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I gave my hair a quick tousle to separate the waves I’d put in with my styling wand. “Okay, fine. You’re right,” I relented as I moved to the mirror and flipped the camera around. “So, do I look okay?”
“You don’t just look okay, Hard. You look white-freaking-hot.”
“Don’t need to hear that shit about my sister!” Owen called from the background.
“Then don’t eavesdrop on my calls, you big baby!”
“You’re sitting in the living room!” he continued to argue back.
Asher gave up and rolled her eyes at the screen. “Don’t listen to him. Seriously, you’re gorgeous. Go knock this guy’s socks off and enjoy a steak that cuts like butter while you’re at it.”
I could definitely do that.
* * *
I pulled my car beneath the large porte cochère where the valet booth was and slid the gear shift into park. Silas had offered to pick me up for our date, but the mom in me had been more comfortable with the idea of having my own car in case an emergency popped up with Hazel and I needed to make a quick exit. The odds of that happening were slim, but I couldn’t help but worry every time she was at her father’s.
Lucky for me, that didn’t happen very often.
The valet rushed around to open my door and passed me a ticket that I quickly stashed in the small clutch I was using tonight instead of my big mom-purse that carried everything from tampons to gum to packages of fruit snacks.
“Thank you.” I offered him a polite smile and took his offered hand, glad for his assistance climbing out of the car since my legs were trembling with nerves. Pulling in a fortifying breath, I turned to face the entrance of the restaurant. Silas was already standing there, waiting for me, and grinned a very appealing grin, coming in my direction as I rounded the hood of the car.
He looked very handsome in a pair of black slacks, a charcoal button-down, black dress shoes, and a matching leather belt. He was throwing off a vibe of sleek and dangerous, like a panther. Lethal but beautiful. If I had to guess, it was the ex-Ranger in him that gave the impression of danger. Even retired, he oozed the kind of power that made people do a double-take.
“Wow. You look beautiful.” He pressed a palm to the dip in my waist and leaned in to press a kiss to my cheek. Even his scent matched his whole persona, fresh pine and something spicy.
“You too.” My eyes went wide. “No, I mean, not like, beautiful. But handsome. You look very handsome. The, uh, man version of beautiful.” My cheeks felt like they were on fire, and if I looked down, I knew the blush would be starting at my toes and crawling all the way up.
Silas let out a deep chuckle. “Nervous?”
I let out a gush of air, my shoulders slumping forward. “Is it that obvious?” I asked with an arched brow, both of us already knowing the answer to that question.
“Don’t worry. Tonight’s going to be fun,” he assured me as he led me inside to the hostess station. He gave his name, and we were quickly ushered back to a small table by the windows along the back wall that overlooked the courtyard outside. Golden fairy lights and paper lanterns strung through the trees provided an almost ethereal glow.
He pulled my chair out for me like a gentleman before taking his own seat, and the hostess gave us our waiter’s name before handing over brown leather-bound menus and heading back to her station.
“So, how long has it been since your last date?” he asked after we were finally alone once our server took and delivered our drink order.
I let out a little laugh that turned into a pained groan. “Would it be okay if I took the fifth on that one?”
He arched a single brow and lifted the Scotch he’d ordered to his lips for a sip. “That long, huh?”
I shrugged, lifting my wineglass, and prayed I didn’t spill it down the front of my shirt. Red wine would not be a good first-date look. “Being a single mother kind of makes it difficult to have a social life,” I admitted, throwing it out right off the bat so the fact that I had a kid wasn’t silently hanging over our heads the entire evening.
He knew, of course, seeing as Hazel was at the housewarming where we’d been introduced, and Asher hadn’t bothered to hide that I was a mom, but we hadn’t really dived into the subject.
“How’s your daughter doing?” he asked politely.
It was just the icebreaker I needed. Talking about Hazel soothed me. The topics shifted from there. We asked questions about each other’s personal lives, hobbies, interests, typical first-date conversation topics. He was easy to talk to, and in no time, the nerves that had plagued me drifted away.
Conversation flowed easily through appetizers and our main course. The only downside to the whole night was the spark I’d hoped to develop wasn’t there. It felt more like I was talking to a friend than a potential love interest. He made me laugh, and I wasn’t blind that every woman in the room kept looking over, checking out the gorgeous guy sitting by the window. I actually started to worry that something was wrong with me that would require medical intervention, because Ishouldbe drawn to this man.
He ticked all my boxes. He was funny, charming, good-looking, and interesting. He genuinely seemed interested in me, and I’d been enthralled all evening as he told me stories of his time in the military. My gut told me that if I’d met him at a different time in my life, it probably would have worked out.
But I had a different man in my head, and he refused to give up any space for someone else.
Silas smiled at me across the table as he lifted his glass to his lips and sipped. “So, how long do you want to wait to tell Asher this isn’t gonna go anywhere?”
