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“Far from it,” he said.
She smiled wider before turning to the waitress who appeared next to them.
After they ordered po’boys and a cup of gumbo, a comfortable silence descended. He took the time to study her. Her eyes weren’t really the color of moss so much as the color of a magnolia leaf: rich, fertile green. The freckles weren’t overly pronounced, merely sprinkled across her rounded cheekbones. She had delicate eyebrows and small earlobes from which winked simple solitaire diamonds.
Tess cleared her throat. “So if this is a date, you should tell me more about yourself. I know you went to Jesuit, grew up here, and worked for NASA, but what about your… hobbies?”
“Hobbies?”
Tess made a face. “That’s lame, huh? Guess I have issues with uncomfortable silence.”
“Felt like a comfortable silence to me.”
“Really? Hmm…” She lifted a shoulder and then opened a package of crackers from the bowl on the table. “I should have taken Angela up on the appetizers. I’m starving.”
He’d been eyeing the crackers himself, so he mimicked her. “Me, too, but I didn’t want to look like I had no self control.”
“No sense in standing on ceremony. As my nephews say, YOLO.”
He crooked an eyebrow.
“You Only Live Once,” she clarified.
Perfect reason to ignore the flicker of logic edging in on his good time with Tess. YOLO. He liked that. “Okay, a little about me. I read the newspaper every morning, don’t have a Facebook account, like dogs over cats, have a seven-year-old daughter, and I’m a Scorpio.”
“You have a daughter?”
“Somehow I knew that would stand out to you. Yeah, Emily. She’s beautiful, smart, and can tie her own shoes. Big accomplishment. She lives here in New Orleans with her mother, and so I don’t get to see her as often as I would like. Another reason I want to move back.”
“Wow, a kid, huh?”
“Deal breaker for you?”
“No, I’ve just never dated a guy with a kid. Not that we’re dating. This is a special circumstance. Or something.”
“Or something. But we’re going with it, right?”
“Definitely. I’m having fun.”
The waitress arrived with their gumbo, and with unspoken agreement they dug in. The gumbo was decent, and minutes later both cups were empty.
Graham pushed his bowl to the side. “So tell me about you.”
“Nothing special. Graduated from Carnegie-Mellon in industrial art design, work for my dad’s company, and live in a loft in the Warehouse district. I ride a bike to work most days, and I do the New York Times crossword puzzle every Sunday even if it takes me until lunch. I don’t have children or pets. I come from a big Italian family, no ties to mafia, though my brother likes to infer it.”
“The priest?”
“No, the surgeon.”
“Accomplished family,” he murmured.
“Exactly what my father expects. I’m the baby of the family and the only girl. I have three older brothers who excel at their careers, but I’m the only one who followed in my father’s footsteps.”
“Three older brothers?” He feigned loosening his collar.
She laughed as the waitress set huge po’boys in front of them. “You don’t have to worry. They’re all my size and busy with families. I see them only at Sunday dinner. Now Granny B, she’s the one you should worry about. She once accosted the mailman for being cheeky.”
“Cheeky?”
