Amy smiled. Agreed.
As they finished their meals, Amy told him about Britt and her channel, and he said he would check it out. He didn’t have any kids, but he had lots of nieces, nephews, and now a grandnephew to spoil. They learned they both went to different churches on the opposite sides of the metro area, and they had landed on the topic of hobbies when the karaoke cranked up.
Amy couldn’t hide her grimace or her snarky comment. “And here the evening was going so well.”
Max raised an eyebrow. “You don’t like karaoke?”
She’d been honest with him all night—no need to sugarcoat it now. “I detest it. With a passion.”
“I don’t mind it. But it’s not conducive to conversation.” He eyed their empty plates. “Want to go somewhere a little less—”
“Annoying?” She covered her mouth with her fingers. “Sorry. Slipped out.”
He motioned for the waitress to bring their checks.
Her stomach knotted up again. So far, she was having a great time. From all accounts, Max seemed to be a nice guy, and she was enjoying their conversation. She wouldn’t mind continuing it, but where did he want to go? Again, honesty was the bestpolicy. “If you want to go to a bar, I’ll have to decline. I don’t drink.”
“Me either,” he said without hesitation. “I was thinking about Madeline’s Coffee House. Are you familiar with it?”
“Overly.” Her smile returned. “Unfortunately, it’s on my way to work, and I’ve spent more than my fair share in their drive-through on bleary-eyed mornings.”
“I think they’re open until eight. I’m partial to their cortados. Just espresso and milk. Simple and satisfying.” He looked at her for a moment. “Let me guess. You’re an iced-coffee kind of girl.”
She almost laughed at him calling her a girl. He wasn’t that much older than her. But it was nice to hear. “Wrong. Red eyes for me.”
“Coffee and espresso? Bold choice.”
“I teach high school kids—I need the fortification. But tonight, I’ll take it easy and have a chai latte.”
The waitress returned with two checks. Max reached for them but Amy intercepted.
“This is a nondate, remember?” She looked at both checks and handed him his. “Nondates always go dutch.”
“As a man, that goes against my grain,” he said, grinning a little. “But I’ll acquiesce.”
They paid their bills and headed for the door just as the caterwauling began. Amy mentally chastised herself. She wasn’t being fair. There were plenty of fine karaoke singers, and even those who weren’t talented were having fun. Just because Daniel had ruined the experience for her didn’t mean she had to be a jerk about it, even in her own mind.
“I’m parked here,” she said as they left the tavern, gesturing to her silver sedan parked two rows back.
“I’m right behind you then.”
Her eyes widened when she saw his sleek black Mercedes gleaming under the parking lot lights. “Nice,” she said.
“It’ll do. See you in a few minutes?”
“I’ll be there.”
Amy got into her car and paused, once again asking herself what she was doing. There hadn’t been a single second tonight when she’d felt an attraction for Max. He was handsome, smart, and gentlemanly. But although there wasn’t a spark—thankfully, because she seriously wasn’t interested—he was nice to talk to. It had been so long since she’d had a male perspective on anything. Most of the teachers at the high school were women, and the men who did teach were mostly coaches, mostly married, and understandably hung out with each other. Her church friends were all women too.
She shrugged. There was a good chance Max wouldn’t show up anyway. They both had twenty minutes to change their minds and forget about the coffeehouse. Surprisingly, she felt disappointed at the thought. And she definitely wasn’t going to back out of her commitment. Once she gave her word, she meant it. Unlike Daniel.
Frowning, she started her car and headed to Madeline’s. She wished she could say there was a day that went by that she didn’t think about him, but she couldn’t. Britt looked so much like him it was jarring sometimes, but she never blamed her daughter for something she couldn’t help. And there was always something that came up that reminded her of him. Like karaoke tonight, or just thinking about how Daniel never kept his promises.
Even now as she went to hopefully meet Max, she was a little envious of his marriage. She wasn’t naïve enough to think his relationship with Crystal hadn’t had its rough spots. But hers had been awful almost from the start.
Amy turned on the radio to escape her thoughts. When she pulled into Madeline’s parking lot, she didn’t see Max’s Mercedes. Her spirits sank and she tried to be practical. Maybe he’d realized on the way here that supper had been enough. Or maybe he’d gotten an emergency call from a client, if that was a thing. She’d prefer anything but that he’d changed his mind because she said or did something wrong. She hated second-guessing herself.
Headlights appeared behind her car, then turned off. The Mercedes emblem shone in her rearview mirror, and she saw Max get out of his car. Yes! Then she settled down. It’s a nondate, remember? No sparks, remember?
