“Pretty good, actually,” I answered.
“What makes you say that?”
“That was not the first time I’ve spilled a drink on an attractive man.” I held up one finger. “Although it was a first they were willing to go out with me afterward.”
The waiter dropped our drinks off at the table. I reached for my G&T and took a sip.
Felix picked up a napkin with his left hand, put it in his lap, and fiddled with it. “I hope you’ll give me a free pass if I say something stupid at any point tonight.”
“Only if you do the same for me.”
That made Felix laugh and look at me again. “You’re doing great.”
“You think? I’m trying really hard.”
“You don’t need to try with me,” Felix answered. “I’m… happy to be out with you at all. I’ll take whatever quirk you throw my way.”
I sat back with a grin on my face, cheeks already feeling warm from the liquor. “Remember this night. You gave me an open invitation.”
“I’m not afraid.”
I took another sip. “I know the ‘tell me about yourself’ part usually comes before the—uh—coming part…,” I began.
Felix’s eyes widened a bit.
“But let’s backtrack. You didn’t grow up in Lancaster, did you?”
“No. We moved here from Manchester. About ten years ago.”
“To open your apple orchard?” I asked.
“That… wasn’t why, but it was an opportunity presented to me shortly upon arriving.”
“What brought you here, then?”
Felix picked up his water and took a long drink. “I was recently divorced and looking for a fresh start.”
Oh.
“You were m-married?” I asked, hearing a bit of a stutter in my voice.
“I’m a bit older than you,” Felix said.
“Like, what, forty?”
“Forty-seven.”
I waved his age off as nonimportant. “I guess it never occurred to me you could have been married, evenwitha kid.”
“It was a long time ago,” Felix concluded. “Eric and I….” He shook his head. “Sometimes things don’t work out.”
“Does Alan spend time with—with Eric?”
“No.”
Ah-ha. Prickly subject.
“Ancient history,” Felix said, effectively ending the discussion. “Alan says you play something like a dozen instruments?”
