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Kiara
It’s Tuesday evening, and as I walk into the restaurant Ellie has chosen, I’m a little surprised by how nice it is. It’s not her usual style—small tables lit by candles are spaced around the room, the centerpiece a crackling fire that appears to be just for show, which is good considering how warm it is outside.
“Hi,” I say, smiling at the waiter who has approached me. “A reservation for Ellie Black?”
“Two people? Certainly, right this way.”
He leads me to a table in the far corner of the room, pulling the chair out for me. I sit down, shocked that I’m somewhere before she is, for once.
“Thanks,” I say, smiling at the waiter.
He nods and then disappears, leaving me alone to take in the menu that is in front of me.
“You must be Kiara?”
I look up, shocked by the strong, masculine voice addressing me. I nod, slightly confused as to who this guy is. I glance around, wondering if maybe by some weird coincidence there’s another Kiara waiting for this tall, very attractive, very hot man.
“Great. Sorry I’m running late.” He sits down opposite me and runs a hand through his dark, slightly curly hair. I glance around again, my face heating up.
“Uh, you look kind of confused. You are Kiara, right? Kiara Drummond?”
“I am,” I reply. I realize I’m staring at his sexy, deep blue eyes and look away. “Who are you?”
“I’m Max. Grant’s friend?” he says. He shifts awkwardly in his seat as he waits for me to respond. That’s when it clicks.
I’m going to fucking kill her.
This is a date. Ellie has set me up on some stupid blind date. My hands clench into fists in my lap as I try and figure a way out of this without embarrassing this guy. What the hell was she thinking? She’d have to realize that I’d never go for this in a million years.
“So, correct me if I’m wrong, but you don’t seem thrilled to be here,” he says, interrupting my thoughts. His kind eyes look intrigued. He’s probably wondering why the hell I’m on a date I don’t want to be on.
“I’m sorry, it’s not you,” I sigh, covering my face with my hands. “Look, I don’t know how to say this, but I thought I was meeting my sister, Ellie, for dinner.”
His face drops as he gets what I’m saying. “Right. So you had no idea that this was…” He shakes his head and mutters something under his breath. “I can go if you like,” he offers.
I sigh, feeling bad for the poor guy. “We’re both here now. We might as well eat. I just didn’t want to give you the wrong idea . . .”
“Okay, well, you’ve definitely set me straight,” he laughs, his deep blue eyes sparkling. “How about a drink?” he asks, motioning toward my empty glass.
I nod and he waves over the waiter.
“I’ll have a glass of red and my friend will have…?”
“White,” I smile. “Preferably dry.”
The waiter smiles and leaves us alone. My heart begins to thump louder as I struggle to think of something to say. Even if I were ready to date, I’d avoid it because of this, the awkward silence. I don’t handle male attention well. Even when Aiden started showing interest in me back in high school, I was shy and tongue-tied around him. But he eventually wore me down with his silly sense of humor and his ability to make me laugh.
“So, let’s just call this two friends having dinner, huh?” he gives me a wink and I immediately relax. “Tell me something random about yourself.”
“Random?” I repeat, smiling. “God, okay. If it wasn’t for the fact that I had a five-year-old, I’d probably never get up before noon.”
“Me too,” he grins. “Well, minus the five-year-old part. And the fact that I’d probably lose my job.”
“What do you do?” I ask, curious.
“Nope, none of the usual first date getting-to-know-each-other shit happening here,” he says, his voice firm. “This isn’t a date, remember? Horror movies or romance?”
“Horror,” I grin. It’s been less than fifteen minutes, but I feel like I’ve known this guy forever. “Mexican or Chinese?”
