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“Is there something else?”
She nods. “Kinda…”
I shift my weight onto one foot and lean against the counter. “Last chance, sis. I’m about to lose it.”
Her eyes narrow and her lips open, but nothing comes out.
Why am I terrified right now?
“Look, I know you’re busy.” She fidgets with a straw wrapper on the counter and stutters a lot as she says, “Okay… so… this thing, right?”
“Let me help. If the favor is a date with Axel, the answer’s no. I’m sorry—”
“It’s tonight! The date is tonight!” The words pop from her lips like a kernel of corn that’s been stuck behind the lid of a pot. She buries her face in her hands. “Look,I know. I know!I screwed up badly, but Ihateworking for Bobby Steiner at that stupid realty company. I show cabins all day long to people in the city who end up changing their minds the second they realize how far away they’ll be from Starbucks. Nothing gets sold and Bobby keeps giving me the lookers. I need buyers, May.Buyers!”
Okay, obviously she’s having a breakdown.
“I appreciate the little guilt trip train we’re on. The views are great, but I’m not going on a date with Axel. Not tonight, not ever.”
“Look, I shouldn’t have set this up,I know that,but look at his profile.” She shoves the phone in front of my face. “He’s so hot, and you’re everything he’s looking for! It’s one date. Please!He’s my only client. I don’t want a bad review.”
“I think the second you tell him that I’m his date, he’s going to leave you negative stars, Nora. You’re not hearing me. We’re like oil and water, the gym and pizza, politicians and honesty. We wouldn’t work.”
She throws herself in a pleading position against the counter and again, I see her begging for pre-dinner green mint chip ice cream. “Please! I’ve tried matching him with every woman in my database, May. No one is interested. You’re my last hope.”
“You’re really selling him.No oneelse wanted him, so here ya go… but trust me, he’s great?” I push away from the counter and grab my purse from under the register. “You’re going to need to work on your tactics if this is your new full-time business.”
She sighs and stands straight. “Fine. I didn’t want to do this, but you owe me.”
I spin back and laugh. “I owe you?”
“Yeah.” The pout is gone. “When Mom died, you begged me to do all the calling. You didn’t make one single phone call, May. You said that day you owed me, and I haven’t cashed in yet.”
Okay, she’s not wrong about that. I did temporarily lose my mind when my mother passed, and I did put almost everything on Nora. Looking back, that was a real asshole move.
I sigh. “Fine, but this means we’re even. I don’t owe you anything after this.”
She nods and bites back a grin as she gathers her things and heads for the door. “Yes. Full payback. I agree. He’s, ugh, he’s supposed to meet you outside at seven thirty so… please, please, please be nice. I really need a good review.”
I bite the inside of my cheek and glance down at my watch. It’s already seven. I have thirty minutes to forget every egotistic thing I know about Axel Carpenter.
Something tells me that isn’t long enough.
Chapter Two
Axel
I pull into the space straight in front of the diner, still unsure of why I’m here. I don’t need a woman. Hell, I’m not even sure if Iwantone. The last time I let myself be vulnerable with relationship shit, I ended up depressed for months, with a million questions of what went wrong. For the record, I still don’t have the answers.
Every woman I meet wants the same thing. They want a man who does the grunt work and doesn’t speak unless it’s to say‘yes, dear’with a smile.They want a man who will give them the world, while asking for nothing in return. Sorry ladies, Alex’s no one’s puppet.
I drag in a deep breath of fresh night air and climb off my bike. The pine is faded down here, masked by the scents of fried food and baked goods. I can’t say I hate it, just wish some of these places were open. This time of night, the only shops with lights on are Rugged Mountain Ink and Mullet’s bar. Neither make a great first date, but in a small town like this, you work with what you’re given.
The bike leans to the left and I toss my gloves in the side saddle before returning a call I felt buzzing in my pocket on the way here. I don’t see anyone waiting for me and I’m half hoping the call is from the dating agency. Maybe she wants to tell me this whole thing is called off.
Fuck, that would be a relief.No awkward conversations about why I’m here. No intimate interrogations over why I’m single. No uncomfortable silences because my answers don’t fit what she’s already determined is the reason I’m alone.
I close my eyes and send up a prayer, hoping to someone, anywhere, that this date is a no show. It was a mistake to come here. I’m a big enough man to acknowledge my mistakes and move past them. Chalk it up to a moment of weakness.
