by Parker, Ali
They hadn’t told me much about her, just that she would be wearing a brown jacket and that I would know her when I saw her, which wasn’t exactly helping to stem the wild anxiety running through my system at that moment. What if she walked in and I was looking at my phone, and she rolled her eyes and turned heel to walk out of there? What if her main criterion was “hot,” and she looked at me and decided I wasn’t up to her standards? I wasn’t sure my ego could take that. What if she had chickened out and was right now sitting at home with a tub of ice cream on her lap, thanking her lucky stars that she didn’t go out on that stupid blind date her friends had set her up on…?
And like that, my nerves went. I had spent the last ten years making risky business decisions to keep my work afloat, but this, somehow, was far too much for me. I reached for my coat and ignored the waiter heading in my direction to take my drink order. I just wanted to be left alone and to retreat from this place in peace.
That, of course, was when I saw her.
Not the woman I was due to go on the date with, of course. No, that would have been far too easy. No, I laid eyes on someone I recognized—and about the last person on Earth I wanted to see at that moment.
I sank back into my seat when I saw Autumn, my son’s teacher, for the first time. My pride wouldn’t allow me to have her catch me booking it out of there. She might think I’d been stood up, and for some reason, the notion of that made me bristle with annoyance. I could get a date. I would prove it to her. She could watch me on a date with some smart, sophisticated, beautiful woman that my friends had picked out for me. See how she liked that.
I had to admit she looked good as she paused just through the door and scanned the restaurant, looking for someone—was she on a blind date too? If she was, whoever was here for her was going to be pleased with what they got. She was dressed in a deep green dress that hit above the knee, showing off her shapely legs and giving her a generous cleavage to boot. Her red hair was pulled up into a messy bun, but a few artful tendrils had escaped and were framing her face. Her lips were dark, a berry red, and I wanted to sink my teeth into them. I swiftly looked away from her, reminding myself that she wasn’t who I was here to see. She was just in the same restaurant at the same time, and it was nothing more than a coincidence—
Then it hit me like ice-cold water dumped over my head. I slowly turned back to look at her and noticed the hue of the jacket she was handing off to the cloakroom guy. Brown. A deep, unmistakable chocolate brown. And she had been looking around the restaurant when she’d come in, as though she’d been searching for someone. It had struck me then that she looked as though she were on a blind date. But there was no way in hell she could be on a blind date with me, could there?
I sat there, frozen at the table, as she looked around the room once more, narrowing her eyes as though trying to pick someone out. Then she saw me, sitting at the table by myself, and I saw the same look of horror, shock, and the desperate urge to race out the door and not look back pass across her face. I got to my feet as she came toward me, and she planted her hands on her hips and stared at me from the other side of the table.
“Please don’t tell me that you’re here on a blind date,” she groaned, and I nodded slowly.
“Afraid so,” I replied. “Our stupid friends, huh?”
“Our stupid friends,” she agreed and shook her head. We both stood there for a long moment. What in the name of holy hell were we supposed to do now? I wanted to leave, to call the night a bust and chew Raymond out for it later, and to tell him I would need the full name, job title, and preferably social security details of anyone he wanted to set me up with in the future. Not that I was going to exactly be leaping at the chance to take on another blind date after this one had exploded in my face within the first five minutes. I should have gotten up to leave as soon as I had felt the inclination the first time around. Sure, I would have seemed like an ass for standing her up, but at least it would have been better than sitting across the table from a woman I knew didn’t like me, from a woman who had dared question my parenting skills to my face a few days before.
“Well, I’m going to get out of here.” I went to grab my phone where I had left it on the table. “Sorry to have wasted your time—”
“No, don’t go.” She cut me off before I could go any further, and I looked up at her, curious to find sincerity in her voice.
“You don’t want to do this date, do you?” I asked, raising my eyebrows. I would have been stunned if she’d wanted anything other than to see the back of me.
“Sit down for a minute, will you?” She pointed to the chair opposite hers. “There’s something I need to talk to you about.”
I eyed her for a moment longer and then carefully sat down on my seat, right at the edge, as though I could leap up and run off at any moment if things took a turn for the worse. But, as I sat there and looked at this woman sitting opposite me and remembered how beautiful she looked when she walked in, I wavered. Maybe our friends hadn’t done such a terrible job after all.
10
Autumn
I sat opposite Holden, staring at him from across the table, and wondered how the hell I was going to phrase this so I wasn’t going to sound like a complete crazy person.
“I can’t believe this is happening.” He shook his head once more, leaning back in his seat. “Of all the people in the city….”
“And they stick you with the one you never want to see again,” I filled in the blanks for him.
“Hey, I never said that.” He held his hands up defensively. “I was planning on avoiding the school till Hunter grew out of your class, that’s all.”
The barest flicker of a smile passed over his face as he spoke, and I knew that was my way in.
“You know, I wanted to apologize for that day,” I admitted, running my hands through my hair, knowing that I was messing up the careful updo I’d worked on half the evening getting right. I supposed it didn’t even matter now. It wasn’t like I was trying to look hot for this guy.
“Really?” He seemed surprised.
“Yeah, I do actually admit when I’m wrong sometimes,” I replied. “Like, for example, I know now that I was wrong to agree to this date.”
He laughed. It was a good sound, and I liked it, despite myself.
“But look, I didn’t act as professionally as I might have wanted,” I went on. “And if I had a chance to do it again, I would change things, for sure. So I’m sorry about that. I really am.”
“Thanks.” He nodded, and I could tell it meant a lot to him to hear those words come out of my mouth.
“I’m not the most…” I searched for the words and figured we had already long overstepped the marks of pretending to be socially perfect. I sighed and fiddled with my hair again. “I’m not the most socially graceful person in the world,” I admitted. “I get that. And sometimes I can get taken over by doing what I think is right before approaching it in the way that’s actually going to help, you know what I mean?”
“I think I do,” he said with a nod. He paused for a moment, looked at me, and then spoke again. I couldn’t help but notice how much softer his eyes looked this time around, now that they weren’t all burning with anger aimed squarely at me. His suit was nice too—expensive-looking, just like the rest of him.
“I appreciate where you were coming from,” he told me. “I know you wanted the best for my son, and anyone who feels that way is all right in my book.”
“Good.” I smiled, and my stomach grumbled right then. I looked down at the menu.
“Look, if I told you I was going to pay my own way tonight, would you mind if we ate here?” I suggested. “Not a date, I mean. I just don’t want to go home and cook, and I could use the company if you’re willing to give it to me.”
He paused for a moment, and a smile curled up the corners of his lips. He had a good smile, genuine and broad like it was filling him from the toes up.
“You know, that sounds pretty good,” h
e admitted, and he reached for his menu. “I like the food here a lot.”
“You chose this place?” I looked around, taking in the sheer expense of this restaurant. “You must be pretty well-off to afford here.”
“I do all right.” He shrugged, and I clapped my hand over my mouth and shook my head.
“Oh my God, that’s so rude of me,” I gushed. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to be—”
“Hey, it’s okay,” He held his hand up and chuckled again. “Seems like we’re both pretty bad at this, huh?”
“Seems so,” I agreed. “Though at least you haven’t demanded my salary yet.”
“I was going to ask for pay slips and an energy bill with your name on it by the end of the date, but now you’ve got me thinking that’s not the best idea.” He tapped his finger against his chin, ponderingly with faux-seriousness, and this time, I laughed. He was actually pretty funny.
“Let’s make a night of this to please our friends, and then we can go off our own ways,” He suggested, and I extended my hand across the table toward him, relieved that we were able to be adults about this.
“Sounds great,” I agreed, and I opened the menu and started scanning down the food in front of me.
We chatted, and he guided me toward the dishes he thought I would most enjoy on the menu. I went with his preferences, and soon enough, we had a small selection of dishes on the table before us that we both chowed down on without pause. At an actual date, I might have been trying hard to play it as dainty, to pretend like I wasn’t a starving food hole who would cram herself full of as much as she could get. I didn’t worry too much about my lipstick rubbing off or my hair getting out of place or my dress looking too tight around the middle. In fact, I could relax and have a good time, and I found myself doing just that.
“Can I ask you something?” I leaned back from the table and took a long sip of my wine as he inclined his head. “Why did you come on this date in the first place? Forgive me if I’m wrong, but you don’t seem like the kind of guy who goes on blind dates.”
“What does that mean?” He smiled interestedly, and I shrugged.
“I mean, you seem like everything in your life is just so,” I told him. “With Hunter, with your job, with everything. Like you like it your way. I can’t imagine that translates well to your friends picking out partners for you.”
“If I’m being honest with you—” He leaned across the table, as though he was about to drop some scandalous information on me. “—I haven’t been on a date in nearly ten years. I don’t know how I’d go about finding someone for myself.”
“Ten years?” My eyes widened. “What, since Hunter came along?”
“Pretty much. I was so focused on the business and getting it off the ground that I never had a chance to focus on anything else.”
I felt a twinge of recognition at his words. How many times had I wondered if I had been a little less focused on my job if I would have had an easier time on the dating scene? It was different for him, of course, since he was running a whole business, but still. It was a lot for both of us.
“I feel you.” I nodded. “I think that’s why I ended up set up on this date myself. My friend works with me, and she probably wanted me out of the classroom.”
“Well, you’re only going to get good at your job by working your butt off there,” he agreed. “I get it. Work is easy. You can keep a handle on work. People, not so much.”
“So maybe we both start turning down blind dates in the future and find our own people, huh?” I suggested. He shook his head, smiling ruefully.
“Honestly?” He looked at me again, and maybe it was the wine, but the sharpness of his eyes took me aback a little. They were piercing, the kind that seemed to cut straight through you and down into your soul.
“Yeah?” I found myself staring into those eyes, propping my chin in my hand as I waited for him to go on.
“I don’t think I would ever come out with anyone at all if it hadn’t been for them,” he confessed. “Fuck, I was going to get out of this date. If it hadn’t been for Hunter, I would have dropped out before I so much as picked the restaurant.”
“And Hunter changed your mind?” I asked him. “What did he say?”
“He didn’t say anything specific,” he said. “It was like… it’s just obvious that the thought of me potentially meeting someone really excites him, you know?”
“That’s actually kind of sweet,” I remarked. “So you think you’ll start dating again? For him?”
“Don’t get me wrong. I’m sure there’s plenty to be said for getting out on the dating scene myself,” he remarked. “I’m sure I’ll be glad I did it when I actually do. But I guess I needed that little push to make things happen. And Hunter’s always been that push for me. For the business, for me as a person, for everything. I just want to give him everything I can.”
He came to a halt, chuckled at himself, and shook his head.
“I’m sorry. I guess I’ve had a little too much to drink,” he apologized.
“Not at all,” I replied firmly. “It’s so nice to hear someone speaking so highly of their kid, especially a dad. You’d be surprised how many think we’re going to laugh at them for daring to express an emotion, even if it’s about their own son or daughter.”
“Thanks,” he replied. “Sorry, I haven’t talked to anyone new in such a long time, not properly.”
“Me neither,” I admitted. “But this has been nice. A practice-date, right?”
“I can drink to that,” he agreed, and he raised his glass and took a sip.
“Though I’m not sure where I’ll be meeting my dates after this,” he said. “Most of the women I work with are married, and I’m not sure I’d trust Raymond to set me up again.”
“Let me do that for you!” I suggested. “I know you a little better now. I’m sure I could find some women for you to go out with.”
“You think?” He cocked an eyebrow.
“Are you kidding?” I waved my hand at him. “Look at you. You’re the picture of eligible. Rich, handsome, young, good-looking, kind, a good dad….”
As I listed off his traits, I realized I was having a hard time justifying why I wasn’t going for him myself. They were all true, of course, but that didn’t mean we had to be together. Did it?
I cleared my throat and shifted in my seat.
“Anyway.” I waved my hand. “What I’m saying is, I’ll be able to find plenty of women who want to date you. Actually date you, I mean.”
“Sounds good.” He grinned at me. And with that, we continued to talk until most of the rest of the restaurant had cleared out and the waiters were hovering, waiting for us to move already. We got our separate bills, and I drained the last of my wine.
“Well, this has been a much more enjoyable evening than I thought it would be,” I told him.
“It really has,” he agreed, getting to his feet and extending his hand to me. “Pleasure to meet you properly, Autumn.”
“Pleased to meet you too, Holden,” I replied, taking his hand. We must have looked so funny to the people around us, spending the whole night together at a romantic restaurant and closing things off with a handshake. But it felt good, like the promise of a friendship, and I could use as many of those as I could get. Not that I would have minded something more.
I let my hand linger in his a split-second too long, and then swiftly removed it and pushed that thought to the back of my mind. No. That wasn’t how this worked. Things with us were fun, that was all, and besides, I had agreed to set him up with someone else. It was just the wine speaking, and I should get out before anything of that nature started spilling out of my mouth as well.
“Good night, Holden.” I turned on my heel and made it out of there, not even pausing to hear him say it back to me.
11
Holden
“You all ready to go?”
Hunter was practically bouncing from foot to foot as he waited for us to get ready, and final
ly, I laughed and ruffled the top of his hair.
“Yes, we’re finally ready to go,” I told him. “Raymond? You got the keys?”
“Sure do.” Raymond held them up. I would have laughed at him in his goofy fisherman’s gear if I hadn’t already seen it on him a dozen times before. A couple of times a year, the three of us would go fishing down by the lake outside the city, and Raymond would take it as an excuse to put on waders and a giant hat like he was about to go diving in the lake and then scaling a mountain straight after. Truth was, he would probably crack a couple of beers by the side of the water while we caught up on things and maybe caught a fish or two. We rarely came away with anything. Even if we did, Hunter was getting to that age now where he wanted us to throw them back. But I didn’t mind that. It was the chance to spend some time with two of my favorite people in the world, and I appreciated any chance I got.
“You boys make sure to stay safe, now,” Olivia fussed as we prepared to head out the door. “I can trust you to take care of them, can’t I, Hunter?”
“Of course, ma’am!” he replied, saluting her playfully, and I could see the delight on her face at his sweet old-fashioned manners. If there was one thing that had been a nonnegotiable in raising him, it had been making sure that he was the most well-mannered kid on the block. Manners could get you a hell of a long way if you used them in the right way, and judging by the amusement with which she was looking at him right there, I would have said he was learning what that way was for him.
“Come on, let’s get out of here.” Raymond pointed to the door, and I grabbed a cooler full of food and drinks and heaved it up to take outside. We had already loaded up the car with fishing stuff, and we were soon ready to go.
Hunter always slept on car journeys, which gave Raymond and me a little time to catch up on what had happened over the weekend. I knew he had been itching to ask me about the blind date they had set me up on, and I couldn’t wait to tell them what the hell had really happened that night.