Page 8 of Just One Taste

“Some.” At the door the hostess greeted her with the same enthusiasm that Nick had, though she didn’t remember the woman’s name. Few people in the restaurant business lasted as many years as Nick had. The hostess seated them in a quiet booth with a nice view of the city lights. “Order anything you like. Everything is good. Kirby’s has been one of the best recommended steakhouses in Houston for as long as I can remember.”

He nodded, and very slowly perused the menu.

When a pretty waitress came by to take their order, Paige took the liberty of ordering the stuffed mushrooms for an appetizer. “Do you like mushrooms?”

Without lifting his eyes from the menu, he nodded, then as almost an afterthought, looked up and smiled at her. “Yes, I do.”

“Great.” She ordered the ribeye medium.

“I’ll have a baked sweet potato and the sautéed brussels sprouts, no bacon.”

The waitress nodded and stared at him silently. When he didn’t say anything else, she frowned. “And which steak would you like?”

“None, thank you.” He handed her the menu. “Just the potato and brussels sprouts.”

Paige’s gaze flittered to the stunned waitress and back. Good grief. How had her grandfather not done his homework? Daniel Dupree was a vegetarian.

There was no way for Daniel to hide he was a vegetarian at a steakhouse. There was nothing new about people assuming he ate meat, he was used to it. What he didn’t like was the mortified look on Paige’s face. “It’s fine. I love sweet potatoes.”

She shook her head. “We should go somewhere else. I’m sorry, I didn’t know. There’s a vegan restaurant I’ve heard—”

Holding his hand up to her, it was his turn to shake his head. “First of all, I’m not vegan. Secondly, this is perfectly fine.”

“I don’t know.”

He could see the hesitation on her face. “They have blueberry cobbler on the menu. One of my favorites.”

“Really? Or are you just trying to make me feel better?”

“Honestly, I do want you to feel better.” Right now he wanted more than anything for her to like him, though he had no idea why it seemed to matter so much. In a few more days he’d be moving on and probably never see her again. “But, yes, I really do love blueberry cobbler.”

She blew out a heavy sigh and then smiled. “In that case, you know what they say. Life is short…”

Through a chuckle, he finished the sentence. “Eat dessert first.”

“Shall we?” She raised her brows at him.

With a nod, he waved down the waitress and instructed her to bring two blueberry cobblers before the meal.

She leaned back in her seat. “I’m not sure how the Governor didn’t know this. I didn’t think the man made mistakes. Ever.”

“It’s not on my resume or anything. No reason he should know.”

The waitress appeared with their desserts, and set the first dish in front of Paige and then gave Daniel his. Instead of the standard question of did they need anything else, she leaned in over the table and lowered her voice. “I’ve always wanted to order dessert first but never have the nerve. I think I just might do this the next time I eat out. Enjoy your meal.”

Daniel dug into his cobbler and almost moaned.

“You really do like blueberry cobbler.”

“Don’t look so surprised. I told you I did.” She had a little dollop of blueberry syrup on her lip and he had a suddenly irresistible urge to reach out and wipe it away. Maybe even steal a kiss. Definitely not a good idea. “It’s easy to find peach cobbler or apple, but blueberry is a treat.”

“Well, I’m delighted they had it.” She stabbed at her dessert with her fork before looking up at him. “But you realize if you move to Texas, you’re going to be invited to an awful lot of barbecues. We’re known for our briskets.”

He shrugged again. “I’ll learn to deal. I spent years on road trips dining with guys who could have eaten an entire cow if given the opportunity. A barbecue here or there isn’t going to kill me.”

“Are you always this easygoing?” She leaned back and took a sip of her water.

“The way I look at it, I can choose to be annoyed and irritated, which will change nothing. Or I can roll with the punches and enjoy the positives. In this case, that would be a nice dinner with you.”

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