“Of course. I came from work anyway.”
Nick took his own seat, running a hand through his intentionally messy black hair. He had great hair. Another point in his favor.
The thing with dating in the city was it was sort of like high school. There were all these boxes guys could fit into and there were very few who straddled more than one. There were the corporate-types who tended to have sticks so far up their asses that they couldn’t sit straight. Then there were the starving artists who were always a blast, but there was only so much she could take of the thirty-something-still-lives-with-mom lifestyle. It was rare to find a guy who didn’t take himself too seriously but could also afford dinner. Nick had potential, though.
“So my sister says you’re a partner at Root,” Nick said.
“I am. I was promoted a couple of years ago when one of the owners retired. Big office, staff of my own. That’s about the gist.”
“Branding must be fun.” He waved a hand in front of her, gesturing to her dress. “If your own look is any indication, I’d say you’re good at it.”
“Oh yeah?” she said, leaning across the table. She already liked his particular style of flirting. “And what image am I portraying right now?”
Nick’s lips curled upward revealing straight, white teeth and comma-shaped dimples. His eyes ran the length of her. “Let’s see. Sky-high heels,” he said. “Power statement. You can handle anything.”
“Astute.”
“But that dress.” He hissed through his teeth and she felt her cheeks flush. “That dress says you’re no stiff suit. I’d say fun is high on your list of priorities.”
Dani sipped from the glass of water in front of her, returning Nick’s appraising look. “And what is it you do, Nick? And don’t tell me you’re a psychic because I will so believe you.”
Nick laughed, a low rumble that came from his broad chest. “I’m, ah, in pharmaceuticals.”
“Oh. Sales?”
“Mm-hmm.” Nick drank his water too. Gulped it actually. Odd, but back to that face. Were his eyes ocean blue or navy?
“I’ve always heard that’s a stressful profession.”
“It is.”
“Have you been doing it long?”
“You know,” Nick said, picking up a menu and glancing around for the waitress. “Work is boring. What do you do for fun?”
Dani lifted her menu as well, but before she could answer, the waitress came for their drink orders. Nick ordered a beer and Dani went for a mid-shelf wine. Something that said classy, but not snobby. She really was good at her job.
When she returned, Nick lifted his pint, touching it to Dani’s wine glass. “So you were saying?”
“What do I do for fun?” Dani tapped her nail on her lower lip. What was the sexiest sounding hobby she had? “I do yoga,” she said. Very rarely and only when guilted into it by Emma, but he didn’t need to know that.
Nick ran his tongue along his teeth. “I’d like to see that.”
“How about you?”
Nick opened his mouth to answer but his phone buzzing caught his attention. He reached into the inside pocket of his leather jacket and glanced at the screen. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I need to take this.”
“Sure. No problem.”
Dani watched him go, then picked up a piece of crusty bread from the basket on the table, trying not to moan out loud as she popped it in her mouth. This was an impressive choice for dinner. She probably didn’t need to worry about Nick living with his mother. She took another bite and turned to the street view. A couple walked by holding hands, whispering to each other in that intimate way lovers did when they thought no one was looking. She felt a smile pulling at her cheeks. Huh. It seemed that going on a date with a cute, stable guy had put her in an entirely different state of mind about public displays of affection. Who would have thought?
But as the happy couple passed, she spotted Nick on the sidewalk too. He was leaning on the window of a black SUV idling on the street, decidedly not on his phone. She couldn’t see the driver, as much as she craned her neck, but their conversation carried on. Finally, Nick straightened, reaching into his inner jacket pocket and pulling out a small package that she also couldn’t get a good look at. The driver of the car handed him something back and then drove away.
That was sort of weird, but no need to jump to any conclusions. Maybe he forgot something at work and a co-worker brought it to him. Or maybe he just happened to run into someone he knew while he was taking an entirely separate phone call.
Ugh. The twisting feeling in her stomach disagreed, the one that’d been honed to announce a coming disaster. She’d experienced enough of them that she was like a cow sensing a thunderstorm. Twisty stomach: check. Tingling scalp: check.
She pictured a bubble bursting overhead, soggy, wet confetti dropping onto her head.
Goddamn it.
She clicked into her messaging app and found Sonya. Sonya’s fiancé was a commercial airline pilot and out of town a lot, so she was usually free for a quick second opinion. Or an impromptu rescue mission when it came to that. And quite often it did.
Dani: So… I’m on a date with a guy who said he’s in pharmaceuticals and he just stepped outside to exchange a package with some guy in an SUV.
Sonya: hahahahahahaha
Dani: ???
Sonya: Only you.
Wasn’t that the truth.
Dani: Whatever. What are you doing? Marcus gone this week?
Sonya: He is. I get off in half an hour, then heating up leftovers and watching Breaking Bad.
Dani: Meet me out instead. I need to cut this date short. I’ll buy you a burger somewhere.
Sonya: Deal. Bruno’s. See you at 8.
Great. Another date ending with the old “My friend has an emergency” line. She couldn’t wait to tell Benji about this one. He’d never drop the dating app thing after this.
Outside, Nick paced on the sidewalk with his phone to his ear, so she popped her phone back in her clutch and went for her wine. She was at least getting a buzz out of this. But just as the Moscato started to warm her cheeks, something else caught her eye over her stemmed glass.
Actually, someone. The absolute worst someone for this particular situation. Her teeth clenched and she struggled to swallow the fruity sip.
You’ve got to be kidding me. Was this some kind of hidden camera prank?
First, she was quite possibly an accessory to a crime, and now, across the room with his hand on some woman’s ass, was the poster boy for how desperate she’d let herself get.