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“Nothing,” Reece advised.
“I thought I’d have to take a lie detector test if I wanted to take her on a second date.” Which he didn’t. “Next, I asked out a widow, thinking we have that in common. She was nice, but there was no chemistry.” At all. He could tell she was lonely but passed on her invitation to go back to her place. He couldn’t even fake romantic interest. “Side out. Game over.”
“Don’t tell me you’re giving up already. That’s only an inning. There are nine innings in a ball game,” Jace challenged.
“I hope you’re not suggesting I go out with twenty-seven women.” Keeping the women he’d chatted with straight was a challenge. “I don’t have time for that. I also don’t want to get married just to get married and end up hurt or hurting someone else.”
“You know, being a serial dater might raise more concerns than being serious with someone—anyone,” Reece countered Jace’s suggestion. “If you were putting your energy into a serious relationship, there’d be no need or time to mess around with someone else’s wife.”
“True,” Megan agreed. “Neither Boatman nor Thomsen were single, so ordering you to marry doesn’t make sense either.”
“What would take for the general to back off his order? It’s not like the team would go to him and say, ‘Colonel Holmstrom’s got a girlfriend. I’m not worried about him seducing my wife anymore,’” Jace used a deep, theatrical voice.
“No, they aren’t going to do that,” Reece admitted.
“You can’t give up after four dates. Do you know any generals who gave up the war because they lost an early battle?” Jace reasoned.
“I’m glad I didn’t give up after my first dozen or so online matches,” Alex chimed in. “I was about to close my account after being contacted by cpleaser 97.”
“Eww,” Megan groaned.
“Yeah. I wasn’t sure if that was the year he was born or the number of women he, uh . . . I didn’t respond to ask him.”
Graham shook his head. He’d come across some interesting screen names, but nothing like that.
“Fortunately, there was a message sent a few hours earlier, and even though the picture was a car selfie”—Alex eyed Jace—“his smile caught my eye enough that I clicked on his profile and agreed to go on a date.”
“After meeting me, she didn’t need or want to date anyone else.” Jace wore a corny grin as he leaned closer to Alex.
“Anything was better than the other,” Megan said.
“I don’t know if I’m picky or just not ready yet.” Graham wasn’t going to repeat his father’s mistakes of settling for good enough to keep from being alone—even to stay here.
Megan studied him through narrowed eyes, her mouth puckered. “Did you look forward to going out and spending time with someone, or did that stress you out?”
“I was nervous making the dates, but I looked forward to dinner and some company. I had a good conversation with Erin. Until she disclosed she had no plans to marry, which threw me a curveball. Even though it was only one date, I compared the other women to her, and none measured up.”
“Remember the animal matching game Jace and I had as kids?” Megan asked.
“Of course, he does. He always threw the game.” Jace laughed. “He’d made sure you got to match the bunny and the kitten since they were your favorites, and I got to match the tiger and dog,” he explained to Alex and Reece.
Graham shrugged. A good dad didn’t decimate his kids in games.
“Dating is like that matching game. There are a lot of women looking to get married, but not many of them are matches. You’ve got to keep guessing and remember what qualities you want to find again. Eventually, you’ll find a match. It might even be the kitten or bunny or tiger you want to find.”
“Just stay away from the vipers, chameleons, and black widows,” Reece teased.
“Those weren’t in the game.” Megan swatted her husband’s hand.
“But they’re out there,” Reece warned.
ChapterNine
“Are you happy to see me?”Erin asked Tink and Smokey, who came and circled her legs.
Smokey gave a plaintiffmeowand pranced to the kitchen with her tail held high.
Right. They wanted moist food. Erin put her bag in the bedroom before heading to the kitchen. This time, the drive back from Charlotte felt longer than two hours.
