“Ethan was a nerd. I was more of a jock,” Bryce said. “He went off to university, and I went to culinary school.”
“You must have done well,” I said. “I mean, if you’re a head chef already.”
“It’s a small place,” Bryce said.
“But we have really big plans,” Sophie said.
“It sounds like,” I said, leaving her an opening to elaborate.
“You’ve heard about 3-D printing?” she asked me.
I nodded. I didn’t know a whole lot about it, library materials not normally being 3-D. Our printers were 2-D. We had color for a price, but that was as high-tech as we got.
The excitement level in Sophie’s voice grew as she spoke. “The three of us are partnering on a tech start-up.”
“Our patents are pending,” Bryce said.
Patents?
“We’ve got a prototype,” Ethan said from the front seat.
“You should see it, Nat,” Sophie said.
“It’s too big,” Bryce said.
“I have some ideas on that,” Ethan said.
“But you can’t fault the quality,” Bryce said.
“We’ll need investors,” Sophie said. “We need to scale up.”
“Once it’s perfected,” Bryce said.
“We’re very close,” Ethan said.
I had about a thousand questions for her, starting with: What the heck?
“How long have you been at this?” I asked instead.
“A few months,” Sophie replied. “I didn’t want to jinx it, so I’ve kept really quiet.”
“Even from me?” I felt even more isolated than I had this morning.
It looked like Bryce wasn’t such a new guy in Sophie’s life, after all. I felt like I was at a business meeting instead of on a date.
“I did,” Sophie said. “Sorry about that.”
“Just so I’m clear,” I said. “You are dating Bryce?”
Bryce threaded his arm through Sophie’s. “We started off as colleagues, then friends, and now, well...we’ve discovered something very special.”
“And Ethan brought the tech side,” Sophie said.
I assumed Ethan brought the tech side to the business venture and not to the romantic relationship.
“Baker’s confectionary is our domain,” Ethan piped in. “We’re upping the level of precision and sophistication with which restaurants, even small establishments, can conceive, refine, create and serve desserts of every variety.”
“You’re 3-D printing desserts?” I wasn’t exactly wrapping my head around that.
I’d seen a news report once on 3-D printing action figures. They took a scan of a person’s face, cartooned it, and created a personalized action figure.
I got how a printer could squirt colored plastic in a specific pattern. I wasn’t seeing how it baked a cake.
“We couldn’t even be thinking about this without Ethan,” Sophie said. “Bryce brings the culinary expertise, and I’m bringing the business know-how. We’re an awesome team.”
She reached forward and squeezed Ethan’s shoulder.
He put his hand over hers for a second.
“So, like cakes and pies?” I asked, still skeptical.
“Oh, so much more than that,” Ethan said.
“You should see how beautiful they are.” Sophie smiled and sat back.
“And delicious,” Bryce added, looping his arm around her shoulders. “You can build in a level of precision for incredible consistency.”
Sophie nodded, looking excited. I was happy for her. She’d always had boundless energy and enthusiasm, and an impressive sense of adventure. Growing up, it was always Sophie who came up with the ideas for our adventures.
It seemed she’d gotten bored at work—but in a good way. She was branching out to a brand-new venture, and it even came with a romance.
The driver pulled to a stop at the curb and I shifted my attention to Russo’s front patio. It was a lovely building, decorated with tiny white lights on clusters of potted trees. The walkway and stairs were red cobblestones, and the front door was made of thick oak planks with gold embossed hinges and handles.
Bryce opened the car door and stepped out and turned to help Sophie.
I went out my side and walked over the uneven cobblestones around the back of the car, glad for the moment that I’d gone with sturdy boots.
In her spike high heels, Sophie hung on to Bryce’s arm.
Ethan and I fell in behind them.
I felt awkward walking silently beside Ethan.
“You grew up in Seattle?” I asked to break the ice.
“I was three when we moved out from Boston.”
“I was born here,” I said, keeping the conversational ball rolling. “We lived in Queen Anne.”
“Wallingford. My parents are university faculty members.”
“His mom’s a renowned chemistry professor,” Sophie said over her shoulder.
Bryce opened the big door and we all walked into the dim interior of Russo’s.
“That’s very impressive,” I said to Ethan.
“Professor Mary Quinn.” He sounded quite proud. “She’s published over thirty articles in technical journals. Perhaps you’ve read some of them?”
I didn’t have an immediate response. I wasn’t sure why he thought I’d be reading chemistry articles.
“Since you’re a librarian,” he prompted.
“I’m in the public library. We don’t catalog many scientific journals.”
He seemed surprised by that. “Really? Have you considered the importance of STEM to young readers? And, really, to any readers?” He took a beat. “STEM stands for science, technology, engineering and mathematics.”
I knew what STEM stood for. “It’s a matter of capacity. For technical works, I’d refer people to the university library, or maybe the State Association of Chemists.”
We’d stopped in front of the reception desk.
“Do you have a reservation?” the hostess asked Bryce.
“Brookside for four,” Bryce said.
Sophie turned to us, a little sigh in her voice. “I wish I was that smart.”
“You are smart,” I said to her.
She had a business degree. She was only twenty-six, and she was already a manager at one of the best boutique restaurants in the city.
“I’m not science smart.”
“You’re real-world smart, and that’s much more practical.”
Silence followed my words.
Again.
“There’s nothing more practical than science,” Ethan said.
“It takes a team,” Bryce said.
Ethan kept talking. “Science is