“You make business casual look so sexy,” Amelia said as she took the seat I pulled out for her. “What’s your secret? I think it’s the curls. No. The smile. Or you know what? I think it’s just you.”
“One of us drew all the attention in the bar when she walked in, and it wasn’t me.” I lifted my eyebrows as I sat. “That dress is something.”
Though really, it was the woman wearing the dress that really stood out.
A waitress took our orders—a gin and tonic with a splash of cranberry and a twist of lime for Amelia, and a Guinness for me. As she walked away, Amelia smiled at me.
I smiled back.
Her eyes darted to her hands, then back to my face.
She refreshed her smile and cleared her throat. “So here we are…”
Shit.
Conversation.
I was supposed to be funny. Flirty. Interesting. She’d definitely wowed me and I was supposed to return the favor, but with her looking like that, and me still wondering if I should have left my shirt untucked, I didn’t know what to do with myself. We stewed in awkward silence for a few minutes before I finally let out a long breath.
“Do you know how long it’s been since I’ve been on a first date?”
Amelia sat back and crossed her legs. “Then don’t think of this as a first date. This is me and you, hanging out just like we’ve been doing for weeks. The only difference is we don’t have the kids with us this time.”
That was one difference. The other was that I was out with the first woman to capture my attention since the day I met Natalie. The first woman to make me feel like a man with needs and wants of his own, not just a dad sacrificing everything for his kids.
Our drinks arrived and I took a long pull of beer. “All right, then. We’ll skip the first date stuff and go right to the getting to know you better stuff. What brought you to Wildrose? Other than Evie, of course.”
“Obviously, the Coopers brought me here. Duh.” Amelia smiled over her drink, then took a sip, laughing at my confusion.
“I don’t want to call you a liar or anything, but I didn’t have anything to do with you moving to the ole WRL.”
She drew her finger around the rim of her glass. “I genuinely think my higher self guided me here for a reason. And I think some of that reason might be you guys.”
My face betrayed the serious reservations I felt about her statement. What could I possibly say in response that wouldn’t hurt her feelings?
Amelia laughed. “It’s okay. I’m used to people laughing at me about this. I can see you don’t believe me, but I promise, if we hang out together long enough, it’ll all make sense sooner or later.”
“Was that the only thing that brought you here? A—” I flared my hands and wrinkled my nose “—a feeling?”
“Well, no.” She bobbed her head back and forth like she was disagreeing with herself. “And yes too. I want to open a shop and Evie and I both think this would be a great place for it. I’d sell the t-shirts and tanks I design. Crystals. Essential oils. Sage kits. All the things a person needs to raise their vibrations and just plain be happy.”
“And you think happiness comes from crystals and sage?”
From the moment we met, nothing had dampened the smile on Amelia’s face. She grinned through every mundane moment like it was spectacular. If she told me that all came from essential oils and motivational t-shirts, I’d never take her seriously again.
“I think happiness comes from within, but every little bit helps, you know? I’m really excited about being able to share my knowledge with other people.” Amelia explained that she’d been studying successful businesses similar to the one she wanted to open and that she had her eyes on the storefronts on Main Street. “They’re all occupied at the moment, but the right place will open at the right time. I have some savings so I’m ready to pounce when something becomes available.”
Several of my clients ran stores on Main, but the chances of any of them being ready to close up shop were slim. I’d still put some feelers out but wouldn’t say anything about it to Amelia. I didn’t want to get her hopes up.
I did, however, want to learn more about her. “What led you to crystals, oils, and positive vibes?”
“You mean the woo-woo weirdness?”
I started to protest, but Amelia laughed.
“That’s what Evie calls it anyway.” She leaned her arms on the table. “Believe it or not, when I was growing up, I was kind of a downer. I thought I was being realistic, but everyone else said I was cynical, jaded, and hard to be around.”
“Now I know you’re making stuff up.” Sitting back, I crossed my ankle over my knee and shook my head. “There’s no way you’ve ever had a cynical bone in your body.”
“You can ask my brother if you don’t believe me. Darian Brown called me Eeyore for longer than I care to admit.” She laced her fingers together and rested her chin on her hands, her eyes blazing into mine.
She was so fucking beautiful; I should have been a nervous wreck. But go figure, my nerves had dissipated. Being with her was just so easy. It felt right. Natural.
“What changed?” I asked.
“Life smacked me in the face, as it tends to do. Which caused my realism to grab me by the ankles and start pulling me under. I got to a place where it was sink or swim, so I swam. You can think I’m weird all you want for burning sage, meditating, and trusting my intuition, but the before and after of my life is pretty flippin’ obvious to me. This stuff works.”
Just as I was going to ask how life smacked her in the face, our waitress arrived to check on our drink situation, with Jude hot on her heels. “I got these two, Jess,” he said, then pulled out a chair, turned it around, and took a seat, grinning like an idiot. “How you guys doing?”
I scowled. “Don’t you have work to do?”
“Pssh. I’m doing it.” He gestured between Amelia and me. “As the owner of Cheers ‘n Beers, it’s my duty to make sure this evening goes well. I have a reputation to uphold. Can’t have bad dates here. Especially not when the entire town’s paying attention.”
Amelia laughed. “Consider your duty done, then, ‘cause I’m having a great time.”
“Are you getting to know each other? Digging deep into your pasts? Feeling the chemistry?” Jude folded his hands on the back of his seat and rested his chin on them. “I could kick everyone out and lower the lights, queue up some romantic songs and just let you two have at it if that would help.”
Amelia leaned forward, a challenge in her eyes. “Do it.”
He blinked, obviously not prepared for her to call his bluff. She cast me a triumphant smile, which he caught, then quirked his head with a grin. “All right everyone!” He stood, clapping his hands together. “We’re closing early! Finish your drinks—”
As every customer and waitress in the place groaned, I stood. “He’s joking! Just a joke!” I called, before turning to my friend. “You may not need the money, but your waitresses need their tips. Amelia and I are doing just fine in the romance department without you making it weird.”
Jude narrowed his eyes before turning back to the crowd. “Yep! Just a joke! Go back to your regularly scheduled evenings!” He flipped his chair back around and scooted it up to the table. “I’ll leave you to it then.”