Chapter Eight
Dash
“How lucky are we that our mate lives so close?” Blitz said, breaking the silence of the past forty-five minutes. Not uncomfortable but as close to it as we’d ever been. “She could have been on the far side of the world.”
“I suppose so.” The countryside outside the car flashed by. “How fast are you driving?”
He cleared his throat and lifted his foot from the gas. “Too fast. Ninety. I guess I was anxious. Sorry.”
“It wouldn’t be good to be late because we had to wait while you got a speeding ticket,” I replied. “But I get it. My beast insists that every minute apart from our mate is wasted time. Lucky, reindeer can’t drive a car.”
“Actually, mine suggested flying. Seems he feels as if we can do that without Christmas magic,” Comet put in. “I tried to convince him we cannot, and also that we haven’t even met this female yet. She’s just our first match. What if she’s not the one? Or she doesn’t like us?”
“Negative thoughts, Comet.” I reached over the seat and patted his shoulder. “Getting cold feet?”
“Not exactly, but I think we should be cautious, take our time, and not jump in with both feet the second we meet her. If we haven’t already,” he grumbled.
“We’re having lunch.” I left my hand on his shoulder. “Not dragging her into the car for mating and marking. It will be all right.”
The town rose in the distance, not unfamiliar at all.
The town closer to us had a small grocery and a few other shops, but we did all the big shopping here as well as some errands for our business.
But we had not been to the [lace Aideen suggested for our meeting.
“If we’d been here before, we might have met her already,” Blitz said.
“How much time have we lost?” He found a spot halfway down the block and parallel parked—a skill I lacked and much admired in my friend.
As we strolled toward the restaurant, I considered his words.
“I don’t think we’ve ever even been in this part of town, have we?
” Surrounded by professional buildings and a few other multistoried structures, the café standing amid a stretch of boutiques, coffeehouses, bakeries, and other stores that those who worked in the area might enjoy visiting at lunchtime.
And, judging by the filled sidewalks, they were doing just that.
Food trucks were parked in a nearby lot as well, the scents of grilling meat and onions wafting our way.
“No.” Comet lifted his nose and sniffed. “But we should come again and try whatever those chefs are preparing.”
“Kebabs,” Blitz sighed. “I don’t suppose our mate, err date, would like to change up and go there?”
“We agreed to let her pick the first time.” Not that I disagreed. “But it’s something we can suggest if we think she’d like to see us again.”
The restaurant was crowded, but a couple of tables were unoccupied. “Can I seat you, sirs?” the hostess asked, picking up three menus.
“We are meeting someone, so we can wait,” Blitz told her.
“All right, but I can’t guarantee anything will be open.” She set the menus down. “This is our busiest time.”
“Maybe we should go ahead and take a table now. I don’t see Aideen anywhere, do you?”
“You could sit right here, near the front window, and watch for your party?” she suggested, indicating a round table to our left.
It was a good idea, and we took our seats and accepted menus.
A moment later, a server came and took our drink orders, but we told him we would wait for our date to order lunch.
His arched brow and grin made me realize it might be unusual for three males to wait for a shared date… but he didn’t comment.
Our drinks arrived, and we sipped at them and waited, starting to get nervous.
Blitz never took his gaze off the door, and Comet studied the menu as if it held the secrets of the universe.
Finally, I pulled out my phone to send a text.
Maybe something was wrong? She could have had an accident on the way?
Aideen scooted in the door, Blitz already on his feet to pull out her chair. Comet and I rose as well. “Aideen, it’s so good to meet you,” I said. We would recognize her from her picture anywhere.
“I’m so sorry. I had a last-minute project and all these video meetings and…”
We hurried to reassure her that we hadn’t minded waiting at all, and what could have been awkward became laughter.