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Her comment didn't seem to offend him so much as amuse him. He laughed, holding open the coffee shop door for her. “So, who are you meeting this week? Another MrRight or Naughty Nurse?”
Naughty Nurse. NahTNurse. Oh my God. How had Aunt Beckett and her mother missed that? How hadshemissed that?
“Neither,” Josie snipped before sighing. She couldn't blame him for laughing. Her first date had been obsessed with his ex and the second one... she shuddered. Hot guy had had a front row seat to both so called dates. At this point, he was part of her journey. “Heart2heart,” she muttered. He burst out laughing. “Go ahead. Laugh. His screen name is cheesy but so far he's been a perfect gentleman.”
“I'm sure he has,” hot guy chuckled. He shook his head and wished her luck before heading straight to the table he always occupied.
Josie turned her attention to scanning the cafe for her date. Her stomach knotted up when her gaze fell on a solitary man standing near the pastry case. The navy blue sports jacket with a red rose in the lapel was impossible to miss. So was his neatly trimmed gray beard, salt and pepper hair, and the little sign that said Heart2Heart. Crap. Heart2Heart was old enough to be her father.'No wonder your mother got along with him so well.'Turning abruptly when he glanced in her direction, she made a beeline for the hot guy's table. Without asking, she sank onto the chair across from him. “Not one word,” she warned.
“Wasn't going to say anything,” hot guy quipped. He leaned across the table, his brown eyes meeting her blue ones. “Old guy with the flower is Heart2Heart, isn't he?” Her lips puckered. “Not into geriatrics?” She shook her head. “Then why did you agree to a date?”
“I didn’t. My mom did.” Damn it. Josie hadn’t meant to say that. She could tell that his curiosity was piqued, but he was smart enough not to laugh.
“Your mom has questionable taste in guys.”
“My aunt set me up with the last jackass.” Again, she hadn’t meant to say that, especially since it was obvious the guy across from her was struggling to not laugh. “This guy’s profile said he was in his forties.” Even that had felt too old for her, but Ruth had presented a solid case when she brought up using the guy’s age as the reason why “the family” hadn’t met him yet.
“Maybe he isn’t aging well.” He threw up his hands when Josie shot him a hard look. “Hey, you sat at my table, remember?”
He had her there. Chin tucked against her chest, Josie studied her cuticles in an attempt to keep her face hidden.The bell over the door jingled, and she risked a glance in that direction. “Was that him? Did he leave?”
“Yup.”
“I feel horrible. I’m a terrible person.” She could feel her nice girl image slipping. First the lie to Kyle, now this. She’d blown off an old man who was probably lonely and was looking for a friend. God, she was going straight to hell.
“You probably did the old guy a favor. Most likely his ticker would have given out in the throes of passion.”
Her lips formed a silent oh. “You’re not funny!”
His lips twisted into a smirk and he lifted one shoulder in a nonchalant shrug. “Nope, I’m Hank.”
A v formed between Josie’s brows, confusion clouding her blue eyes before understanding dawned. His name was Hank. It wasn’t what she would have thought his name was, but somehow it suited him. “Josie,” she replied.
“So, Josie, do you only go on dates that your mama and aunt set up?”
Heat crept up Josie’s cheeks. “Not usually,” she finally admitted. Propping her elbow on the table, she cupped her chin in the palm of her hand and tried to think of an explanation that didn’t make her sound crazy. “My brother wants to set me up with some guy and I don’t really do blind dates.”
Hank frowned. “Don’t take this wrong but-”
“Online dates chosen by my mom and aunt aren't much different from a blind date set up by my brother,” she interrupted, “I know.” She chewed the inside of her cheek, her mind working overtime as she debated telling him the rest of it. “I sort of panicked when he started talking about this guy he wanted me to meet and, well, I told him I had a boyfriend.”
“I’m going to go out on a limb here and guess there is no boyfriend.” Josie hesitated for a moment before she gave a small nod. “So all these dates?”
“It’s my attempt at finding a fake boyfriend so I don’t feel bad about lying to my brother.” Confessing the whole, ridiculous situation she’d put herself in should have been humiliating, instead talking to Hank felt easy. “Before you say it, telling him the truth doesn’t really feel like an option at this point.”
“The truth is always an option.” There was no judgment in his voice, just a calm certainty that made Josie almost believe him. He didn’t know Kyle though, or how her brother viewed her life. If she told Kyle the truth at this point he would just add it to his list of reasons why he thought she had no life.
“Maybe,” she demurred, plucking at the hem of her sweater. “Anyways, thanks for listening.”
“Anytime,” Hank smiled. One of the two baristas called out his name. He nodded an acknowledgement before turning his attention back to Josie. “We’ll have to do this again.”
A warmth spread through Josie as she watched him walk towards the front of the shop, where one of the barista’s gestured towards a grumpy looking old man that was arguing with the other barista. Josie watched for several minutes before pulling out her phone. She pulled out her phone and opened a text to Kyle. Her fingers hovered for a moment, before she closed it out and sent Louise a text asking if she wanted to meet for dinner. Maybe after a couple margaritas the truth would feel like a less scary option.
Chapter Seven
Josie
‘When you know what you want, and want it bad enough, you'll find a way to get it.’ -Jim Rohn
