Page 5 of Noah

Too personal.

My brow furrowed of its own accord. "We moved around."

"My parents still live in our childhood home in Oak Bay."

That explained a lot, his owning one of the most popular pubs in Victoria. He probably grew up loaded. His parents most likely funded the acquisition of his pub.

"Do your parents live in Victoria?" he pressed on.

Way too personal.

I lifted the menu. "What pie do you recommend?"

His pretty lips turned into a frown. I hadn't answered his question. Why did he want to know about my parents? They had nothing to do with what I was trying to accomplish tonight.

"I like their pecan pie the best," he answered.

I was going to have lemon meringue. I liked the whipped and toasted egg whites.

The female server approached wearing an outfit straight out of the 1950s; a short, pastel pink skirt and button-up blouse, and a white frilly apron tied at the waist, hanging down the front of the pleated material that barely covered her thighs. Her blonde hair was up in a messy bun.

We placed our pie orders along with a couple of coffees. A deviation from the image the restaurant was trying to create, the server entered our order on an electronic tablet.

It irritated me more than it should.

"What do you do for work?" Noah pressed on; his gaze focused on my eyes. I didn't like people knowing what I did. What if they found some way to use it against me?

"Legal work." I'd give him that much.

He leaned forward against the table, placing his elbows on it. "Doing what?"

I sighed. I didn't want to continue this line of questioning. Luckily, I was saved from answering when the server brought our coffee. I busied myself adding cream and sugar.

What's an appropriate thing to ask him?

"How long have you owned the pub?" I knew Noah owned it because I'd heard him talking about the business with the incredibly gorgeous bartender, Liam, he worked with.

I'd barely spoken to Liam. He made me feel intimidated. I knew when someone was out of my league. And the guy Noah liked to joke around with was just that—way out of my league. Like a whole other stratosphere. I found Noah with his gentle and attractive face much more approachable. He was rugged with his auburn hair and piercing blue eyes. It made for a stunning combination. Even though I suspected Noah was experienced, catching him flirting with men, he appeared wholesome. A natural, boy next door look that always got my motor running.

"Four years now," Noah replied. "Took me a while, working double shifts, to get enough money together to buy the business. Had to take out a frightening loan but I'm making it work. There's still a lot of improvements to do to make things the way I want them, but we were voted #1 British pub in Victoria the last two years. Pretty proud of that. Everyone has worked so hard to make it happen." Noah laughed. "Guess my business degree paid off after all."

I felt a little guilty for assuming Noah's parents had funded the purchase of the pub business. Noah had done it on his own. It was commendable and upped my respect factor for him.

I searched my mind for another question you asked when getting to know someone. I had a list in my head. What's the right one?

"What do your parents do?" I asked. If I kept questioning him, maybe he'd refrain from trying to find out more about me. Our pie orders arrived, and Noah dug in.

Around a mouthful of pie. "My parents and both my siblings are corporate lawyers."

I raised my eyebrows. That was a curious piece of information. "Why not you?"

Noah smeared around the dollop of whipped cream on the top of his pie slice. "They have their own law firm. I was told I had to finish law school and join the firm." He smiled. "Didn't obviously. Parents aren't pleased. Even now with the pub winning awards. I decided to forge my own path. There are days I'm not sure I did the right thing. My parents reinforce that often."

"They don't support you?" Now I was getting too personal. Better him than me. He didn't seem to mind talking about himself. It almost seemed like he was seeking some kind of approval.

His brow dipped and his beautiful blue eyes turned sad. "Nah, but I try not to let it bother me."

Subject change.

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