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“Rye’s woman truly is vicious.” Jules murmured.

Kahn grunted.

Rye grinned smugly.

Randa smiled at Steve, striving to project human normalcy. “I’ll have the small garden salad.” It was the cheapest thing on the menu.

“That doesn’t sound like enough nourishment.” Kahn shook his head. “You need more food. Do they grill cows here?”

“I’m not ordering a steak in this place. It will cost a fortune.”

“Rye is paying.” He flicked a palm towards Tallulah Jayne. “His vicious woman says so.” He looked back at Steve. “My Match will have four cow steaks.”

“Salad.” Randa repeated, glowering at her overbearing date.

“I am listening to you, Randa. I swear. But I also don’t want you to starve.” Kahn seemed distressed. “Can we compromise on three steaks and maybe a tureen of that whipped potato goo? It would be…” He stopped short. “Wait, who exactly is making this feast?”

“Chef Michael.” Steve piped up. “He’s very accomplished. He used to work in New York.”

Three sets of brows compressed in unison, as the Light Phases finally understood that a stranger would be preparing their meals.

Steve took a nervous step backwards.

Randa seized control, before a fight broke out. “Bring me one medium steak.” Yes. Fine. Kahn had a point. A filet did sound better than a salad. “And do you have any food that’s sealed?”

“Sealed?” Steve blinked.

“So that no one else has touched it. These three have dietary restrictions.” She gestured between the Light Phases.

“Um… I think we have a jar of pickles? Maybe some of those cheese slices wrapped in plastic? We use those for the kid’s meals.”

“Ashley requires a kid’s meal.” Julius interjected. “She is very young.”

“I’m forty-one.”

Julius patted her head. “Why, I would have guessed sixty. You’re so precocious!”

Ashley looked towards Steve with huge, desperate eyes. “Can I just order dessert? I really need a lot of dessert. Like, right now.”

“Blueberry pie, frosted spice cake, or lemon tart?”

“Yes. All of that. To go.”

“Got it.” He hit some buttons on his tablet. “So that’s one lobster, three processed cheese packets with a side of pickles, a medium filet with a garden salad, and the entire dessert menu. Did you guys want wine, at all?”

“Oh, I think alcohol is a bad idea tonight.” Randa decided gravely.

Steve nodded in commiseration and escaped to less troublesome tables, muttering about how “all the whackos come to Florida.”

“Don’t listen to her about the drinks!” Tallulah Jayne called after him. “I’ll have another mango daiquiri!”

“We’re not eating anything strange men in backrooms prepare for us.” Rye warned the table at large in a paranoid voice. “This could all be a ruse set by our enemies to poison us.”

Ashley grabbed a breadstick from the basket in the middle of the table. “I should be so lucky.” She lamented and took a huge bite, sourly chewing.

“Did a human male make this?” Rye asked Tallulah Jayne, grabbing her mango daiquiri away.

“No, the girl at the bar did. The one with the hideous blonde highlights.” Tallulah Jayne paused and glanced over at Ashley, whose hair also had blonde highlights. “I mean they’re hideous on her. They’re great on you, of course. They really slim your face.”