Page 15 of Timeless Pages
“It’s my favorite place, too,” Nate blurted.
I held back my snort. Fucking liar. I’d let him have this one, though. The goal right now was to get Isa to soften toward us.
“They have the best eggplant parm,” Isa said reluctantly. You could tell she didn’t want to converse with us but felt compelled to be polite.
“That’s my favorite, too,” Evan replied.
Again, I had to hold back my snort. Evan fucking hated eggplant. My friends laid it on thick to get into Isa’s good graces.
“My favorite here is the chicken parm sub,” I said, joining the conversation.
“The chicken parm is good, too,” Isa replied.
“I think my favorite dish here is the lasagna,” Brandy said. “But for lunch, I got a grilled chicken salad. If I had lasagna, I’d be in a food coma and useless at work.” Her phone rang, and she pulled it out of her purse and scowled when she saw who it was. “Speaking of, it’s work. I need to take this. Excuse me.”
Brandy left the table and walked a few feet away before answering the phone.
“Hello? I’m at lunch. God, you’re insufferable today!” she growled.
The server stopped at our table to collect our orders. Much to my amusement, Evan ordered the eggplant parm while Nate reluctantly ordered a salad.
“I’ll get it to go and come back.” Brandy ended the call and flagged down the server as he finished taking our orders. “Can you make my salad to go? I have to get back to work.”
I would have to send Daniel a thank-you gift for calling her back to work and leaving us alone with Isa.
When she returned to the table, Brandy began apologizing to Isa. “Isa, I am so sorry, but I have to go back to work. Apparently, everything falls apart if I’m gone for more than thirty minutes. I promise I’ll make it up to you.”
“It’s ok, Brandy,” Isa assured her. “Work comes first. We can grab lunch another day, or maybe even dinner.”
“That would be wonderful!” Brandy replied excitedly. “Oh, maybe dinner and drinks! We could have a night out on the town.”
“I don’t know about that,” Isa chuckled. “Baby steps.”
The server returned with Brandy’s to-go bag, and Brandy laid a twenty-dollar bill down on the table. “I really am so sorry about this. It was wonderful to meet you, Isa.” She leaned down to hug her, and her eyes moved to us when she straightened. “But at least I’m leaving you in good hands. Be nice to my new friend, gentlemen,” Brandy ordered before rushing off.
Isa looked like she was ready to run, but didn’t know how to make her escape without making it obvious or being rude.
“Why don’t you join us?” I suggested, gesturing to the open chair beside Nate. Her table was meant for two people, not four; otherwise, we would have moved.
“I don’t know,” Isa said.
“Please?” Nate asked. “We’d love it if you joined us for lunch. I promise we won’t bite.”
“Unless you want us to,” I tossed in, giving her a saucy wink.
Isa looked around the restaurant nervously and then gave a slight shrug. “I guess it couldn’t hurt.” Nate grabbed her drink for her and moved it to our table as she switched seats.
“There!” I said triumphantly. “That’s better. Tell me, Isa, what do you do for fun besides reading?”
“Fun?” she asked as if the concept was foreign.
“You know, like a hobby? Something you’re passionate about?” Evan prompted. Isa shrugged as the server set her food in front of her.
“Your food will be out shortly,” the server advised us.
“I don’t leave the store much,” Isa admitted. She hadn’t moved to touch her plate yet.
“Eat,” I prompted her.
