Tony nodded and also took the time to breathe in the familiar scent. “Sometimes places like this are the best, and there’s rarely a crowd. Faster service, friendlier faces… All that wonderful stuff.” He chuckled at the sound her stomach made. “Good thing too. I’ll grab us a table real quick if you want to go ahead and get started?”
“Sounds great.” Hitching her arm through the other strap of her bag, Summer headed for the ingredient selection and filled the bowl she picked up to overflowing. She didn’t even try anything exotic, just grabbed what she normally liked, too interested in getting her stomach filled and not overthinking the last half hour. But she couldn’t stop herself looking over at Tony every minute or so, or the quiet wish that he would have just not held himself back.
Tony talked briefly with one of the hostesses and picked out a little table for them, not far from the kitchen area. Once he’d seen that Summer knew where they were to be seated, he set his phone on the table and went to join her in the ingredient line. He dutifully filled his bowl with his favorites, and catching her eye again, he smiled. “Have you tried squid cooked like this?” he asked, helping himself to a small portion. “I think it’s pretty good.”
“I haven’t, actually, but right now I think I need to stick with what I know I like. I’m already unsettled from just … you know, stuff, better to not make it worse. Aaaand I’ve seen the results when someone tries something new … let’s just say, it wasn’t pretty and Wizard was banned from ever eating Dragon Spice again.” Leaning her elbows on the counter to wait for the cook, she laughed. “My apartment never cleared out so fast.”