn’t until I was a few steps away that Ranger X noticed my presence. He did a double take as I neared his table, and I gave a shy wave which he returned with a lopsided smile.

“Fancy running into you here,” I said. “How’s it going?”

“You mean, since I last saw you an hour ago?”

“Only an hour? Time flies.”

He smiled, but didn’t offer for me to sit down. “What brings you around here?”

I coughed, a sound that rang false to my own ears, and tried to ignore the prickling sense of embarrassment creeping down my neck. “Just out for a stroll.”

“Nice night for a stroll.”

“Yeah, it is.” I paused. “Well, have a good dinner, X. It was nice to see you. Thanks again for the tour today.”

Feeling overwhelmed with stupidity, I wished that I could sink into the glass floor and dissolve until I was transparent underfoot. What had I been thinking? He’d probably already made a date with someone else. Likely he’d only asked me earlier since I’d been the convenient option.

“Do you want to sit down?” he called after I’d taken a few steps away. “There’s an open seat here.”

“For me?”

He grinned. “Come eat. The menu is great here.”

I walked back to the table and slid into the seat, lowering my voice. “Are you sure you’re not expecting someone else?”

“The only reason I didn’t ask you to sit right away is because I thought that you were here with your friend.”

I did a mental facepalm. “Even after I told you I didn’t have a date, you thought I had a date?”

“You said you had plans with someone else.” He shrugged. “How did I know? I’m sure you have men around The Isle clambering to take you out. This is the best restaurant in town, so it’s not an unlikely scenario.”

“Me? What about you?”

“We’re not talking about me. Even if we were, I’m not exactly into men.”

I laughed. “Women. The rumors say there’s a line halfway around The Isle for a date with you.”

“You can jump straight to the front every time. I’ll allow it.”

We carried on easy small talk. By the time the server came back to take my order, I was hardly bothered by her frown and snippy tone.

“The shrimp, please,” I said, pointing to an entree I couldn’t pronounce.

“How about two glasses of wine?” X raised an eyebrow at me. “Sound good?”