Chapter 4
Chapter Four
RORY
Pulling into a spot close to the front of the restaurant, I threw the car into park and picked up my cell phone.
It had been years since I’d been on a date, and while I knew online dating was commonplace, I was still nervous as hell.
The phone rang three times before Tempie picked up. “Hey, babe. What’s up?”
“Tell me I can do this,” I blurted, my palms getting sweaty as I looked up at El Toro’s brightly colored sign.
Tempie had been my best friend since we were little girls, and like my mom, I told her everything.
Well, almost everything. She knew all about this date, and while she wasn’t happy, she still supported me.
She didn’t push when I refused to tell her what had gone down with Cord and me, but just like the rest of my friends, she was holding out hope that something would happen between us, no matter how often I told her it wouldn’t.
They were all hopeless romantics now that they had their dream men, and they were hell-bent that I get the same, even if it wasn’t in the cards for me.
“Do what?” she asked, her voice ringing with confusion.
“The date!” I cried in a panic.
“Oh. The accountant from Hidalgo, right?” she asked.
“Yep, that’s the one.”
“Then you can totally do this,” she said through the phone. “He’s lucky to be in your presence, let alone on a date with you.”
I inhaled carefully through my nose and slowly blew it out through my lips. “Okay, that helps a little.”
“You’re smart and gorgeous and sweet and totally hilarious. You’re the perfect catch.”
Then why am I still alone? I thought but kept the words to myself. Pushing that morose thought from my mind, I lowered my voice and said, “Thank you, honey.”
“And if the worst happens and the guy is a dud, El Toro’s margaritas make everything better.”
I let out a laugh. “That’s true.” Feeling much better than I had a minute ago, I turned the key and killed the ignition before opening the door. “Thanks again, Tempie. I appreciate this.”
“You good now?”
“Yeah.” I let out a sigh, feeling much lighter than I had just minutes before. “I’m headed in now.”
“All right, Ror. And if you get a chance, snap a pic of this guy and send it to me. That way, if you turn up dead in a ditch somewhere, I’ll have something to give the police.”
I came to an abrupt stop on the sidewalk. “That’s not helping,” I shouted, that panic starting to re-form in my stomach.
Her loud, hysterical laughter rang through the line. “I’m just kidding, babe. It’s gonna be great. Now get your sexy ass in there and rock that accountant’s world.” With that, she hung up, leaving me to my own devices.
Pulling in a fortifying breath, I steeled my spine and pushed my shoulders back, putting on an air of confidence as I headed into the restaurant.
“Rory?”
At the sound of my name, I turned to the left and spotted Mike, exhaling in relief that the man heading my way matched his profile picture.
He was wearing a deep charcoal-gray suit with a pale robin’s-egg blue button-down beneath that was open at the collar.
He was a couple inches shorter than Cord, maybe standing just over six feet, and had nowhere near the same bulk, but it was clear this man still took care of himself.
He was attractive in a well-kept, intentional kind of way, whereas Cord Paulson could roll out of bed and be the hottest thing on two legs without even trying.
Giving my head a subtle shake to clear it of all those unwanted thoughts, I offered my date a bright smile and answered, “That’s me. You must be Mike.”
I extended my hand to him, but when he took it, instead of shaking, he stepped in close and placed a kiss on my cheek.
“Wow,” he breathed once he stepped back.
“You look amazing. That picture didn’t do you justice, and it was a damn good picture,” he said with a warm smile as he took me in, and I silently fist-pumped for deciding to go with my black spaghetti-strap wrap dress and peep-toe heels.
Deciding to skip all the bangles and cuffs I usually wore, I went for a more toned-down look with a simple, delicate gold necklace and matching hoop earrings.
Tempie liked to call my personal style “hippie rocker meets country girl,” and she was pretty much spot-on, but I’d chosen to go for a much more understated look tonight.
“Thank you.”
“Our table’s right over here.” He led the way by placing his hand on the small of my back and guiding me through the crowded restaurant.
In the time it took us to walk halfway across the restaurant, I spotted at least a dozen familiar faces, each of them looking at Mike and me with open curiosity, and I was stopped three times by someone I knew before we made it to our table.
“You’re pretty popular in this town, huh?” he asked as he pulled my chair out for me.
“Yeah, well, kind of a hazard of the job when your family runs one of the few bars in a small town.”
He took the seat across from me and looked at me with interest. “Oh yeah? Which bar?”
“The Tap Room.”
Mike’s face split into a handsome grin. “Really? I’ve heard great things about that place.”
Just like that, my nerves began to fade as we fell into easy conversation. He asked about my life, showing a genuine interest in everything I said. He was clever and had a talent for explaining his work in an animated way that actually made his job in accounting seem interesting.
There wasn’t a single lull or awkward silence as dinner progressed.
Mike was funny and sweet and had incredible manners, all of which should have made this an incredible date.
But in spite of his ability to make me laugh and put me at ease, there was just one thing missing, and it was a doozy.
There was no spark. Not even a flicker as the evening carried on, and it was depressing the hell out of me.
There was absolutely nothing wrong with this man. He was handsome and charming and had a wit that I’d normally be drawn to, so the problem had to be me. And the more I stewed on that thought, the more I began to worry that maybe I was irreparably broken.
Lifting my margarita glass to my lips, I took a long sip, the salt from the rim mixing with the tangy sweetness of the drink as I urged the tequila to help me forget a certain alpha male who was invading my thoughts and ruining a perfectly good night.
“What was it like growing up on a ranch? I imagine it was a lot of fun.”
A smile so big it made my cheeks ache spread across my face as I thought back to growing up on my family’s ranch. “It was the best. I think I spent more of my childhood outdoors than I did inside. Used to drive my mom crazy when I’d come in every night caked in dirt.”
Mike’s eyes grew gentle as he said, “I bet you were still gorgeous, even caked in dirt.”
A blush formed on my cheeks, and the chip I’d just stuffed into my mouth crunched as I hurried to swallow it down, but before I could say anything, a shadow fell over our table.
“Hey, honey. I thought that was you. See, Linc? Told you it was Rory.” I looked up just as Eden and her fiancé Lincoln came to a stop at our table, both of their gazes ping-ponging between Mike and me.
Her attention finally settled on me, and there was no missing the inquisitiveness in her big doe eyes.
“Hey back atcha.” Standing from my seat, I gave each of them a quick hug. When I pulled from Lincoln’s embrace, I noticed his shrewd eyes drilling into Mike and knew I had no other choice than to make introductions. “Mike, these are my friends Eden and Linc. Guys, this is Mike… my date.”
“Nice to meet you both.” Gentleman that he was, Mike stood and offered a handshake to each of them, but I could tell he hadn’t missed the way their bodies locked up at my declaration of him as my date, and that their reaction had made him leery.
“Oh. Well, uh, that’s… nice,” Eden said, her usual beaming smile turning dim.
Lincoln’s steely gaze landed on me, and that same eerie, disconcerting feeling I always got when he studied me closely crawled up the back of my neck.
It was like the man could see into your head and read all your deepest, darkest thoughts just by looking at you.
It was his superpower, and an annoying one at that. “A date, huh? Cord know about this?”
Oh hell.
My lips parted to issue a cutting response, but Mike got there first, asking dubiously, “Who’s Cord?”
“He’s nobody,” I answered quickly before turning to glare at Lincoln. At that very moment, I wished I had the power to melt the skin off his stupid gorgeous face with my eyes.
Obviously sensing the tension thickening the air, Eden placed her hand on Linc’s arm, breaking our uncomfortable stare down.
“Well, we just wanted to stop by real quick and say hey.” She gave me a contrite grin as she started to pull on her man’s arm.
“We should let you guys get back to your date. It was good to see you.”
“Good to see you too, sweetie.” I leaned in and gave her a kiss on the cheek before shooting another warning look at Lincoln that made the corner of his mouth tremble as he fought a laugh.
“Well...” Eden’s attention darted between Mike and me once again. “You guys enjoy the rest of your evening.”
They left a moment later, but the discomfort their short visit had created remained.
“So,” Mike started as we headed out of the restaurant a while later, “who’s Cord? An ex?”
“No, he’s not an ex,” I insisted as we came to a stop by my car.
I couldn’t fault him when his gaze turned skeptical. “You sure? ’Cause that guy back there made it seem like a big deal that you were out with me tonight.”
Frustration tugged at me, causing an ache to form behind my eyes as I raked a hand through my hair. “Things with Cord are… complicated.”
“Ah, I see,” Mike muttered.
“I don’t really know how else to explain it,” I tried again. “But we were never together.”
A knowing expression passed over his face as he lowered his voice. “But you wanted it,” he surmised, proving that not only was he a good guy, but he was also incredibly intuitive.
“I did,” I answered honestly. “Once. But not anymore.”
“I got the impression from your friend in there that this Cord guy isn’t of the same mindset.”
“It doesn’t matter,” I ground out. A wave of so many different emotions I couldn’t place them all crashed into me, throwing me off balance. “It’s never gonna happen.”
Mike pursed his lips on a sigh as he turned his head and looked out across the parking lot. My stomach twisted up as I waited out the silence. Finally, his focus returned to me. “You’re an incredible woman, Rory. You’re smart and funny and absolutely gorgeous...”
My shoulders slumped in defeat, knowing exactly what was coming next. “But…”
“But I’m not blind. I know you weren’t feeling it, and now I think I know why.”
Guilt and shame slammed into me with the force of a tractor trailer. Here I was with this great guy, having just enjoyed what could only be described as a successful first date—until the end, of course—and I’d totally ruined it. “Mike,” I started on a whisper, “I’m so sorry.”
He gave his head a resolute shake as he reached up to cup my cheek.
“Don’t be sorry. I had a great time tonight.
It’s been a while since I’ve been on a first date.
I was nervous as hell when I first got here, but you made it easy.
This one might not have ended how I’d have liked, but it was what I needed to put myself back out there. ”
I dropped my head and stared at the glimmering pink of my toenails peeking out from my heels as my sinuses began to sting.
“God, you saying that makes this so much worse, because I felt the exact same way.” I looked back up at him to find him staring down at me with understanding shining in his eyes. “I had a lot of fun with you tonight.”
His smile was so sincere and infectious, I couldn’t help but return it with one of my own. “Then how about we consider this a successful first date, huh?”
Man, he was too much. I couldn’t believe he was letting me off the hook so easily. I nodded, unable to reply verbally.
“And if you ever decide you’re really and truly over that guy, give me a call, yeah? You have my number.”
With that, Mike leaned in and placed a short, chaste kiss on my lips. I couldn’t help hoping to feel a spark of something at that touch, but alas, nothing.
When he pulled back, I did my best to mask my disappointment as I said, “Have a good night, Mike. And thanks so much for dinner.”
“You’re welcome, darlin’. Drive safe.”
And just like that, my first date in years came to an end. And I made the trek back to my empty house all alone.
With nothing to show for it.