Page 39 of The Texan's Secrets

“I don’t think we’ve been clear enough about the function of the key fields in the relationship. If students aren’t clear on that, they’ll get lost when we start talking about queries, especially when we get to multiple tables.” She took a bite of the tender, warm bread.

“Queries?” He looked amused.

“These are delicious.” She waggled the stick. “Herb and parmesan, I think.”

A waitress appeared and set two martinis in front of them. “Have you had a chance to look at the menu?”

“Not yet,” Nick answered.

“Take your time,” she said cheerfully. “I’ll just let you know, in addition to the menu, our appetizer special tonight is a crab avocado cocktail with lemon truffle vinaigrette. For the main, we have pan-roasted halibut with pesto on a bed of porcini mushroom, goat cheese risotto. And if you’re looking for a special dessert, the chef has made a dark Belgium chocolate brownie with salted caramel ice cream and praline garnish.”

“The brownie, definitely,” Emilia said, loving the sound of the sweet dessert.

“Something to go with that?” Nick asked her with an amused smile.

“I’ll give you a few more minutes,” the waitress said before she left.

“Did I mention I liked chocolate?” Emilia asked him as she opened the menu.

“I’m usually a savory guy.” He opened his menu.

“Then you should try the breadsticks.” It was true that she was feeling particularly hungry at the moment, but the breadsticks really were to die for.

She worked her way down the menu, not really in the mood for anything fancy. A filet mignon might be okay. But she was more in a carb-loading mood.

Then she spotted it. “Beer batter fish and chips.” That sounded perfect. “Do you suppose they’d give me sweet potato fries with that?”

“I expect they’ll give you anything you ask for. You don’t want to try something more exciting? The chardonnay braised beef or the Scottish salmon?”

“Fish and chips for me,” she said, setting down the menu.

“Alright, then.” He closed his own menu and took a sip of his martini.

She did the same, finding it crisp and tart, just the way she liked it.

“So, the key fields,” she said. “What do you think?”

“I think you should teach whatever and however you want to teach. Seriously, Emilia, you’re fantastic on camera—relaxed, natural, relatable.”

“I keep stumbling on my sentences.”

He gave a shrug. “That’s just practice. It’s only been one day. Are you sure you haven’t done any teaching before this?”

She shook her head. “I barely graduated high school. What about you?”

He looked surprised by the question. “Me? Teaching? No.”

“What about college? Did you go?”

“I went for a couple of years.” He settled his fingertips on the stem of his glass and focused there. “Then I discovered how much I could learn on my own that was more practical from an employability perspective.”

“Where?”

He took a drink. “Same as you, online classes and workshops. They don’t give you a degree, but they do give you abilities.”

“I meant which college.”

“UT Dallas. It was ranked the best value, and I didn’t have a lot of money back then.”

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