The hostess interrupts us before she can say anything else, dropping off a basket of rolls and a pitcher of water before assuring us our waitress will be by in a minute. Once she’s gone, Violet flashes me an expectant look.
“Give me one random fact about you, Wyatt.”
I arch a brow as my mind goes blank. “Uh, like what?”
“Too vague?” she asks and I nod. “Okay. How about this, what do you do for a living?”
“I’m a private investigator and a member of the Bayou Devils MC.”
“Oh, I’ve heard of you guys! You help women in domestic violence situations, right?”
I nod, grabbing a roll from the basket and slathering it in butter. “Yeah. What about you? What do you do for a living?”
“I’m a cosmetologist but I don’t really consider it work since I love it so much.”
I nod as a waitress stops at our table and flashes us a smile. “Good evening, you two. I’m Kelly and I’ll be taking care of you tonight. Can I get you started with a beer or glass of wine, maybe?”
“I’ll take a glass of red wine,” Violet says and Kelly turns to me.
“A beer, please.”
She nods, slipping her pen and notepad back into her pocket. “I’ll be right back with those.”
“So,” Violet says as soon as she leaves. “We’ve covered what you do but what else can I ask you? Hmm…”
Leaning back in my seat, I cross my arms over my chest and watch her run through all the questions she’s been thinking of all damn day with a smile on my face. Finally, she meets my gaze.
“How old are you?”
I arch a brow. “Is it important?”
“No,” she answers with a shrug, a lighthearted smile on her face. “Just curious but now that you won’t answer, I’m a little concerned.”
“Well, there’s no big mystery. It’s just a number.”
She narrows her eyes but they still dance with playfulness. “If it’s just a number, why won’t you tell me?”
“Because you’re so damn cute when you’re suspicious.”
Her lips part and a blush stains her cheeks as she pulls her gaze away from me. “Oh.”
“But, to answer your question, I’m thirty. Now it’s your turn.”
“Oh, Wyatt,” she whispers, shaking her head as her eyes connect with mine. “Don’t you know it’s rude to ask a woman’s age?”
I shrug. “So I’m rude, then. And see, now I’m concerned since you won’t tell me.”
“I’m younger than you,” she answers and I lean forward, narrowing my eyes and pretending to study her.
“Please tell me you’re at least eighteen.”
A laugh bubbles out of her. “Flattery will get you everywhere, sir.”
The waitress stops next to the table, interrupting our banter and after passing both of us our drinks, she pulls the notepad and pen out of her apron again.
“Y’all ready to order?”
Shit.
I haven’t even glanced at the menu.
“I’ll just get the steak,” I tell her, guessing it is a pretty safe bet for a steakhouse and she nods as she jots it down in her notepad.
“How would you like that cooked?”
“Rare.”
She nods. “And your sides?”
“Potatoes and whatever vegetable you’ve got.”
Kelly turns to Violet, who slaps her menu shut. “I’ll get a half rack of ribs with a salad and mac and cheese.”
Once Kelly leaves to give our orders to the kitchen, Violet leans back in her seat and studies me as her fingers drum against the table top.
“Come on now, darlin’. I know you’ve got more questions brewing in your pretty little head.”
She nods. “Okay, but remember you asked for it… Have you ever been married?”
“Yes,” I answer, nodding my head as Piper’s face pops into my mind. She nods, looking a little more apprehensive than she was a moment ago. Shit. I knew Piper was going to ruin this damn date.
“How long ago?”
I scrub my hand over my jaw. “Ten years ago.”
“Oh, wow,” she says as her eyes widen. “You were young.”
“I was.”
“High school sweethearts?” she asks and I nod, that all too familiar pain reaching back into my chest and constricting my heart.
“Yep.”
She studies me for a moment before letting out a sigh. “Are you still in love with her?”
“No,” I scoff, shaking my head. “Definitely not.”
“Look, Wyatt… I’m not going to be mad if you are but I’m also not willing to invest myself into a relationship with someone who is still hanging onto feelings for someone else so just be upfront with me.”
“My wife left me for another man when I was deployed,” I tell her, pain ripping itself through my body as those memories come rushing back. “So the subject is not one of my favorites but I haven’t seen her in ten years.”
She breathes a sigh of relief. “Thank God.”
“Now it’s my turn to ask you an uncomfortable question.”
“Shoot,” she answers, nodding her head. Shit… do I really want to ask her this and potentially ruin this when it’s going so well? Then again, I certainly don’t want to get to the end of the date only to realize she’s just looking to head back to my place for a one-night stand.
“What are you looking for? ‘Cause I gotta be honest, I’m kind of over casual.”
Nodding, she lifts her wine glass and takes a sip before setting it back on the table. “I’m not looking for something casual either. I had my fun but I’m ready to settle down with someone special.”
“Since you asked about my past,” I prompt, toying with the beer bottle in front of me. “I have to pass the same question off to you.”
“Have I ever been married?” she asks and I nod. She shakes her head. “No. Came close once but things didn’t work out.”
“I’m sorry,” I tell her because it seems like the right thing to say. She smiles.
“Don’t be. I was heartbroken at the time but I realized that it was for the best. He and I wanted different things from life and it wouldn’t have been fair to either of us to go through with the wedding.”
I nod. “How long has it been?”
“Eighteen months.”
Sucking in a breath, I lift my beer bottle off of the table and take a sip as thoughts race through my mind. What the hell does it say about me that, after ten years, I’m still reliving my breakup with Piper and asking myself “what-if” when she split from her fiancé only eighteen months ago and she has already come through the other side?
“Okay, so what else should I know about you?” she asks, pulling my focus back to her as she arches a brow and takes a sip of her wine. “Do you have any kids?”
I shake my head as my chest aches. “No. I can’t wait to have a couple rug rats, though.”
“Oh,” she whispers, her smile falling away as pain streaks across her face for a second before she gets it under control. “Well, shit.”