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“I won’t look. Just tell me.”
“Well, over at the other end of the bar is the guy that I was telling you about.”
“What?” I can tell she wants to look around me, but she stays focused on my eyes until I give her permission.
“Don’t get too excited. Just look over your shoulder casually,” I instruct.
Callie does as I say, and she slightly leans her body past me to get a good view of the other end of the bar. She takes a quick glance then looks me back at me.
“Damn, those biceps,” she gawks, swallowing hard. If she were an emoji right now, she’d be the one with the big heart eyes mixed with the drool face emoji.
“I know.” I sigh. “He looks sexy as hell.”
“I can’t believe he’s here. Considering he’s lived here for years and no one has barely seen him. Wonder why he decided to come out of his cave?” Callie wiggles her eyebrows at me.
“Why?” I ask.
“He was probably hoping to run into you.” Callie playfully elbows me.
“Oh, come on. He’s probably just tired of being on the mountainside alone with his big ass dog,” I say it out loud, but I secretly hope it’s because of me.
“Riiiighhhtttttttt.” Callie continues teasing me under her breath. I wish I could say I’m immune to it, but it’s making me blush even more. I’m not sure if I should go over to where Tate is sitting or wait for him to come over here. In fact, I have no clue what I should be doing. I don’t know what’s more awkward, us greeting one another or not.
“You have to go over there,” Callie tells me.
“I can’t. Seriously. What if it’s awkward?” I take a sip of my beer and look at the food menu as if I’m studying it.
“Hey!” Callie stands and calls across the bar toward Tate. She motions with her hand for him to join us and I’m mortified. I can’t believe that she is doing this to me. I grab her arm and sit her down. I want to sink into the bar and disappear.
“What the hell are you doing?” I ask in a hushed tone.
“Taking matters into my own hands.” She smirks.
Gaining an inch of courage, I glance across the bar, and I see Tate is smiling. He seems amused by the whole situation, thankfully. He lifts his eyebrows as if he’s silently asking me if it’s okay to come over toward us. I nod my head, and he walks our way causing a smile meets my lips. I happy he’s going to joining us, but somewhat pissed Callie had to force it.
“Is it alright if I join you?” Tate asks over my shoulder.
His cologne smells so damn good.
“We would be delighted,” Callie answers with a big smile.
“This is a crazy coincidence,” Tate says, sitting in the bar stool next to me.
I nod and smile because I’m still trying to find my words.
“Do you come here often?” Callie asks, leaning forward trying to start the conversation.
“From time to time. Not too often.”
“We don’t come here that often, either. But we just sensed that this night, we were supposed to be here. Like something was calling us,” Callie says dramatically. I nudge her with my elbow because she’s being over-the-top obvious.
“Funny, I felt that, too,” Tate adds humorously.
“We come here once or twice a month,” I say, finally making eye contact with Tate. His eyes are warm and inviting. For a moment I want to dive into them and get lost.
“Same. Crazy we’ve never run into each other,” Tate replies, and I’m thinking the same thing.
At the café, I was full of questions and comments for Tate, and now I’m tongue-tied. It’s weird for me, and I eat my nachos and drink my beer in silence while Callie carries on a conversation about the supermarket, the history of Whitefish, and skiing in the winter. It’s only when the nachos are finished that Callie orders another beer and makes an excuse to leave.
