"How long does it take to make a cheeseburger and vanilla milkshake?" Emma asked plaintively. She felt like they'd been there for hours.
Jake glanced at his watch and grinned. "Apparently 40 minutes and counting."
Emma groaned, feeling her stomach rumble with pangs of hunger for the umpteenth time.
She cast longing eyes at Jake's turkey sandwich, which had arrived promptly a mere ten minutes after he'd ordered. He'd already devoured his sandwich and was now digging into his hot chips.
Sensing her hungry gaze, he swallowed quickly and pushed his plate over. "Here, Em. Have some chips."
"I thought you'd never ask," Emma said gratefully. She grabbed a handful of Jake's chips for herself and began wolfing them contentedly.
When she'd finished her handful, she reached out for more, only to meet Jake's amused gaze.
"What?" she demanded, unnerved by the twinkle in his eyes. "Do I have tomato sauce on my nose or something?"
"No, not at all," Jake said with a grin. "It's just refreshing to be out with a girl who actually eats, for a change."
Emma rolled her hazel eyes. "If you'd date women who weren't supermodel wannabes, you wouldn't have that problem," she said pointedly.
Jake shrugged. "Hey, it's not like I want to date those women. Daniel's the one who keeps fixing me up with them."
He glanced wryly at Emma. "He's like a male version of you sometimes."
Emma snorted. "Please! Give me some credit. I'd never fix you up with those types of women."
She shuddered, remembering one particularly hideous date of Jake's, who'd spent the night talking endlessly about her goal to be the next Paris Hilton.
"So, I wouldn't have to worry about dating the next Paris Hilton, if you were to fix me up," he teased. She grinned. He'd read her mind as usual.
"No way!" She thought for a minute. "You need someone who's gutsy, intelligent, playful, capable of engaging in a decent conversation, won't take any crap from you..."
She could have continued, but was distracted by the approaching waitress.
"Oh, good. It looks like my food's finally here!" she exclaimed in delight.
Emma hadn't intended for her voice to carry, but the waitress had obviously heard her remark and blushed in embarrassment.
"Sorry about the wait," she said nervously. "The chef's been busy and... whoa!"
It all happened so fast. One minute, the waitress was leaning over to put Emma's food down and the next, a small toddler ran by. And then there was a gasp of surprise from Emma and a shriek from the waitress as it started raining vanilla milkshake and pickled onions.
Ever the gentleman, Jake quickly grabbed some serviettes. He handed a few to Emma and hastily began mopping the spills on their table.
"Oh, my gosh! I'm so sorry," the waitress babbled, her cheeks turning an even brighter red. "Are you alright?"
Emma looked up and smiled, feeling sorry for the young waitress who looked about the same age as her. She glanced down at her blue sundress, but there didn't appear to be any visible stains.
"Sure, I'm fine. Don't worry about it," she assured warmly and the waitress smiled gratefully.
"Oh, I'm glad! You won't tell my boss what happened, will you? This is only my first week at this job and he's already threatened to fire me three times."
"Seriously, not a problem... Henrietta," Emma insisted, her sharp eyes taking note of the girl's nametag. "I'm Emma, by the way, and this is Jake."
"Nice to meet you," Jake nodded.
"Nice to meet you," Henrietta said, looking much more cheerful, now that she knew Emma and Jake wouldn't be making a complaint about her.
She smiled gratefully again and quickly started to gather up the remnants of Emma's meal. "I'll make sure you get a fresh burger and milkshake straight away," she promised.
"Oh, don't worry about that," Emma said airily, having decided that she couldn't wait another 40 minutes for her food. She'd make Jake go through the drive-thru at Macca's instead. "We'll just get the bill."
"Of course," Henrietta agreed. A few minutes later, she was back with their bill and Jake immediately pulled out his wallet.
Emma waved him away. "My shout," she said, handing the money to Henrietta.
Jake frowned. "Are you sure? That hardly seems fair, considering that you didn't really eat."
"Yeah, it's fine. You can buy me dinner tomorrow," Emma suggested.
"Deal," Jake agreed readily. "I'll go pick up the car now. Meet you outside in five?"
"Sure thing," Emma said cheerfully.
"Your boyfriend's really nice," Henrietta commented, watching Jake walk away.
Emma smiled. She was used to people making this assumption. Being as close to Jake as she was, she supposed it was only a natural assumption to make.
"He is nice, but he's not my boyfriend," she said lightly. "He's my best friend. We grew up together."
Henrietta sighed. "You're still lucky. I wouldn't be able to get a guy like that to even hang out with me, let alone date me." Her tone wasn't bitter, just wistful.
"What do you mean?" Emma asked in surprise.
Henrietta laughed sarcastically. "Well... just look at me!"
Emma scrutinised the girl closely and wasn't sure why she had such low self-esteem. She thought Henrietta was very attractive, with her reddish-brown wavy hair and emerald-green eyes.
Sure, she didn't look like a raving beauty right then, but what girl would when her hair was pinned back and she was wearing an unflattering white uniform? Emma thought Henrietta was being too hard on herself.
"Are you joking? You have the most beautiful eyes I've ever seen!" Emma exclaimed honestly.
Henrietta smiled shyly. "Thank you, but I've learned the hard way that guys don't care about your pretty eyes if they don't like the rest of the package."
She looked longingly at Emma. "I'd do anything to be like you – stylish, beautiful, confident, easygoing..."
"Oh, please don't call me stylish. You obviously haven't seen the photos from my '80s phase," Emma joked. But the earnest expression on Henrietta's face told her that the girl was dead serious.
And it was then that Emma suddenly had her marvellous idea.
Jake needed a decent woman. Henrietta was clearly in need of a decent man. Jake couldn't find a decent woman. Henrietta had as much admitted that she couldn't find a decent man.
Henrietta obviously already found Jake attractive... and although she wasn't sure that Jake had found Henrietta attractive, this was where she could come in.
Who better than she, who had known Jake all her life, to find the perfect woman for him?
She wouldn't breathe a word to Jake. He'd made enough disparaging comments about her habit of matchmaking in the past. No, she would wait until Jake had fallen for Henrietta and only then would she reveal the part that she had played in their relationship.
She smiled in satisfaction. Jake Knightley, you are no match for the genius that is Emma Woodhouse.
"Are you alright, Emma?"
Henrietta's puzzled voice interrupted Emma's whirlwind of thoughts.
She came down to earth rapidly and smiled apologetically at her new friend.
"Sorry, Henrietta. Guess I just spaced out for a couple of minutes."
"No problem. My brother gets that look when I start talking about the possibility of life on other planets," Henrietta said earnestly.
Emma stifled her grimace. Henrietta was interested in that kind of thing?
Jake was as open-minded as the next man, but he was far too down-to-earth to actually take things like that seriously.
Then again, love might change him, she thought optimistically. And believing in life on other planets is a lot less weird than wanting to be the next Paris Hilton.
There was a beep out front and Emma looked up to see Jake leaning on his horn. She had forgotten all about her promise to meet him out front.
"It was nice to meet you, Henrietta," she said hastily, picking up her bag. "Listen, I was wondering, would you like to maybe hang out sometime?"
The look of awe on Henrietta's face was quite gratifying.
"Seriously? I'd love that," she replied eagerly.
"Good. Just put your number in my phone and I'll give you a ring," Emma said.
As she walked out the front door, she couldn't help smiling with satisfaction. For she was about to make two people's dreams come true.
Author's Note: If this chapter came as a surprise to you... well, you should know that it came as a surprise to me too! I had something very different in mind, but once my muse started taking over, it was hard to get back to my original plans.
Thanks and slices of virtual pecan pie to those who reviewed the last chapter – iambbq, ChocolateIsMyDrug, FaithIsDelusion, Ski Can and Lady Dudley. =)
So, I'm currently sick in bed right now. Can't stop sneezing or coughing and I'm feeling utterly miserable. Some reviews for this chapter would really brighten up my day!