Page 51 of Ruled By Fate

He raised an eyebrow, glancing at the bottle. “How many of those have you had?”

“Just a few. And a sidecar. Two sidecars. Do two sidecars make a whole car?” Her eyes widened. “Did I drink a car?”

“Okay. Let’s get you home.”

“No, wait! We can’t!”

“Why, what’s happening?”

“The burgers. We can’t just leave them!” She spun her chair around and flung her arm dramatically towards the kitchen, endangering all the glassware in her radius, just as a waiter brought out a tray with four plates heaped with burgers, fries, and onion rings.

The angel watched her for a moment, then spun the barstool back around, so she faced him. Her cheeks were pink with liquor and flushed a shade deeper as he brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes.

“You know what, Ms. Weldon? You are utterly ridiculous.”

She grinned and touched her forehead to his. “I know.”

He helped her down from her perch on the barstool, and they made their way over to the booth Mike and Sherry had commandeered. The waiter placed their meals before them, then went back for Cokes.

“And several tall glasses of water,” added Cameron.

“And a root beer,” added Sherry.

Brie whirled around in a sudden panic. “Cam,” she said with hushed urgency, “I didn’t even think to ask. I mean, I had no idea what the food was at the last place anyway, but are you going to be able to eat something like this? Not like… not like a plant eats sunlight?”

Sherry gave him a strange look.

“Honey, are you a vegetarian? Why didn’t you say something?”

“No, I’m not,” he assured everyone quickly. “This looks delicious.” With a discreet squeeze to her palm, he lowered Brie’s blood alcohol level by half. “This has all been a little fast,” he added. “I suppose we forewent some of the more traditional get to know you exchanges. I’m definitely not a vegetarian.”

Mike stared in silence. “Did you just say ‘forewent?’”

Sherry’s moan of pleasure cut through all other conversation. The others looked at her curiously, and she closed her eyes in blithe rapture. “I’m eloping with this burger. Sorry, dear.”

Mike grinned and tucked in himself.

Brie nibbled a fry and watched her angel with intense curiosity, eager to know how the next moments might unfold. With a look that bordered on martyrdom, he picked up his burger as though this was a dreaded test he had to pass and adjusted his posture to resemble Mike’s — elbows just off the table, leaning slightly forward, ignoring the sauce that dripped steadily onto the plate.

There was a suspended moment, and with a scrunched-up nose, he took a tentative bite.

It was like watching a man’s world change from black and white to vivid color. His eyes grew wide as saucers. He took a deep, quaking breath that seemed to shiver its way through him, head to toe and straight to the core of his being. He closed his eyes and chewed in a state of bliss, completely unaware that he was making some truly obscene noises. Sherry stopped in the middle of an anecdote, and the rest of the table paused, looked at each other, and simply lowered their own food to watch as he took another bite, then another. He inhaled the entire thing in about ten seconds, moaning scandalously the entire time, not looking around him for a moment until it was gone. Then he looked up, breathing hard. Without warning, he hit the table with his palm, making everyone jump, and pronounced with a level of gravitas that had no place in Dave’s Bar & Grill, “That was the most gratifying thing I have ever experienced.”

A titter of amusement went through the neighboring tables.

His own companions hadn’t yet recovered enough to do anything but stare.

“Garçon!” Cameron bellowed, making everyone jump again, including the unsuspecting college student who was waiting their table that night.

The waiter came straight over and pulled out his pen and order pad. If he’d learned anything during his time at Dave’s Bar & Grill, it was to keep the drunks satiated and not be visibly thrown by their theatrics for any reason, no matter how ridiculous. “What can I get you, sir?”

“We require more of these delectable burgers. Mike, will you have another?” Mike opened his mouth, but Cameron didn’t wait for a response. “At least three more. With more of the…” He turned to the table. “What is the orange square?”

Brie was frozen in shock, so Sherry answered with a baffled, “Cheddar?”

“Cheddar!” Cameron’s eyes danced in wild delight. “My good man, if it does not inconvenience the chef, would you please ask him to add extra cheddar to the burgers? And do pass on my compliments. What he has done here,” he gestured to the food as his eyes welled up with unshed tears, “transcends the realm of sustenance. Tell him he is an artist, and the world will surely take note.”

The waiter stared blankly for a moment before deciding that he’d seen worse. “Three burgers, extra cheese.”

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