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“Let me get this straight,” Felix said with a tone of voice that communicated exactly how unamused he was. “You want us to have lunch at a restaurant called Read ‘Em and Eat?”
“A bistro,” Ingrid corrected him, unfazed. “And I don’t see what the—”
“No.”
“Fine,” Ingrid huffed and glanced around the breakroom. “Dimitri?”
“It sounds lovely,” Dimitri replied. “But I have an excess of leftover spaghetti, and—”
Ingrid didn’t let him finish. “Sylvain?”
Sylvain shook his head. “Sorry, Ingrid, but I got a date at that place that sells jumbo shrimp by the bucket.”
“Alright.” She sighed. “I’ll just go without you guys. I’ll see you after lunch.”
“You’re still joining us for Thursday night drinks, though, right?” Sylvain asked.
“I’ll be there,” she replied before exiting the breakroom.
Read ‘Em and Eat was a classy little establishment, with deep mahogany flooring, fancy light bulbs, and shelves lined with colorful arrays of paperbacks. The prices were reasonable and the book collection was nothing to scoff at. From classic whodunits to high fantasy to trashy romance, there was no shortage of reading material to be found.
Ingrid munched on her chicken wrap, taking utmost care not to get any sauce or chip dust onto the book. It was an old novel, one that she’d already read before.
She carefully set the book down on the table and let her eyes wander the bistro. It was quiet, with the silence only occasionally broken by the clinking of cutlery or the crunch of chips. To her left was an old lady reading what seemed to be a bodice ripper, and to her right was a guy reading—
Was that The Sword of Kyphon in his hands?
A second glance showed that, yes, it was The Sword of Kyphon.
Despite it topping several best-seller lists when it was published, Ingrid had yet to meet anyone else who had read it and loved it. Sylvain and Dimitri were “casual fans” (they watched the movie with her and found it enjoyable enough) and Felix had voiced his disdain for both the book and the movie enough times that Ingrid just stopped mentioning it in his presence.
She took another look at the guy. Based on the suit jacket hanging off the back of his chair, the skinny tie hanging loosely around his neck, and the rolled-up sleeves, he was here on lunch break, just like her. But more important than that was the discovery that he was actually kind of cute, with messily combed silver hair and olive green eyes. Ingrid had no strong opinions on freckles, but she liked them on him.
She looked away, lest he glance up and catch her staring. But he simply turned the page, caught up in the book. Not that she could blame him—it was a great book.
It was much more difficult to focus on her reading after acknowledging that there was a handsome stranger just a few feet away from her, captivated by one of the greatest books of all time. Chance encounters such as these were hard to come by, and Ingrid hated wasting anything.
It was probably for the best that her friends didn’t join her for lunch.
Before she could second-guess herself, Ingrid said, “That’s a great book.”
He glanced up. “I beg your pardon?”
Saints, he was so polite.
“The Sword of Kyphon,” Ingrid continued. “I first read it in high school and just fell in love with it.”
He cracked an eager smile. “Really? I started reading it in high school, too! I finished it in three days. I just couldn’t put it down.”
Ingrid scooted a bit closer. “Which part are you on right now?”
“I’m at the part of the War of the Eagle and the Lion,” he replied. “It’s my favorite part in the whole book.”
“Mine as well!” Ingrid grinned. “There was so much build-up, and you could really feel all the tension. I was hanging onto every word in that scene.”
He shut the book and leaned in a bit to bridge the gap between them. “I’ve gotta ask: how did you feel about the movie?”
“I dragged my friends to see it on the first day, and I loved it. They really did such a great job bringing the book to life.”
His smile widened. “My thoughts exactly! I wasn’t sure how they would pull it off, but they did. I was blown away.”
Ingrid giggled. “I don’t know how many times I’ve watched the movie.”
“Me neither.” He chuckled and took a bite from his club sandwich. “What are you reading?”
Ingrid lifted her paperback off the table. “The Moon Knight’s Tale.”
His olive green eyes lit up. “I love that book! Have you read it before?”
“I have. The plot twist at the end really hit me when I first read it.”
“Your thoughts on the movie?”
She felt her face scrunch up in disgust. “It sucked. They butchered the Moon Knight’s characterization, cut out nearly half of the important plot points, and miscast pretty much everyone.”
“I hated that movie.” He let out another laugh and took another bite from his sandwich.
Ingrid finished the rest of her chicken wrap and tried to ignore the way her cheeks burned. Giddy enthusiasm settled in her chest, and she wanted nothing more than to geek out with this cute stranger for a few more minutes. But when she looked back at him, he was fishing a few bills out of his wallet and paying his check.
She barely had time to register his wave goodbye before she realized that she never got his name.
“Let me get this straight,” Sylvain said with a tone of voice that communicated exactly how confused he was. “You don’t want to join us for lunch at the Chicken and Cheese Hut?”
“I’m not really in the mood for chicken,” Ingrid replied. “Or cheese.”
Sylvain raised a curious eyebrow. “Really?”
“Really.”
“Well, if you’re sure,” Sylvain replied with a frown. “Catch ya later, then.”
Ten minutes later, Ingrid was back at Read ‘Em and Eat.
She looked around the bistro, hoping to see the stranger from yesterday. The cute guy with impeccable taste. She really wished she’d gotten his name.
But the bistro was nearly empty, and she tried to smother the disappointment that lingered in her chest when she realized he wasn’t around.
The cheesy chicken fingers she’d ordered were delicious, but Ingrid still couldn’t shake the vaguely upsetting feeling that she’d missed her chance at connection. Every time she glanced up from her book, she was greeted by the sight of the nearly empty bistro.
Her chicken fingers were finished before she realized it, and she bit back a sigh. She paid the bill and stepped out onto the sidewalk, only to very nearly bump into him.
“Hey there!” he said cheerily. “You must really like the food here to come two days in a row.”
“The food’s great.” She smiled. “The company’s better.”
Ew. Ingrid could hardly believe the words she was saying, and tried not to wince at how Sylvain she sounded.
Luckily, he didn’t seem to notice. Instead, a pretty pink blush bloomed on his cheeks. He must have had casual Fridays where he worked. Gone were the crisp suit and tie from yesterday. Now he was dressed in a navy blue hoodie layered over a checkered shirt.
Ingrid shoved her hands into her jacket.
“I never got your name,” she said.
He cracked a sheepish smile. “Yeah, sorry about that. I only realized halfway on my walk back to work. My name’s Ashe.”
She smiled right back and extended her hand towards him. “Ingrid.”
His hand was warm, and rougher than she expected given his decidedly un-rugged looks. Not that she was thinking about how soft his hands would be or anything.
“It’s nice to meet you again,” she said. “I gotta head back, but I’d love to chat again soon.”
“If you, uh…” he trailed off and cleared his throat. “If I could get your number, we could. Chat again soon, I mean. If you’d like.”
Her smile widened, and she pulled out a pen from her pocket. “I’d love that, actually.”
This went on for a month. Ashe and Ingrid met for lunch at Read ‘Em and Eat, exchanging stories and recommendations over Faerghan dip sandwiches and fries. Over the course of several shared meals, she slowly began to find out little things about him. His love for cooking and cats. His two siblings who he loved more than anything in the world. The way his eyes crinkled in the corners whenever he laughed.
She also found out just how much she enjoyed his company.
It ran a little deeper than the obscure inside jokes they cracked, the way he always seemed to know what she was trying to say, the way her heart beat just a little bit faster when he smiled.
She wanted something more, even if she wasn’t sure how to ask for it. And there were a million other things she’d rather do before asking Sylvain for advice.
How hard could it be, really? They were at the stage where they were ordering meals for two. That had to count for something.
But as she watched him munch on a slice of artisan pizza, nothing came to mind. For all her love of tales of valor and fearlessness, she was helplessly tongue-tied.
Start small, Ingrid told herself. Ask him to dinner.
“Do you want to get dinner?” she asked.
He put his pizza down and chuckled. “It’s only lunch and you’re already thinking about dinner?”
This was already going swimmingly. “Some other time, I mean. We could go to this place I know with delicious seafood, or this—”
“Like a date?”
Time seemed to stand still. His eyes were wide, curious.
“Yeah,” she replied. “Like a date.”
“Oh.” He blushed weakly. And then he began to laugh.
Ingrid could feel her spirit deflating, and she pulled her jacket tightly against herself, hoping it would provide some sort of protection from the embarrassment that was sprouting in her chest.
“Forget I said anything,” she mumbled and looked away. “I’m sorry I brought it up.”
“No!” There was a sudden tension in his voice, one that she’d never heard before. “Wait! I didn’t mean to laugh. I’m sorry. It’s just… I’d been meaning to ask you myself. And you sorta beat me to it.”
Her jaw dropped as the meaning in his words registered with her. “Really?”
The blush coloring his cheeks grew all the more vibrant. “Really. I’ve been meaning to ask you for a while now. I just never knew what to tell you. But I like spending time with you. I like you.”
“I like spending time with you, too, Ashe,” she said while trying to ignore the way her heart was stuttering in her chest and her ears were burning. “And I’d like to take you to dinner sometime.”
He cracked a sheepish smile. “I’d really like that.”
Ingrid was on the cusp of an exciting new chapter, and she couldn’t wait to turn the page.