Chapter 14 #2
‘It’s one drink with a man, and you and Cleo will be there. What’s the worst that could happen?’
Quinn wasn’t sure, but he didn’t have a good feeling about this.
Alex hurried along the road towards Alberto’s ready for her top secret meeting with Cleo.
She was running a little late and she hated being late but the meet-and-greet with the reindeers had taken a little longer than she’d thought.
Harley’s mum had taken the girls off to their Brownie Christmas party, Quinn had disappeared off to do a favour for Max and she’d hurried as fast as she could down to the main part of the town.
Quinn had been a bit quiet after they’d met the reindeer and she had no idea why.
She’d seen him chatting to Max so their conversation might be why he’d been a bit withdrawn.
She would have to talk to him about it later tonight or, if Max was working at Alberto’s tonight, she might try and have a word with him.
Although, as she soon realised, that wouldn’t be necessary as Quinn was standing outside Alberto’s looking very smart in a suit that seemed to cling to every muscle in his arms and legs. He looked gorgeous.
He saw her and waved.
‘Hey, what are you doing here?’ she asked. ‘I thought you were doing a favour for Max?’
‘I am but… Look, I should have told you before but I only just found out an hour ago when Max asked me to be here and he swore me to secrecy but I don’t think it’s fair for you to walk in there unprepared.’
She frowned. ‘What’s going on?’
‘Cleo has organised a blind date for you. I’m here as her plus one so we can double date with the two of you.’
‘What?’
‘She thinks you need to get back on the horse and that you shouldn’t hide yourself away because of those two bad dates. She didn’t tell you because she knew you wouldn’t want to come.’
‘Well, she’d have been right. She should have asked me, instead of springing it on me.’
‘To be fair, I think she’s only trying to help,’ Quinn said. ‘She doesn’t know that being with Liam has caused you anxiety about dating again and she doesn’t know about us.’
Alex sighed. ‘Look, I’ll just go in there and tell her I’m not interested, you don’t need to worry.’
She opened the door. She was annoyed that Cleo was interfering in her life like this but she knew it came from the best intentions.
Cleo had seen her willing to go on those other two dates so she must have thought she was ready.
She couldn’t have known that the only reason Alex had gone on those dates was because she’d known she’d never find something serious.
That was before she got involved with Quinn, a relationship that would never be casual and that could only be the kind that was big and life-changing and that was what was scaring her.
She walked inside and Quinn followed her. Cleo immediately spotted her and came over to greet her.
‘I’m so glad you’re here. I have a surprise for you.’
‘I know, Quinn just told me. Cleo, you should have asked me, not sprung this on me as a fait accompli. I’m just not ready to date right now.’
‘I promise you, this man is absolutely perfect, I would never have set this up if I didn’t know him and know that he’s so completely perfect for you. He’s tall, dark hair, deep blue eyes, he’s big and muscular and looks amazing in a suit.’
‘Cleo, I don’t care what he looks like. If you’ve set me up with a guy just because he’s attractive then you’re barking up the wrong tree.’
‘No, no, no. His looks are just a bonus. He is kind, gentle, patient, great with kids. He’s funny, intelligent, willing to drop everything to help a friend. He’s just a really lovely guy. And my sister dated him briefly around five or six years ago and said he was amazing in bed.’
Alex shook her head. ‘I’m sorry Cleo, I’m sure he’s great but I just don’t want to date anyone right now.’
‘But he’s here, he’s come a really long way. He will be gutted if you came in, took one look at him and did a runner. Look, you don’t have to spend the whole night with him, just meet him for one drink, that’s all I ask.’
Alex looked at Quinn who shrugged as if to say it was up to her, but she knew he was annoyed with all this.
But Cleo was right, she couldn’t hurt the man’s feelings by leaving before even meeting him.
If she was in his shoes and showed up for a date and the man arrived and walked straight back out again, she would be devastated.
Doing that would make her no better than those other two losers she’d dated.
Regardless of the fact it wasn’t going to go anywhere, not least because she was head over heels in love with Quinn, if the man had come all this way to meet her, she at least owed him a drink.
But she knew Quinn would be hurt if she agreed to this, and quite rightly so.
Even though he would be there to see that nothing romantic was happening, she couldn’t ask him to sit there while she was on a date with another man.
While she didn’t want to hurt the man’s feelings, Quinn was more important to her than some random man she’d never met.
The only way out of this was to tell Cleo she was seeing Quinn so couldn’t date anyone else.
The other man would be hurt but at least he’d understand why.
‘Cleo, I have something I need to tell you.’
Quinn moved forward, a hand on her back. ‘It’s just one drink. There’s no harm in it.’
‘What?’
‘I know you, I know you don’t want to do this, but you’ll feel horribly guilty for weeks after if you refuse to meet him. So let’s have a drink with him,’ Quinn said.
She nodded reluctantly.
‘Yay!’ Cleo cheered. ‘Look, go and sit down over there and I’ll come and make the introductions in a minute.’
Alex walked over to the small circular booth and Quinn followed. ‘Why did you say yes to this?’ she asked.
‘Because you’re a good, kind person and I could see you didn’t want to leave the man hanging or hurt his feelings.’
‘But I don’t want to hurt your feelings either by agreeing to date another man. I promised we were exclusive and I meant that.’
‘You were going to tell Cleo about us to get out of it and I didn’t want that.’
‘You didn’t?’
‘Of course not. I want you to be ready for that, not be forced into it.’
Her heart filled with love for him; he was being so gracious about this.
‘Sit down,’ Quinn said. ‘And try to smile. That scowl is not the kind of first impression you want to make on this perfect man.’
She sat down and Quinn sat diagonally opposite her, leaving a space for this apparently perfect man to sit opposite her. ‘For the record, I don’t want to impress him.’
‘But I know you don’t want to be rude to him either, that’s not who you are and none of this is his fault.’
Alex sighed. He was right. And he was being a lot more magnanimous about this than she was.
‘I’m not going to kiss him or hold hands with him or anything.’
‘I know.’
‘I’ll shake his hand when he comes over.’
‘That’s fine.’
‘And then I’ll pick my nose, that will scare him away. Maybe throw in a loud fart to really put him off.’
The smile spread on his face. ‘I bloody love you.’
She smiled. ‘I love you too.’
‘Just promise me you’re not going to fall head over heels in love with this man.’
‘That would be impossible because there is not a single man in the world who could make me feel what I feel for you.’
He smiled and looked around. The place was pretty full with people having pre-Christmas drinks and celebrations.
‘I’m looking forward to the day I can take you out on a date where I can hold your hand across the table and tell you how beautiful you are,’ Quinn said.
‘Soon, I promise. And you’re looking devastatingly gorgeous tonight in that suit. I’m not sure how I’m going to concentrate on anything this man is going to say with you sitting next to him. This man has already lost out to you and I’ve not even met him yet.’
Alex felt guilty saying that but it was true. This poor man had come all this way for a date that was already dead in the water.
Cleo arrived at the table supposedly to do the introductions but there was no sign of any man. She had the biggest smile on her face.
‘So this is Quinn, he’s thirty-two, loves rugby, kayaking, paddleboarding, quiz nights and murder mysteries.
He is a metal-work artist. This is Alex, she’s thirty, she has a brilliant, seven-year-old daughter.
Alex loves sea swimming, in the summer months anyway, gardening, also in the spring and summer, she loves action films and romance books, but has a special place in her heart for any fantasy romance.
She also loves watching murder mysteries so that’s something you two have in common. Have a good night.’
Cleo started to move away but Alex stopped her in confusion. ‘What’s going on?’
Cleo gestured to Quinn. ‘This is your hot date. I told you I’d arranged a date with your perfect man and here he is. Have a good night, the meal’s on us,’ she gestured to Max who was grinning at them both from behind the bar.
Cleo moved away and Alex looked at Quinn. ‘We’ve been set up,’ she laughed.
‘So it seems.’
‘Did you know about this?’
‘No idea, Max just asked me to double date with you about an hour ago. Look, we don’t have to stay, we can have a drink and go home.’
‘Hell no, I have a hot date with the most perfect man in the world, a free meal and, while I’d never normally sleep with a man on a first date, I’m pretty sure I’m going to break that rule for you tonight.’
He laughed.
Her heart felt so full of him. He really was perfect for her in every way, Cleo couldn’t have set her up with a better man and maybe she needed to make that clear.