She was about to bite into her food when he up and thanked her for being there. For a minute she wondered if he'd noticed what he'd said and considered answering just as honestly back - that she'd had no place else to go that she felt comfortable. That she wanted to be with a friend tonight and not alone. That being around him made her feel safe and that he was good company.
But all of that was just too big and not something she was gonna blurt out. So she went another direction. Lou waited a little longer to bite into her food by saying, "Totally. I've been considering starting it up as a service. 'Will salvage evenings' for beer. Think it'll go over well?" With that, she tore into her dinner.