Page 75 of Someone Just Like You

“You would.”

“You of all people should be grateful I like offbeat and quirky.”

“Meaning?”

“Do I really need to…” He glanced over my shoulder, and whatever caught his attention stole his next words.

I turned around, gawking as the hostess led Timothy and Charley to the table next to ours. A clean-shaven Timothy wore black jeans and a dark purple sweater. I took in Charley’s black-and-white polka dot dress, glanced down at my blue-and-white vintage stars-and-stripes dress, and gulped. They were…us…bizarro world Jude and Molly. I drained a shot of sake as the four of us waved awkwardly and called out various versions of “Hey.”

“I have no idea what you saw in him.”

I laugh-choked and covered my mouth. When I could speak again, I said, “Back at you.”

Jude glanced at Charley, then back to me, and grinned sheepishly. “She’s pretty and she reminded me of someone. I just didn’t know who at the time.” His cheeks pinked.

My knees wobbled. “Samesies.” We eye-screwed for another ten seconds, then turned back to our food and tried to pretend our doppelgängers weren’t twenty feet away.

I dug my chopsticks into a piece of salmon avocado roll. “Will you let customers inyourrestaurant bring their own vegetables?”

“The vegetables inmyrestaurant will be so sublime, no one will want to.” He flashed a cocky smile.

“No doubt. Have you read any of the articles I printed out for you?”

Jude leaned against the foam padding of the booth. “Not yet. It’s only been a few days.”

I swallowed down my disappointment. “Have you thought about the menu aside from upscale but affordable?”

“I have some ideas.” He swirled more wasabi into his soy sauce.

“For example?”

“Can we talk about this later?”

“According to one article, the menu should be the next step in the creative process after deciding concept and brand, which you already have, and before the business plan.”

“I got it, Molly.”

“And—”

“Molly!”

I hitched a breath at the aggression in his voice. The room had gone silent. Jude’s face was scarlet. I looked to my left. Timothy and Charley had stopped talking to gawp at us, their hands connected across the table.Are they sharing one set of chopsticks?I shook my head.Not important.I turned back to Jude.

A muscle twitched in his jaw. “Give it a break.”

My scalp prickled. “Why are you so upset?”

“I’m not…” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Can we just talk about something else? Anything?” He tilted his head at Timothy and Charley’s table. “Like how our clones are eating sushi with one set of chopsticks?”

“I’m just excited for you. Sorry.” I dropped my gaze to the enormous assortment of sushi we’d ordered, my favorite dynamite roll not nearly as tempting as it had been a minute earlier.

“I know and I love your enthusiasm,” he said, squeezing my finger across the table. “But tonight I just want to eat out with my girlfriend and later, if she behaves herself, I’ll eatherout.” He looked at me with smoldering eyes.

“Oh my,” I said, fanning myself as my brain redirected thoughts from business to pleasure. “Count me in. In the meantime…” I looked at him seductively from under my lashes and slowly slid my chopsticks off the table.

Jude’s lips twitched.

I threw my hand against my mouth. “Oops. I guess we have to share.”

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