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She blushed. “That’s not what I meant.”
“Yes, it is.” He set his glass down and stood on the step four down from the top, so he didn’t tower so much over her. “Thank Lottie again for me.”
“Okay.” Was he leaving? She wanted to take his hand and tug him back down next to her. Would she see him again?
He smiled, as if he knew what she was thinking. “And will you add three more for your speed dating event tomorrow?”
She frowned. “You and your friends?”
“Yes.”
Her confusion turned into a disappointment she felt deep in her chest. He wanted to attend the speed dating and meet other women? Had she read his signals wrong?
But he mowedherlawn. A guy didn’t do that unless he was interested. If a guy mowed your lawn, he was interested.
Only Jamie was European. Maybe in Europe lawns didn’t have the same significance.
Actually, he’d never mowed a lawn before. Maybe it was lost in translation. Maybe he didn’t know taking care of a woman’s grass was a Big Deal. Maybe he wasn’t as interested in her as she was in him.
The women were going to eat them all up. She didn’t care about his two friends, but the thought of some woman—women—fawning over Jamie made her want to smash something. “I don’t know if it’s a good idea to attend the event,” she said finally.
“It’s a great idea. I’ll see you tomorrow, Rachel.” Smiling, he jogged down the rest of the stairs, out the gate, and down the street.
She watched him until she couldn’t see his incredible body any longer. She should have told him there was a dress code and that he needed to wear a burlap sack. Though she’d have to cover him upandmuzzle him to keep other women from seeing how magnificent he was.
She slumped. Who’d come up with this speed dating idea anyway? Oh right—her.
Six
Jamie started his pep talk to Erik as the three of them walked to Clancy’s. “This is just a pre-season game, so we know how to rank you.”
Erik nodded, sticking his hands in his pockets.
“It’s a walk in the park,” he continued. “Relax and have fun. You’ve got this.”
“Okay,” the kid said, hunching down.
Didier put his hand on Erik’s shoulder. “Ne t’inquiète pas. We do this as a team.”
“We’ll be right there with you,” Jamie said, trying to be as encouraging as possible despite his own pregame jitters.
He’d been able to think of nothing but seeing Rachel again. He’d given hardly any thought to Brad’s offer or what was going on with Erik since he’d seen her again yesterday. His coach would have told him to get his head in the game; his dad would have pointed out that Jamie didn’t lack discipline. If Rachel was distracting him, there must be something he needed to pay attention to there.
He wanted to pay attention to all of her, for days and days.
He’d wanted to jog back and ask her to dinner, but he knew he couldn’t rush it. She wasn’t the type of woman to just jump into a romance with someone. This speed dating day provided the perfect opportunity for her to get to know him better, an opening to ask her out.
Only now he was oddly unsure. Right before he left her yesterday, something had changed with her. She’d seemed perturbed, and he had no idea why. Hence the odd case of jitters.
Not to worry. Either she was interested or not. He stuck his hands in his pockets, strangely bothered by the idea of her not being interested in him.
Clancy’s looked busier than Friday night, but on closer examination it was only because people were milling about. The tables were arranged in a sort of line going through the center of the room, but everyone was congregated around the bar, leaning against the counter, trying to order drinks. The nerves and tension were like a locker room pregame.
Speed dating, it seemed, wasn’t for the faint of heart.
This time when they walked in, the stares were different. Instead of people looking at them like they were some sort of exotic creatures they’d never seen, it was mostly women looking at them appraisingly.
Much better. Jamie clapped Erik on the shoulder and led them to the bar. The old man who’d been there drawing the last time was in the same spot, still as removed from everyone else as he’d been Friday night, his pen just as active. There was a spot next to him, so Jamie went there, maneuvering Erik to stand closer to two young women who waited for Chris to take their orders.
