The Fortune Cafe (31 page)

“What are you smiling at?” Evan asked, nudging her.

“Oh, just everything, I guess.”

“Where do you want to go to lunch?”

Stella already knew. “Let’s go to The Fortune Café— it’s not as great as your cooking, of course. I ordered it the other night, and it was really good.”

“Thanks,” Evan said.

He seemed more quiet than he had the night before. Maybe he hadn’t slept much like she hadn’t.

Stella hadn’t been inside the café before, but she knew it was next to the watch repair shop
.

When they reached the door of the restaurant, Evan opened it for Stella. They stepped into the dim interior, and the scent of fragrant spices hit Stella. The place was nearly empty, and Stella assumed because it was between the lunch and dinner hour. A waitress walked toward them, the name
Emma
on her name tag. She wore the standard server’s uniform— black pants, white button-down shirt, and a white apron. “Two?” she asked.

“Yes,” Evan said. “Can we sit by the window?”

“Certainly,” the woman replied. She led them to a table in the corner of the restaurant that overlooked Tangerine Street.

Stella sat down, impressed that the red tablecloths were real fabric.

“Have you eaten here before?” the waitress asked, taking out an order pad from her short apron. Emma was a really pretty woman with beautiful brown eyes, but Evan seemed more interested in the menu than the waitress. Always a good sign.

“I’ve ordered takeout,” Stella said.

Emma’s eyebrows lifted. “You did? How was it?”

Stella was surprised at the question. It seemed that the waitress was very interested.

“It was really good,” Stella said.

“I’ll let the cook know.” The waitress glanced at Evan, then back to Stella. “Did you get a fortune?”

Stella was even more surprised now, especially since she remembered the fortune quite clearly. “I did. Isn’t that standard with all orders?”

The waitress seemed to hesitate. Then she smiled. “Yes. I’m curious about that kind of stuff— Chinese fortunes, good luck charms. I always wonder if they ever come true.”

Stella shrugged. “I still remember mine, but I guess time will tell if it does come true.” She opened her menu, wondering why the waitress was prying so much.

“What’s the cook’s specialty?” Evan asked, and the waitress launched into a description of a few dishes.

They all sounded great to Stella.

Evan ordered a shrimp dish and Stella ordered her standby, cashew chicken.

He fell silent again after the waitress left. Stella hadn’t expected this— she wasn’t sure what she expected, but it wasn’t a quiet Evan. He’d been sweet when greeting her, but it seemed that now he was pretty distracted.

She looked around the restaurant at the Asian décor and red tablecloths. “This place has a great ambiance.”

Evan nodded, and Stella wondered if he’d really heard her.

She thought about the questions the waitress had asked her about the fortune cookie. Emma’s questions were more than curious.
A bit strange.
Stella shook off the thought and asked Evan about his day at work. He briefly mentioned the governor’s family, who had left after lunch.

He was too quiet— granted she’d only been on one date with him, but the Evan of today was a lot different than the man of last night. “Is everything all right?” she finally asked.

He lifted his eyes, as if he’d just realized she was talking to him. His intent gaze made her stomach flip, and memories of kissing him the night before came back full force.

“Sorry. I have a lot on my mind. Katie called at 3:00 a.m.”

“Is she okay?” Stella asked.

“Yeah,” Evan said, his tone subdued. “Her mom was out of town, and she was stressed about that.”

Stella exhaled, relieved that maybe his silence wasn’t about her. “Does she travel for her job or something?”

“No. Boyfriend.”

Evan didn’t need to elaborate. Stella knew by the tone of his voice how he felt about it. But a new worry had grown. Anytime the subject about his ex-wife came up, he seemed so melancholy. Was it possible that he regretted the divorce? That he was still in love with Michelle?

The waitress came back, carrying their food. Frankly, Stella was grateful for the distraction. This lunch date wasn’t going quite like she’d envisioned.

They started eating, and Stella said, “Do you like it?” She figured that since he was a cook, he’d be a lot more discerning.

“It’s really good,” Evan said, sounding impressed, but he didn’t elaborate.

Stella asked him a couple more things while they ate, but by the time the waitress came back to refill their drinks, she was ready to go. Whatever was going on with Evan seemed to be beyond her reach. She just didn’t know him well enough to make it her business to pry.

And even though she felt that his silence wasn’t really about her, how many times would this happen if they continued dating? Every time his daughter called or he had to deal with something concerning his ex-wife?

“We’re out of fortune cookies,” the waitress announced, walking up to their table. “Sorry.” She slid the bill on the table. “I’ll be your cashier as well.”

“Thanks,” Evan said, setting his credit card on top the bill.

Stella wanted to ask about the fortune cookies, but it was probably better to get back to the shop. Evan signed the credit card receipt when the waitress returned, and they left together.

By the time they stepped outside, Stella’s eyes were smarting.
Really mature.
“Hey, Evan, I have a quick errand to run. Do you mind if we split up here?”

He looked faintly surprised, but only said, “Sure. I’ll see you later.”

She gave him a quick smile, then turned and walked in the opposite direction, just to put space between them. When she reached the street corner and stopped to wait for the crosswalk sign, she glanced toward The Fortune Café.

Evan was still standing in the same spot she’d left him. Watching her.
So now he notices me.
She couldn’t read his expression from this distance. Strange, she decided. Really strange.

Evan had been trying to talk himself out of it all day— while he was at work, while he went to lunch with Stella, and on the drive back to the Mariposa. But by the time he left the hotel at 9:30 p.m., his mind was made up.

He was going to ask his ex-wife for full custody. But only after Katie spent the entire summer with him. Evan hoped that easing Katie into living with him full time, in addition to letting Michelle have a taste of more freedom, would work in his favor.

The only problem was he’d been on a great date the night before with a fabulous woman. And this would change everything. When he arrived at his condo, he paced the floors, thinking of how he could still have a dating life while his seven-year-old daughter lived with him. Stella had been great around Katie, she’d even remembered his daughter’s name having only been around her once. But he knew firsthand how complicated relationships could be.

There were really only two options that he saw. Involve Stella in everything that included Katie, which Stella might not go for. Or cut things off with Stella entirely. He knew Katie would like Stella, and he could imagine his daughter becoming attached to her. But things were too new between them, and he had no way to predict the future.

He exhaled. He also couldn’t let things slide with his daughter. Dialing Michelle’s number, he closed his eyes, hoping that she’d thought about his offer. When she answered, he said, “You probably know why I’m calling.”

“Yes.” Her tone sounded patient for once. “I’ve talked to Katie about it, and she seems excited to spend the summer at your place.”

Evan sank onto the couch, relief flooding through him, although he still didn’t have Michelle’s answer. “And what do you think?”

“Well, at first, I wasn’t too excited about it. But after talking to Randy, he mentioned that I could travel with him on some business trips. So it might work out after all.”

“Great,” Evan said. “When’s a good time to pick her up?” He hated to act too pushy, but he was going to take all the momentum he could get.

“Maybe Thursday? She has a birthday party at her friends on Wednesday night.”

“Okay, I’ll plan on Thursday.” When Evan hung up, the relief of Michelle’s answer replaced any concerns or worries he might have had before.

He leaned back on the couch, thinking about what he’d just committed to, and how it was definitely going to change his life and everything in it. Dates like last night wouldn’t happen unless he had a sitter… and even then he didn’t know if he’d want to stay out so late.

Evan knew he liked Stella. And although he’d completely annoyed her at lunch today with his preoccupation over Katie, Stella hadn’t gone crazy on him— which Michelle would have definitely done. He appreciated that, but he knew he needed to apologize and then explain some hard truths to her. Before he could talk himself out of it, he left the apartment and climbed in his truck. It was almost 10:00 p.m., but he hoped to catch Stella still in her shop.

When he pulled up alongside the curb next to the jewelry shop, he breathed a sigh of relief. The
closed
sign was showing, but a light was on somewhere in the back.

He walked up to the shop and peered through the glass door. The light was coming from the open office door. Did she leave it on every night light that? Evan scrolled through the contacts on his cell phone. He typed a text to her:
Can you talk for a minute? I’m at the front of your store.

Seconds later, Stella came walking out of the office. Watching her, Evan hoped she’d be understanding, and he realized how much he was also hoping that she’d be really open to the change Evan’s life was about to take.

She opened the door, her gaze curious.

“Hey,” Evan said, stepping inside, and taking in her appearance. Her hair was in a ponytail, and her eyes looked tired, making him want to do something that would help her. “Working late?”

“Always.” Stella shut the door and folded her arms, eyeing him with suspicion. He couldn’t blame her.
“So…” he started. “Without dumping my whole sad story on you, Katie is coming for the summer— the whole summer. And at the end of it all, I’m going to ask for full custody.”

Stella didn’t say anything, and it was too dim in the shop to read her expression. He wished he knew what was going on in her mind.

“And I need to apologize to you.” He scrubbed a hand through his hair. “I was a bit distracted during lunch, and I—”

Stella laughed, cutting off Evan. “Distracted? Look Evan, I don’t need you to use your daughter as an excuse not to take me out again.” She let out a sigh. “You came to my rescue with Andrew, and I really appreciate it. But I can also handle the bad news.” She moved to the door and opened it. “I hope you have a nice summer with Katie, and really, last night was great. But I can see that you’re not really ready to date again.”

Evan stared at her.
He
wasn’t ready? He’d come here to talk to her about
her
not being ready or willing to date a guy with a full-time kid. “Stella—”

“It’s okay, really. I’ll be fine. You’ll be fine. Life will go on.” Her voice trembled, but she refused to meet his gaze as she opened the door wider.

Evan stepped outside, feeling really too stunned to know what to say. He still hadn’t moved away when she shut the door. Through the glass, he watched her walk back to her office. Stella hadn’t gone crazy on him; she’d gone cold. And somehow that felt worse. The office light clicked off seconds later, and then there was nothing.

Stella couldn’t bring herself to throw away the fortune printed on a slip of paper that had prompted her to call Evan, so she moved it to the bottom drawer of her desk and set it way in the back, next to the Post-it he’d written his number on. She had his number in her phone still, not that she planned on using it, ever.

Fortunes didn’t come true. Love was definitely
not
certain. Not in the case of Andrew or of Evan. Stella looked around the shop with its customers milling about. Things were back to normal… before-Evan-normal. Amelia had even gone back home. Stella had finally told Amelia that she wouldn’t be dating Evan anymore, and the woman’s sigh on the phone reached across the thirty miles that separated them.