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“Hi, George. It’s nice to meet you, in person anyway. And if I may say, you’re absolutely adorable when you’re nervous.”
The heat radiating from my face intensifies as I smile shyly and look up at him with only my eyes. “It’s nice to meet you too, Andrew. And ifImay say, you’re too kind.”
He rewards my remark with a full belly laugh. Such a loud laugh, in fact, that some of the other diners turn to see what is going on. I’m surprised I don’t care. I gesture to his chair, and we both take our seats.
We sit in silence for a few minutes. My silence is the awkward kind while his is the comfortable-enough-in-his-skin-that-he-doesn’t-have-to-make-small-talk kind. I almost remember a time when I radiated confidence like that. Miranda’s self-doubt must be contagious.
Wanting to break the silence, I try to think of what people say to each other when they first meet like this. “Did you have any trouble finding the place?”
He smiles and raises an eyebrow. “Nope. I just put it into my GPS and got right here.”
I flinch, feeling as though I was smacked right between the eyes by my own stupidity. “Oh. Right. Because it’s not the twentieth century, and people don’t need paper maps and printed directions anymore. Sorry.” I’m doing great tonight. I pick up my menu as if I’m perusing the options, but really, I’m just hiding myself away behind the leather book.
Andrew sees through my ruse and places his hand on top of mine, gently pushing it down so that I have to lower the menu. “George, please relax. I like you. You don’t have to worry about trying to impress me.”
I take a deep breath and tell myself that when I release it, I’m going to release all the tension that’s causing me to act like a moron. I exhale. “Can we start over?”
Again, Andrew flashes that glowing smile my way. “We can, but we really don’t have to. You’re doing fine.”
This is of course the moment our server chooses to come over and introduce himself. After we listen to the specials, Andrew orders a glass of merlot, and I ask for a whiskey sour. Then the server walks away, and we begin to look over the menus in earnest.
“Do you come here often?” Andrew asks. He is actually curious, not just using a line on me. I think.
“Not in years. It’s my mom’s favorite. It used to be my family’s go-to place, but I wasn’t home much after I went away to school. After my dad died, I think it was too hard for my mom come back here.” I realize how quiet the table has grown and hesitate before I look at Andrew, afraid of what I’ll see in his face. “That, that was too much for a first-date conversation, right?”
With his brows high, he presses his hand to his chest, over his heart. “No, that was not too much for a first date! Thank you for sharing such a big piece of your life with me.” He moves his hand to rest on my shoulder in a comforting gesture. I feel the weight and warmth of it through my shirt. It feels nice that he cares. Actually, better than nice. It feels delightful and comforting and phenomenal to be cared for.
Our server returns with our drinks and to take our orders. The menu is prix fixe, so we have to order every course now, even the desserts. When he walks away to put our order in, Andrew leans toward me and speaks out of the corner of his mouth. “Little presumptuous of them to think we’ll enjoy ourselves enough to still be here for dessert, isn’t it?”
When I look at him confused, he winks. I chuckle softly before moving along our conversation. “So, Andrew, what were you doing on that cesspool of an app? Your profile said looking for long-term, so is it safe for me to assume you’re not just going to hook-up with me and never call?”
It is his turn to blush. “I mean, I wouldn’t necessarily beopposedto a hook-up. God knows it’s been a long time since I got any. But yes, generally speaking, I’m looking for something long-term. How about you?”
“I think the same? It’s been a long time for me too.”
As we look into each other’s eyes, the server sets a plate before each of us. Both plates are bare but for one fancy, lonely looking shrimp in the center.
Once the server walks away, Andrew gives a low whistle. “You’d think in a joint like this they could at least remove the tail.” He winks at me so I know he’s joking.
“Well, if they did that, the plate might look too empty,” I counter sarcastically.
He laughs that belly laugh again. A tingling warmth starts in my heart and spreads throughout my body at the sound.
The rest of the evening passes in a similar fashion. Both the food and company are beyond reproach. I laugh easily, and I think he does the same. We hold hands while we wait for our cars at the valet, and when I look at him I picture waking up to his smile.I could definitely fall in love with this man.
“Well, this is me,” he says, squeezing my hand and looking so deeply into my eyes my breath catches, as a black Ioniq pulls up to the door. The fact that he has an electric vehicle makes me like him more. “I’ll call you tomorrow, George Keating.” Then he kisses me softly on the lips before walking around to the driver door. He raises his eyebrows at me and does an adorable little wave as he lowers himself into his seat. I return the wave as he drives away.
I feel so light I worry my feet won’t stay in contact with the ground. I have not felt this flutter in my chest since early in my relationship with Evan. I have a giant, goofy grin on my face, but I can’t seem to care.
As I wait for my own car, another group arrives in a stretch limo. Even absently looking at them feels like I’m invading their privacy, so instead I turn my face to the sky and think about how brilliant the moon is tonight. I take in a deep breath of crisp night air. Night air that smells distinctly of flowers, citrus, and woods. The scent makes my brow furrow. I turn to look at the people who emerged from the limo as they enter the restaurant. A tight red satin dress and long, dark auburn hair disappears into the building.
Chapter 5
Miranda
Icouldbarelycontainmyself while I got the kids ready for school Monday morning. I usher them all out the door in record time before filling my travel mug and heading out the door. I am excited to get to George’s house so I can hear all about his date Friday night.
I pull up his driveway and find him sitting on his front steps, elbows on knees, head in hands. Oh shit. That can’t be good.
