The Fortune Cafe by Heather B. Moore, Melanie Jacobson, Julie Wright Page A

rate. She stumbled forward and heard Jen make a noise of approval about Harrison’s shoulders. Emma stepped forward before Ali, the hostess, could gather menus and lead him off to a table. She took his arm and swung him out of Ali’s path.
    “What are you doing here?” she asked, hoping he didn’t repeat the words from her fortune that were now on constant repeat inside her own skull.
    “You tried to ditch out on our date.”
    Wait a minute. He was calling it a date? Not a get-together, or hanging out? Why did that make her legs feel all wobbly and her feet feel all tingly? She gave her head a slight shake to stay focused and said, “I wasn’t ditching. Something came up. Something unavoidable. I—”
    “These are for you.” He handed off the bouquet, which she could see was a bouquet of... “Pencils?”
    “Sketching pencils. I didn’t know what brand or anything, so I bought a bunch of everything in the art store.” He shrugged and smiled, looking hopeful and sweet and perfect. She had to work hard to not stare at his lips.
    “You bought me sketch pencils? I don’t think any...” She took a few deep breaths. Was this for real? Was Cái’s magic cookie really right? She looked up at him, feeling a heat in his eyes as soon as their gazes locked. “Thank you, Harrison. I can safely say that no one has ever bought me anything like this. I’m impressed enough that you remembered I sketched on the sides of my school assignments.”
    He gave a noncommittal kind of shrug. “Actually, I cheated a little. I Googled you.”
    She felt her smile freeze in place. He’d gone online? He knew about the comic? And he still showed up to see her? “Wow. I don’t think anyone’s ever said that to me before. Googled me, huh. I’m not going to lie, it’s a little... unsettling.” Granted, she’d have done the same if she wasn’t caught between work, her mom, her book launch, and Comic Con.
    “Your web comic is really clever, funny enough I laughed out loud several times and made my mom’s poodle bark at me from the hallway. Your work is impressive.”
    The words were water in a drought. Had anyone she knew personally aside from her few friends at the restaurant ever said anything positive about Dragon’s Lair ? And he called it her work , not her hobby, not idle doodling, nor a waste of time. “Thank you, Harrison,” she said. He couldn’t know how much exactly she was thanking him for— not just for the pencils, but for the validation.
    “Sorry to interrupt you,” Jen said as she shot a meaningful look toward the corner table of the dining area, “but table nine has been seated.”
    The spell was broken. She had a job to do. But she couldn’t let Harrison leave, not yet. She leaned in to whisper, not because she needed to but because she wanted an excuse to breathe him in. “Wait a few minutes at table thirteen, I’ll be over in a minute, and we can talk more then.”
    He leaned in to whisper back, “Where’s table thirteen?”
    For a thrilling moment she hoped his lean was as on purpose as hers. “Where you were seated last night.”
    “Ah. That explains it. Table thirteen , demonic date possessions. It all makes sense now.”
    She laughed and gave him a gentle nudge in the direction of his table.
    She pocketed the pencils with her sketch book and hurried to table nine, reciting nearly the entire menu before the couple let her leave to fetch their drinks. Once she had their order placed and drinks on their table, she went back to table thirteen, thinking how much better he looked at that table when there wasn’t an angry woman sitting across from him.
    “I only have a few minutes but wanted to apologize again for our plans tonight.”
    He gave her an inquisitive look. “So why no lunch break? Don’t you legally have to take a break?”
    “I have to leave work early tonight. If I don’t take a break, I can get out of here sooner. My mom, um, needs my help.”
    A worried expression crossed his