“We should move,” Oliver said, gesturing to an open table. “I doubt he’ll notice me, but we’re right in his line of sight.”
“Good idea.”
The guy at the bar wandered away from Nora and we snagged a table. It was bar-height with tall stools, so I made sure to focus on what I was doing when I got up into the seat. The last thing I needed was to fall on my face and cause a scene.
“What ever happened with tea shop girl?”
His shoulders slumped. “I missed my chance. She doesn’t work there anymore. I haven’t seen her in weeks.”
“Oh no. That’s so sad. I’m sorry.”
“It’s my own bloody fault. At least now I can stop spending a fortune on tea.”
“Maybe that’s your silver lining.”
He smiled. “Indeed. How about I go get us drinks?”
“Sounds great. I’ll have a martini.”
“One martini, coming right up.”
“Soph, I don’t think this guy likes brunettes,” Nora said through my earpiece. “He’s totally ignoring me.”
She was right. He wasn’t even glancing in her direction.
“That’s so weird. You look amazing.”
“I’ll give him a few minutes to come to me, but if he doesn’t, I’ll have to get more aggressive.”
“Sounds good.”
I waited at our table while Oliver got drinks from the bar. Nora ordered a martini for herself and casually sipped it while Dominic kept not noticing her. I didn’t understand it. Nora was fire in that dress. Another guy approached her and she had to work a little harder to get rid of this one.
Oliver came back with our drinks and set my martini on the table. He was about to take his seat when his eyes widened and his mouth dropped open.
“What’s wrong?” I glanced over my shoulder but didn’t see anything out of the ordinary.
“It’s her,” he said.
“Who?”
“Tea shop girl.”
I twisted in my seat to look again. “Where?”
“No, stop looking.”
I whipped around. “Sorry.”
Oliver kept staring.
“Which one is she?”
“Long wavy hair. Angelic blue eyes. Black dress that’s tasteful yet sexy.”
I tried for a more casual glance and spotted her. She stood with a drink in her hand, and her dress was tasteful yet sexy. “Go talk to her.”
His wide eyes flicked to me. “Are you crazy?”
“No, but you are if you don’t go talk to her right now. It doesn’t look like she’s with anyone. This is your chance.”
Oliver didn’t move, so I slipped off the stool.
“Fine, I’ll talk to her.”
“Wait, Sophie.”
Too late. I was already picking my way around the small knots of people to her.
I made sure to give her a friendly smile as I approached. “Hi. I’m Sophie. I’m so sorry to bug you, but did you used to work at a little tea shop downtown?”
She looked slightly confused but nodded. “Yeah.”
“I thought so. My friend Oliver used to shop there all the time. He’s right over there.” I gestured to our table. “He thinks you’re really pretty, but he’s being oddly shy.”
She peered at Oliver. “I remember him. He’s the one with the sexy accent.”
“Yes, exactly. He’s totally going to kill me for saying this, but he told me he kept buying tea just so he could have an excuse to see you.”
“Really? That’s so cute.”
“That’s what I said. He’s such a nice guy and—”
Oliver appeared at my side and gave her a sheepish grin. “Evening. I’m Oliver.”
Tea shop girl gazed at him. “Lauren.”
“Lauren.” He said her name with reverence, as if he’d waited his whole life to utter it. “It’s an indescribable pleasure to finally meet you properly.” He took her hand and gently lifted it to his lips.
I took slow steps backward. Clearly they’d both forgotten I was there. The way they looked at each other, I seriously wondered if I’d just witnessed two people falling instantly in love.
It was the cutest thing ever.
“Well that was adorable,” Nora said through the earpiece.
“You heard all that?”
“Yes. But where did… Uh-oh, Soph—”
Before she could finish, I backed right into someone. I spun around. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to—”
I stopped, and now it was my turn to stare wide-eyed.
It was Dominic.
One corner of his mouth lifted. “Are you all right?”
I was too dumbstruck to answer, so I just nodded.
“Good.” He shifted closer, his glassy eyes sweeping up and down. “I’m Dominic. I don’t think I’ve seen you here before.”
“Oh, um…” I cast around for something to say. Had he asked me a question? No, he hadn’t. Think, Sophie.
“Tell him your name,” Nora hissed in my ear.
“I’m Sophia.” Sophia? What was with me and blurting out my birth name when I met a man?
“Sophia.” He took my hand and lifted it to his lips. “Pleasure.”
Wait. What was he doing? Was he hitting on me?
On me?
No. This wasn’t supposed to happen. He was supposed to hit on super sexy Nora. Not on hot-mess-not-nearly-as-sexy Sophie.
“Soph, go with it,” Nora said.
“What?”
“Don’t talk to me! Talk to him.”
Dominic lifted his eyebrows.
“Sorry.” I slipped my hand out of his grasp. “It’s a pleasure to meet you too.”
“Looks like your friend left you all alone. I hope it wasn’t supposed to be a girls’ night.”
I glanced around, looking for Oliver. He’d taken Lauren to our table.
Except, wait. Girls’ night? He must have seen me talking to Lauren and thought I was here with her, not Oliver.
“Girls’ night. Right. It was, but I don’t mind.”
“Her loss is my gain. Can I buy you a drink?”
“Oh, I already—”
“Say yes,” Nora said.
“Yes. Okay.”
He slid his hand around to the small of my back and led me to an empty table. “What are you drinking tonight?”
“A martini, I guess?”
“Great. I’ll be right back.”
I watched him walk to the bar and took a seat, then adjusted my earpiece. “Nora, what’s happening?”
“He’s into you.”
“He can’t be. Oh my god, he must know who I am. Should I run?”
“Don’t you dare.”
“Then what do I do?”
“Get him talking.”
“Me? I can’t.”
“Of course you can.”
“No I can’t. I don’t know what to say.”
“You’ll be fine. I’ll help.”
I took a deep breath. “What if he does know who I am?”
“How would he?”
“There were pictures of me on the internet with Cox in Vegas.”