“Prepay to have his coat cleaned.”
“What?”
“Then you’ve got an excuse to go talk to him again and ask him out for a drink.”
“Think that’ll work?” I still stood at the front door, boots and coat dripping melted snow onto the hardwood floor.
“Worst that happens is you made an oopsie and he’s not into guys.”
“That’s a very serious potential oopsie, Scarlet.” I unzipped my jacket and awkwardly tugged it off one-handed. “I live in a small town now. And starting tomorrow, I’m going to be the band director for two elementary schools and the high school. See where I’m going with this?”
“So what? You need to find a guy who lets you beyou, Bowen. For real. Do you see whereI’mgoing with this?”
“This isn’t like New York, where I can walk one block in any direction and never see him again if I read his signals wrong.”
Scarlet exhaled again. “It’s your call. But if you think there’s a chance he’s into guys, what’s there to lose in asking him out?”
“I guess you’re right.”
“I usually am.”
“Better than sitting home alone on Friday nights.”
“Uh-huh.” Scarlet let out another breath. “Look, I gotta run. I’ve got a cover-up appointment coming.”
“What’re they covering up?”
“You don’t want to know.”
“Gross.”
“Oh, and, Boy?”
I paused from sliding my scarf free. “Yes, Girl?”
“If you do go, take a goddamn picture. You know how I feel about a man with nice stubble.”
“If you could marry just a beard, you would,” I replied.
“I bet he has a gorgeous, hairy chest,” Scarlet continued.
“I’m hanging up now.”
“Enough hair to get lost in!”
“Goodbye!” I said firmly before ending the call. “God, she’s nuts.”
I finally pulled my scarf off and looked at myself in the mirror beside the door. I didn’t think Iwasn’tattractive, but the tall, skinny redhead had never been very successful with picking up guys. When you look a certain way, a lot of men expect you to…behavethe part. Society had been pressuring me to act submissive to fit my non-alpha-guy appearance since I was a teenager. Living solo would actually be appealing if it wasn’t for the fact I loved dating nearly as much as sex.
But maybe, somewhere out there, was the man of my dreams. And he couldn’t wait to settle down with a cello-playing, bow-tie-wearing teacher who slathers on SPF50 thoroughly before every outing. Whether he existed in Lancaster was a whole other issue, but he sure as hell hadn’t been in New York.
I finger-combed my hair, parting it to one side—a cut and style that made the right side longer. Scarlet said I looked like “a goddamn model.”
Hell. Maybe shereallywas right….
What harm was there in asking what Mr. Felix Hansen thought of redheads and Vivaldi? At the least, maybe I could make a new friend.
IT WASN’Teven five in the evening yet, but this far north, the sun had already set and the stars were coming out. I parked, shut the car off, and sat in the parking lot that overlooked a quaint country-style building. A sign hung from the porch.
