It started with the fact that the restaurant was a keto place.

“Brunch with no bread!” she’d joked after ordering “pancakes” made out of cream cheese and eggs. “Life with no bread!” She thought about the pasta she and Max had hoovered before Christmas. “Or pasta!”

“Ketosis is no joke,” Logan said after ordering a breakfast “sandwich” in which the “bread” was sausage patties, as well as an assortment of meaty side dishes. “You would not believe what can happen when your body goes into ketosis.”

“Right, sorry.” Note to self: no ketosis jokes. She wasn’t completely clear on what ketosis actually was, but apparently it wasn’t funny. But that was fine. Once they were done with this initial meeting, they didn’t need to eat together. “So, the keto diet. That must be a lot of work.”

“Not really. Once you experience the amazing effects of it, you realize that it is so, so worth it. But actually, I’m transitioning to the carnivore diet.”

“What’s that? Like you only eat meat?” She laughed.

“Yes.”

Oh, jeez, he was serious.

“Well,” he added, “eggs, too. Some people allow dairy, but I haven’t had dairy for four years, so obviously I’m not about to start now.”

“Obviously.”

“Some people do a little kale as well.”

“Meat, eggs, and kale. Wow.” His breath must be really bad. “And you said you’re a fitness engineer? What does that mean? I’m imagining you building treadmills, but that’s probably not right.”

“I work on mountain bike suspension systems, mostly.”

“That sounds interesting.” She wondered if people in Eldovia mountain biked.

Their food came, and silence descended. She’d hoped he might ask her some questions, to keep things from getting awkward, and to keep her from having to do all the work, but he didn’t. She glanced at his bulging biceps and reminded herself that after this, it didn’t matter if he was a bad conversationalist who only ate rib eyes.

“Do people mountain bike in the Alps, or is that more of a North American thing?” she asked. “I have a friend who lives in the Eldovian Alps.” She couldn’t see Max mountain biking. The thought of suave, icy-cool Max careening down a mountain wearing all that ugly gear amused her. She had no doubt he’d be good at it if he set his mind to it. She’d never seen him not wearing a suit, so she had no idea how his biceps would measure up to the Carnivore’s, but he had a grace and an easy physicality that probably made him good at rich-people sports.

“There’s a scene over there,” Logan said.