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Right before the first guy sits down at my table, I look up and meet Silas’ gaze. His jaw is clenched, and his arms are crossed over his chest. He looks intimidating as hell, but I find it so damn hot.
I can see the barely contained fury in his eyes, even at a distance. It sends a thrill down my spine and makes me curious. I want to know why he’s looking at me like that. What has him so upset?
When a man sits down across from me, I have a total light bulb moment, which, admittedly, I should have had already, but I think my brain is only functioning at half capacity. Probably because my clit is throbbing and I’m so wet that my panties are probably a mess. It’s not only guys who think with their sex organs, apparently.
Okay, ‘sex organs’ isn’t sexy, but what do you want from me? Half capacity, at best, remember?
Silas is trying to burn a hole through the man’s head sitting across from me. The look on his face clearly isn’t intended to be cute, but I find it fucking adorable. I probably won’t tell him that over drinks. Let’s hope my filter is back to fully functioning by then or else who knows what will come out of my mouth.
“Hi, I’m Dan,” the guy’s voice pulls me back into the reality of the speed dating event instead of the fantasy of naming my children with Silas. Silly fantasy. “What’s your name, beautiful?”
I almost cringe at the endearment, not because he looks insincere, but because it feels wrong since meeting Silas. Maybe this is why Silas looks like a bull just waiting to be let out of his holding pen. It probably is.
I put a forced smile on my face, which I hope Silas can tell is fake. I don’t know why he would, seeing as we don’t really know each other, but a girl can dream. I do not want to flirt in front of him, but I can’t bring myself to be a rude bitch to this guy either.
He had no idea I’d meet the perfect man, even though Silas is not really attending the event.
I wonder why Silas is here at all. The woman earlier said he’s standing with the owners of Aces. Does he know them? Does he work here? I don’t remember Willow mentioning a guy named Silas working here before.
So many questions. And I’ll have to wait to get the answers. I hate waiting.
“Hi, Dan, it’s nice to meet you. I’m Paisley.” I flounder for a moment over what to say next, but quickly latch onto the most boring question I can come up with, because brain power. “Are you enjoying the event so far?”
He gives me a polite smile, one reserved for girls he probably finds boring. “It’s been a lot of fun.” He gives a self-deprecating head shake. “My friends forced me to sign up for this thing. You know, to help to get me back on the horse after my divorce.”
Red flags. Sirens. Air horns blazing. All of them fill my head.
Now, don’t get me wrong, relationships don’t work out all the time. I’ve seen it with my own parents, who have been divorced for ten years, but speed dating seems like an odd way to get back out there. How long has he been divorced? Why did he get divorced? Has all the paperwork gone through?
“Oh, I’m sorry, I understand divorce can be difficult,” I try, and manage, to sound empathetic. Which I am, but it’s hard to focus on anything other than the way Silas is staring at me. “I’m sure you don’t want to talk about it.”
He nods solemnly. “I really don’t,” he says while chuckling at himself. “I’m not sure why I brought it up. I guess because it’s still kind of fresh, you know? My wife filed for divorce a month ago and I think I’m still processing everything.”
Uh oh. I nod and then proceed to listen to him tell me all about his wife, because she’s not really his ex-wife yet from what he’s telling me. He tells me about the problems they had in their marriage and how his job got in the way of him putting his wife first. I learn about how she became bitter and lonely, his words, over time. I even get to hear about how they went to couples counseling.
How he manages to condense years of their relationship into five minutes, I’m not sure, but I do think I should charge him the same rate as his therapist for my time.
During the entire exchange, Silas is standing there, stoic, annoyed and frustrated. So adorable.
The next few guys are a blur of names along with questions from the MatchMakers Inc helpful questionnaire and answers I’m only halfway paying attention to. How can I when Silas is standing right there, watching my every move.
What’s the strangest food you’ve tried?
“Escargot.” The guy makes a face at my answer, but I simply shrug. “I liked it.”
I don’t think he’s going to put me as a match.
How often do you clean your home?
“Uh,” what a strange fucking question, “I try and keep my home neat and tidy, especially since my work can get messy.”
“Oh?” The guy seems interested and also like he is interviewing me for a housekeeping position with the slight bit of scorn in his gaze. “What do you do?”
“I’m an illustrator.” He doesn’t look impressed, so I turn the tables right back at him. “How often do you clean your home?”
The deer in the headlights look he gives me is enough.
What are your top three turn-ons?
