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“No, just waiting for my date.”
He rolled his eyes and shrugged. “Good luck.” He set the drink on the bar and I grabbed it, waiting until I was seated to take a sip.
Luck. I wasn’t a big believer in luck because I worked hard for every goal I’d achieved, whether it was on the basketball court or in a classroom. Tonight though, I felt as if a little bit of luck might go a long way. Sophie hadn’t said much about the woman I’d been matched with, only that she was beautiful, lively and compatible. And she guaranteed I would be pleasantly surprised.
Since I arrived at the Carriage House fifteen minutes early to avoid arriving late, I sat back and observed the groups of friends, the long-term couples and the newbies out on first or second dates. It had been a long time since I indulged in people watching, but I found myself wondering about the people at each table.
The bar door opened and shut, bringing a chill and a burst of electricity in the air, drawing my attention to the woman in the red dress. She had long blond hair in those Jessica Rabbit waves that went half way down her back, leaving about a foot of bare flesh from where her hair ended and the curve of her ass began.
A very familiar ass, in fact.
The woman removed a soft looking shawl and draped it over her arm before she turned around, shaking her waves so they fell around her shoulders, and put my wonder over her identity to rest.
It was Joss. Looking absolutely breathtaking in a curve hugging red dress and the kind of heels you asked a woman to keep on during sex.
Carriage House was the date place in Pilgrim, so it wasn’t a huge surprise to see her, just a mild shock to my system at the sight of her in that dress. Needing to distract myself from staring like a perv, I glanced back down at my phone and the message Eva had sent earlier today. Keep an eye out for a hot blond in a red dress.
There was only one woman in the place who fit that particular description. Joss. I knew, at that moment, I should have been more clear with the women of Time for Love to avoid this exact scenario.
I knew the moment Joss spotted me, because the air between us charged like those moments just before a mid-afternoon thunderstorm, thick and hazy and hot. Her gaze slid from my scowling face to the bouquet of purple and white tulips on the table, which Sophie had instructed me to bring.
Now I know why.
Joss’ blue eyes widened in surprise, with hurt immediately on its heels. She didn’t advance forward as expected, instead she took three steps back before she turned on her heels, and ran away.
I stood and glanced down at my drink and then the empty spot where Joss had stood just a moment ago, before my feet started to move. “Dammit.”
“That’s one way to avoid bad dates,” Sage offered up.
“Shut up,” I growled and pushed the front door open with more force than the flimsy, swinging door required, scanning up and down the street for the woman in red. As soon as I spotted Joss, I took off down the street. “Joss, wait!” She kept walking and if my imagination wasn’t running away with me, she walked just a little bit faster. “Joss, please.”
She kept going, but flashed a quick glance over her shoulder. “I don’t need your apology and I don’t want it.”
“You deserve it, though.”
She shook her head. “You don’t need to be nice for the sake of being nice. I saw your expression when you realized I was your date, and trust me, it’s not one I’ll soon forget.”
Of course, that was the impression she would get at my scowling expression. “It just caught me by surprise is all, Joss. I wasn’t expecting you to be my date.” I wasn’t sure what fact surprised me more, that I hadn’t told the women I didn’t want to date any woman who worked with me, or that the system had matched me with Joss.
“You were disappointed, at least have the balls to admit that much.” This version of Joss wasn’t just sweet and soft and kind, there was a fire in her I hadn’t seen before.
“A little, sure, but not for the reasons you think.” I let out a sigh and scrubbed a hand over my head and down my face. “Can I explain it to you? Over dinner?”
The adamant shake of her head took me by surprise. “You can tell me now.”
Okay. I really hated that I wanted to see more of the fire that burned inside Joss, to see more of what made her tick, because I couldn’t. But I owed her some sort of explanation.
