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Nate studied her a moment. “We’ll have a bottle of the Pinot Noir,” he told the waiter. Then he turned to Lauren and said, “Lanie thinks she’s paying for dinner, but she’s not.”
She didn’t ask him how he knew what she’d been thinking. He seemed more socially aware than Lauren originally gave him credit for. “In that case, a bottle would be nice,” she agreed.
They made some small talk and the bottle came. Nate drained the rest of his beer and joined her in drinking the wine. Lauren watched him over the top of her glass. He really was different than how she remembered him from high school. Last weekend she’d been startled to discover that she found him attractive, and now she was beginning to think that he was actually nice to be around. If she didn’t remember their little talk in his office, that is.
“How’s your father doing?” he asked.
“As well as can be expected.” It was nice of him to ask after Daddy, but she was just beginning to relax. She hoped he wouldn’t bring up the anti-depressants or the subject of her mother again.
He didn’t. Instead, he said, “I don’t think I told you how nice you look tonight. Not that you don’t always look nice, that is.” Then he seemed to lose track of his thoughts for a moment as if he was embarrassed. It was cute, really. This sudden flustering of his, and Lauren couldn’t helped but be…charmed.
His cell phone went off. He glanced at the screen.
“A patient?” Lauren asked. Was he on call tonight? She hadn’t thought about what might happen if he had an emergency that might take him away from their dinner. Oddly, she found herself hoping that wouldn’t be the case.
“No, Doc is taking calls tonight.” He motioned toward the wine bottle. “Or I wouldn’t be drinking. It’s Lanie. Probably checking up on us.”
“I think that’s my cue to go to the restroom.” He took the call and Lauren carefully teetered her way to the ladies room. She’d only had two glasses of wine. Or was it three? No, she was positive it was just the two. They’d been here over an hour and still hadn’t ordered dinner yet. She needed to slow down on the alcohol.
She went to the restroom and was in the middle of washing her hands when a woman approached her. She was young, maybe early twenties and attractive, although her eyes looked slightly glazed. Apparently Lauren wasn’t the only one who liked the wine at The Harbor House.
“Excuse me, but that man you’re sitting with? Isn’t he the guy on YouTube? The one who proposed to his girlfriend right here at The Harbor House?” The look of sheer smugness on the woman’s face made Lauren want to slap her. The past hour with Nate had been a pleasant surprise. He was a decent man and she disliked that people were laughing at him, both behind his back and practically to his face.
She should teach the woman a lesson.
“Can you keep a secret?” Lauren said to the other woman, who eagerly nodded then leaned in closer to hear what Lauren had to say. “Yep, that’s him. And I have to tell you, I can’t believe my luck. I’m not the only woman in town who’s been after him. But, there was that girlfriend standing in the way.”
“Oh.” It was clearly not what she’d expected Lauren to say.
Lauren pulled out her compact and pretended to touch up her face with the powder. “Not that I believe all the hype, I mean, no man can be that big. I mean, it’s practically porn sized! If you believe the rumors.”
“Really?” The woman looked Lauren up and down with renewed interest. “If he’s all that, I wonder why his girlfriend turned him down.”
Lauren laughed and waved a negligent hand through the air. “Just because a guy is hot in the sack doesn’t mean you want to marry him. Who knows why she turned him down? I just know that her loss is my gain. Tonight. If you catch my drift,” she said with a wink.
“Oh, yeah, well, have fun.” The woman left the restroom, clearly disappointed.
“Witch,” Lauren muttered under her breath. She went back to the table. Nate was studying the menu.
“What’s the smile for?” Nate asked.
I just defended your honor! Lauren wanted to shout. “Nothing.” She took another sip of her wine. “What did your sister want?”
“Exactly what I thought. She was checking up on us.”
“What did you tell her?”
“I told her we were having a good time.” He paused. “We are, aren’t we?”
“Yes,” she said. And she meant it. Free food and a chance to wear the shoes had turned into the nicest night she’d had in a long time.
“I know you own a vintage clothing store,” Nate said. “I’ve seen it from the outside when I’ve gone into The Bistro.” He pointed to her dress. “Is that the kind of stuff you carry?”
“Yes, but this dress isn’t authentic vintage clothing. It’s what’s called retro-style. And…it’s something I made.”
“You made that yourself?” He looked impressed and Lauren couldn’t help but feel gratified.
“Yep. Designed and sewn by my own two hands.”
