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Was I?
It felt like it—but that’s not at all what my intention was.
I don’t think.
Couldn’t have been…
My phone pings again, putting an end to my woolgathering.
Decker: This might be sudden since we’ve only been talking for a few hours but would you want to meet for a drink this weekend?
By no stretch of the imagination do I consider this sudden. My style is ripping off the band-aid and finding out whether we’re a match so I can move on and match with someone new if we’re not.
Me: Let’s do it.
Chapter Six
MIRIAM
“Hi.” I rise from my seat and cross the bar, hand extended as Ari glances around searching for a man who is not showing up tonight.
Her date.
I’m here instead, vetting her to save my client time and also: he has a last minute meeting with the partners in his firm that he could not miss. I mean, what was he supposed to tell them? Sorry boys, I can’t make your meeting because I’m meeting a woman I’ve never met for a drink at the Rugby Lounge?
Not likely.
Not Decker.
Instead, we decided that I would do just fine—I just have to convince Ari that I’m a suitable replacement, as unconventional as this is.
“Ari?”
She nods, confused, still glancing around the bar.
“Decker isn’t coming,” I blurt out.
I’ve never done this before—gone on a date in someone’s stead, least of all not a man’s. Dating by Proxy.
I’m surprised when Ari extends her hand, letting it slide into mine.
“Decker isn’t coming?” Ari’s head is tilted to the side, her long wavy hair moving along with it. “Who are you?” She breaths. “And please do not say his wife.”
“Oh god, no—I’m not wife.” I laugh. “I assure you, Decker is very single. I’m his matchmaker.”
“You could have led with that,” she says, chin tilted up. “Do you have any idea how many married men are on these hideous dating apps?”
Ari already has her purse off her shoulder, ass sliding onto a bar stool, signaling the bartender.
“Too many?”
She nods. “Exactly. Too many.”
“Sorry to spring this on you—he’s a busy guy. The partners in his firm called a meeting this afternoon; sprung it on him, actually, and he didn’t want to cancel.”
“So, he sent a representative?” Her laugh is sardonic. “How kind of him.”
I set my purse next to hers on the bar top and take a seat next to her. “It’s more than most guys would have done.”
