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“You know...that thing,” he mumbled.
Tess shook her head. “There’s no thing. I checked your calendar. We’re free.”
The downside of linking his daughter’s cell phone to his to keep an eye on her meant she also had access to his information. He shifted from one foot to the other, unsure what to say. Tess looked eager to have tacos with her summer camp instructor...but why? “Right. Tomorrow is Tuesday!” he said, unconvincingly. “I was thinking about the thing we have on Thursday.” Real smooth.
Tess grinned, her mouth and tongue a bright purple.
“Great. Well? What do you say?” Dr. Ann asked.
“Sure. Tacos sound great,” he said.
“Perfect. My place at seven?”
He nodded as he took Tess’s backpack from her and helped her climb into the passenger seat of the truck. “See you then.”
“Bring your appetite,” Dr. Ann called as she waved and headed back toward the building, where the rest of the children were gathering their things and several parents waited for pickup.
When he was settled into the driver’s seat, he shot Tess a look. “Care to explain what that was about?”
She bit off a piece of the Popsicle and said over the mouthful of ice, “You...need to...get back in the saddle.”
Oliver nearly drove off the shoulder of the road. “Excuse me?”
“Get your groove back, your love on...” Tess said.
Where the hell had this come from? He cleared his throat. “Um, excuse me, what?”
She glanced at him. “You know—our chat. Yesterday. About expanding our family, bringing more people and pets into our intimate circle.”
Intimate circle. Oliver ran a hand over his stubbly chin and fought for the right words. He had broached the topic with Tess to gauge her thoughts on the idea of him potentially dating, of moving on, but he hadn’t meant for her to suddenly start playing matchmaker. Maybe he should have been more direct, clearer in the discussion. Maybe he should have been more specific that he wasn’t into dating just anyone...
First, maybe she should clarify her thought process with this whole taco night thing. “You think I should date Dr. Ann?”
“Why not? I think she’s pretty and smart, and she thinks you’re cute.”
Huh? “She told you she thinks I’m cute?”
“She didn’t need to say it, Dad. I noticed the way she looked at you at drop-off this morning. There was definitely chemistry.”
He sighed. She’d noticed chemistry. He hadn’t. He hadn’t dated in so long, hadn’t even entertained the idea of dating in so long, that he didn’t pick up on those social clues anymore.
For months, Alison had been flirting with him in home economics and he’d never clued in that she wanted him to ask her out. She’d finally been the one to ask him out.
“So, these tacos are a date?” He didn’t like the idea. And he certainly didn’t like the idea of misleading either Tess or Dr. Ann into thinking he was interested in a relationship. At least, not with the local marine scientist.
“If you kiss her at the end, it is,” Tess said after some contemplation.
Kiss her? He wasn’t going to kiss Dr. Ann. He wasn’t going to kiss anyone—except maybe Carly...eventually. Someday. If he ever got the courage to figure out how to tell her about these growing feelings and if he could stop his daughter from setting him up on any more dates.
“There will be no kissing,” he said firmly.
“Right. That could be awkward for you and gross for me. Best if I’m not there. I’ll make a playdate with Darcy so you can go alone,” she said, licking the remains of the frozen treat from the stick.
“You will not. You got me into this. You’re coming along. And next time, don’t ambush me like that.” They had a rule—discuss things in private first. Seems his daughter suspected he never would have agreed to this if Dr. Ann hadn’t been standing there.
Tess sighed. “Dad, you can’t be alone forever.”
“I’m not alone. I have you,” he said.
