Page 15 of With Us

“Porterhouse or filet?”

“Filet.”

“There you go, order the—”

The telltale tension set in. “No, wait, porterhouse.” When Theo’s lips tipped up, I explained. “Sometimes it’s the disappointmentaftera decision that lets me know what I want.” I took a sip of my drink. “How do you like your steak cooked?”

“Medium rare. You?”

“Rare to medium rare, depending. If I’m eating it all right then, I cook it medium rare. If I’m putting it in something, or I’m having leftovers, then I cook it rare so it doesn’t get too tough when I reheat it.”

When the server returned, Theo ordered us each a medium rare porterhouse steak and more family style side dishes than we could possibly finish.

I quirked an eyebrow when the server walked away. “Hungry?”

“You have main dish indecision; I have side dish.” He shrugged. “Plus, Luc normally clears through any and all leftovers I bring home.”

“Oh, do you guys live together?”

He shook his head. “You’d think so based on how much of my food he eats, but no.”

“He did seem to like pastries.” I took a sip of my seriously delicious drink. “How do you two know each other?”

“We grew up together, and our families are close.”

“That must’ve been cool, it’s almost like you two are brothers.”

“Yeah.”

“Do you work together now?”

Theo’s smile grew into a grin. “You’re good at that.”

“What?”

“You keep the conversation flowing without giving me a chance to ask about you.”

I could feel my cheeks heat, but my lips tipped up in a small smile.

It was a habit I’d formed so long ago, I didn’t even think about it by that point. Most people never noticed, happy to talk about themselves.

“But, yes,” Theo answered, “we’ve basically always worked together.”

“What do you do for a living?”

Theo froze, his glass halfway to his mouth. “You didn’t look me up?”

I laughed, admitting, “I’d been tempted. But then I thought the date would be a lot more interesting if I didn’t know everything about you, right down to your Facebook likes.” When his eyes widened, I forced a serious expression. “Were you worried I’d see all the Bieber and Harry Styles fan pages?”

“I’m still insulted,” he huffed. “But, no, I don’t even have Facebook.”

It was my turn to look surprised. “Twitter, Instagram, anything?” At the shake of his head, I asked, “What do you do with your free time?”

“Work. A lot of work,” he said through his chuckle. Before I could fire off another question, he beat me to it. “Speaking of, tell me aboutyourwork.”

“Java Brew is about what you’d expect. Crazy hectic, then tumbleweeds roll through, and then madness again.”

“Do you always work by yourself when it’s so busy?”

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