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“It’s almost eleven. What time?” Charlie asked.
“I’m ready now,” she said, laughing. “Is that too eager?”
“No. I don’t want to play games. Either we want to meet or we don’t. If we do, now is great.”
“Okay, well, don’t forget you said that if we should hit if off.”
“We already hit it off,” he said. “I’ll see you in twenty minutes.”
She forced herself not to do a cartwheel in excitement. A real date, where a guy had called her and asked to see her, had not happened in a long time. With a social life centered around a bar at the beach unfortunately called Barnacle Ben’s, Lila’s dates had been limited to one-night stands or booty calls from men she ran into from time to time. How much of this was she obligated to share with Charlie Saint?
Running to the bathroom to check her makeup, she was pleased with the face staring back. Having a good hair day meant her naturally blond hair was up in a perfectly executed messy bun, makeup subtle but clearly there, and the perfect casual daytime look with a crisp white, long-sleeved shirt and slim jeans. She’d grab a sweater for a cool, wet, Southern California fall day.
She looked younger than her early thirties, but since he had to be pushing fifty, she wasn’t too worried about her age any longer. There was something to be said about seeing an older guy when most of the men she’d been with in the past year were probably college age or not much older than that, a fact that made her squirm.
Another appealing thing about Charlie Saint, he lived in her dream neighborhood. Large lots of at least two acres, with lots of mature landscaping, or planted-to-look-mature landscaping, added hundreds of thousands of dollars to the purchase price of Spanish-style, tiled-roof estates. And the best part of it, he was close by. Less than ten miles.
She kissed Devon’s dog, Tilly, goodbye and got into the car, hoping she could remember how to drive she was so excited.
When she pulled up to the coffee shop, she saw him sitting at the window counter already, waiting. He waved and smiled, and her heart skipped a proverbial beat.
“Slow down, you fool,” she mumbled.
They didn’t want to play games, but she should still use some wisdom and not jump into bed with him, no matter how intense the chemistry was, and even through the window, it was intense.
He got up and met her at the door, grabbing her hand. “Thank you for seeing me at the last minute.”
“You’re fine. I like last minute,” she said, laughing, the joke being they’d just met in Devon’s hospital room.
“What can I get you?”
On the tip of her tongue was I’ll get it myself, but she caught herself in time. Charlie Saint had a gentleman’s sensibility. If he wanted to order her coffee and pay for it, she’d let him. After all, he did invite her.
“I’m going to be bad and have one of those froufrou drinks with whipped cream,” she replied, laughing again. Being with him just made her happy. The awareness hit her and she winced. If she let him in, if she let her guard down…
“Are you okay? I saw that!”
Taking a deep breath, she nodded. “I’ll have a double expresso, whipped cream, sugar-free caramel macchiato latte.”
Concerned, he placed his hand on her shoulder and led her to the barista. “I’m not sure I’ll remember all that, but I’ll try.” He looked at the barista and smiled. “Okay, here goes.”
He repeated everything perfectly, and they were directed to wait to the side while the drink was prepared.
“What happened back there?”
“It’s stupid to talk about it when we’ve been together for ten minutes tops,” she said. “It’s just my insecurity.”
He thought about what she said and nodded in acknowledgment. “It’s all good. We only have to take one day at a time. Or one minute at a time.”
“I think I can manage one day but just barely. Sorry. It’s been a long time since I’ve talked to a guy without a drink or two under my belt.”
“Gotcha,” he said, understanding. “We don’t have to discuss anything but the weather if that will help. I’m not exactly known as a conversationalist.”
He chuckled, thinking, If she only knew what a dud I am.
“So you live in the Ranch. I’ve had that as a goal. When I was a kid, I wanted to go to school in the Ranch.”
She caught herself in the nick of time. Forget being honest and not playing games, she wasn’t going to tell a fifty-year-old guy that one of her lifetime goals was to send her children to school in Rancho Santa Fe.
