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When I step off the elevator, Hayden waits for me. He’s no longer in a suit, but he’s dressed up in a striped, black button-down, sleeves rolled to his forearms that give Brody a run for his money, and matching black slacks. But unlike Brody, Hayden’s sporting ink on his arms, giving him more of a bad-boy vibe.
As he watches me walk toward him, his eyes light with interest, and I’ve honestly never felt sexier in my life. Maybe I am curvy, and maybe I have put on some weight since I had my kids, but between Brody’s words and the way Hayden is looking at me, it’s clear they both find me attractive. So it didn’t work out with Brody… Lacey’s right—I’m young and single, and it’s time I act that way. Have a little fun.
“You look stunning,” Hayden says, leaning in and pressing a soft kiss to my cheek. “You hungry?” he whispers in my ear, making me wonder if his question is a double entendre.
“Starved,” I tell him.
“Perfect.”
He escorts me to an awaiting SUV, where he opens the back door and slides in after me. There’s a driver in the front, and he takes off to wherever we’re going once we're in.
“How was the rest of your day?” Hayden asks conversationally.
“Good. Busy. People love their caffeine and sugar.”
He laughs. “I don’t blame them. After drinking your coffee, my stash at home tastes like shit.”
“Guess you’ll have to come in more often,” I say, shocked by my easy flirting.
“Guess I will.”
The drive to the restaurant is quick, and once we arrive, Hayden takes my hand in his and guides us inside. The name of the restaurant is Lush, and while I’ve heard of it since it’s extremely popular here, I’ve never been. For one, I couldn’t afford it, and two, it’s not somewhere you take your kids.
“Mr—”
“Please, call me Hayden,” he says before she can finish. “For two.”
“Right this way,” the hostess says, bringing us to a table situated outside on a terrace. Since we’re the only ones out here, it’s private and quiet, aside from the soft music playing above us.
“Wow,” I breathe, staring out at the city. The setting sun provides a breathtaking view. “I’ve lived here my entire life, and sometimes, I forget how beautiful the city can be.”
“I agree,” Hayden says. “It’s a view worth memorizing.” But as he says the words, his eyes never leave me.
“Thank you for giving me a chance,” he says.
“It wasn’t that I didn’t want to go out with you,” I admit. “I just wasn’t sure if I was ready to date.”
“And now you are?”
“Yeah, I am.”
“Good,” he says with a nod.
After we peruse the menu and order our drinks and appetizers, he says, “Tell me about yourself.”
Because I don’t want to scare him off the way I did with Brody, I stick to the surface. “Well, as you know, I own a coffeehouse and bakery. I inherited it from my grandparents after they passed. Baking is my passion, and coffee is my addiction.” I wink playfully, and he chuckles.
“There are worse things to be addicted to.”
“True. What about you? What are your passions?”
He flinches slightly, and it’s so quick that I wouldn't have seen it if I wasn’t watching him. “Work, mostly. I work for my dad. He has high expectations, so most of my time is spent trying to reach them.”
“That doesn’t sound like much fun,” I say honestly.
“No, not really, but I love what I do. And I’m hoping to take over one day, and when I do, I’ll change shit so it’s a better place to work. I’ll be a better boss to work for.”
“That sounds like a good plan.”
“So when you’re not baking those addictive brownies and cupcakes, what are you doing?”
“When I have the time, I love to read and take bubble baths. I enjoy going to wine tastings. One day, I’d love to do one of those tours. You know, the ones where they show you how it’s all made.”
“And you step on all the grapes?” Hayden adds, making me laugh.
“Yes! That would be so cool.”
“What else?”
“Umm, when the weather permits, I love going to the beach, and on rainy days, I enjoy baking and trying out new recipes. When my kids—” I stop mid-sentence, realizing too late what I just said. I try to think of how to backtrack, but there’s no way without sounding like an idiot.
“When your kids…?” he prompts. “You have kids?”
“Yeah.” I clear my throat. “I have two.”
“Any reason you didn’t mention them earlier?”
“Truth?” When he nods, I continue. “I recently went on a date, and I thought it went good, actually, better than good.” I cringe, feeling bad that I just said that to the guy I’m on a date with. “But he never called afterward, so when I went over how the date went, I thought maybe I went too deep too fast and scared him off. So tonight, I was trying to be less deep and more carefree. But the truth is, my life is kind of deep. I’m a widowed single mom. I lost my husband almost five years ago, my grandma shortly after, and now I’m raising my eight-year-old twins on my own. Until this week, I had only been on one date since my husband passed away, and it was horrible, making me not want to date at all… And there I go again,” I groan, “word-vomiting my entire life.”
