Tyler parked in the restaurant’s lot and made his way to the door, the sun’s light peeking through drifting clouds, making the patterns of light and shadow along the blacktop. Inside, Tyler saw his latest two candidates sitting at a table waiting for him. He joined them, ordered a burger and a beer, and started right in on his questions.
“So tell me,” Tyler asked, sipping his beer, “after all these years together, what’s you secret?”
“Secret?” Brooke asked.
“How do you guys manage to stay so happy?”
She turned to Josh. “What do you think, honey? Should we tell him our secret?”
Josh gazed into her eyes and they exchanged a smile that seemed to have a private message.
Tyler cleared his throat. “If it is too personal you don’t have to share. No problem. I understand.”
Brooke giggled and said, “We never let ourselves get bored.”
“Although we have are moments,” Josh said.
Brooke nodded. “Hey, we’re all human. I mean it’s only natural.”
“And when that happens we just get on the phone and call Rudy and Carla,” Josh said, then took a big bite of his burger.
“Are Rudy and Carla…your therapists?” Tyler asked. He knew couples counseling was often a supportive tool for long-term relationships.
Josh and Brooke looked at each other and burst into laughter.
“We’re swingers,” Josh said.
“You mean you belong to a swing dancing club?” Taylor asked, hoping like hell that was what they meant.
But nope. Brooke let out a high-pitched giggle and said, “No, sweetie. Not dancing.”
“You don’t mean…”
“Oh, we do mean,” Josh said. “We belong to a special club called, The Free Life. Each month we meet up with a new couple for a swap.”
“Right.” Tyler nodded, suddenly feeling a little sick. He told himself it took all kinds to make a world, but this was definitely not the kind of relationship he wanted.
“It’s sort of like the book of the month club,” Brooke added. “What are you doing this weekend, Tyler?” she asked, giving him a coy grin.
“Who me?”
“Yeah. This weekend. Come over for dinner and wine. The kids are away at their grandparents’ house. It will just be the two of us. Or I should say…three?”
“If we’re lucky the Dorkins might show up too,” Josh chimed in.
Tyler swallowed against a dry throat. “The Dorkins?”
“Rudy and Carla,” Josh said. “They’re our ‘special’ friends. She has got the sweetest…”
“Shhh, don’t spoil it.” Brooke gave her husband a playful swat, then turned to Tyler. “Come on by.”
“Listen, I just got a message.” He pulled out his phone and glanced at it, pretending to read a text. “I have to leave.”
“You must have great ears. I didn’t hear your phone.”
“Uh, I have it on vibrate.” Tyler placed some bills on the table and stood up. “Nice meeting you guys. Gotta go.”
As Tyler headed down the street to his car, he wondered if Emily, his dad’s admin assistant who’d recommended this couple, was totally oblivious or if she had a kinky side no one in the family business knew about.
Needing to clear his head, he pulled over at Iron Pier Beach and walked along, staring out at the Sound.
That was when he ran into Dale, a friend who owned a charter fishing boat. “Do you think you will ever get married?” Tyler asked as they walked along together.
“Sure. At some point, I guess,” Dale said, sounding about as uncertain as Tyler. “Why? Are you getting married?”
“Not sure, but I’m kind of looking for a woman to date.”
“Since when did you ever have trouble with that? I’ve seen women literally follow you around at parties.”
“I don’t want to date anyone in our partying crowd. Or in the yachting circles. I want to find someone who is kind of…homey.”
Dale squinted at him with a skeptical look.
So Tyler went on. “I’ve been going to events all over the area hoping to meet someone, but it just isn’t working.”
“Ya know what the problem is with those kinds of things?” Dale said. “They’re all filled with people.”
“Right. Isn’t that the goal?”
“Nooo. Never use people.” Dale pulled out his phone. “Use an app.”
“You mean a dating app?”
“Yeah. Come on, dude, it’s the twenty-first.”
“But isn’t a dating app just a cattle call of losers looking for hook-ups?”
“Nope. Everybody uses them now. You can specify what you are looking for, anything from a hook-up to marriage. And the software matches you up based on your profile.”
The two men sat on a bench and Dale showed him how it worked. And when Tyler got home he joined a couple dating apps and set up a profile of a serious businessman looking for a solid, steady woman for a long-term relationship.
No wonder he had trouble sleeping that night.
Caroline lugged her boxes into Bajinx, the Greenport gift shop where she sold her wind chimes. Similar to Three Girls, this store was the brainchild of two women—Bailey, who made scented soaps and lotions and candles, and Jinx, who made gorgeous silver jewelry.
They also sold a select line of crafted work by area artists. Even though Caroline no longer made big gallery pieces, she could not totally shut down the part of herself that needed to create. So she made wind chimes with all kinds of objects, some metallic, some glass, some plastic, some pottery. Most of the pieces were sculpted or shaped by her, but she occasionally used found objects as well.
“Hey, Caroline, you got some new stuff for us?” Jinx marched toward her. She was a tiny but feisty energetic woman with a head of long dark curls that seemed to embody her power the way they bounced and flew around as she moved. Caroline had heard she was a heartbreaker when it came to men and it did not surprise her.
Jinx grabbed a couple of Caroline’s boxes and helped her carry them to the back area behind the main store. Caroline loved the ambience of this place. It always smelled like Bailey’s floral soaps and the glass display cases and wracks of hanging jewelry were designed with an artistic flair.
“I’ve got a check for you,” Bailey said, standing up from the desk in their back office. The opposite of her tiny partner, Bailey was blonde and soft-spoken and so tall she towered over Caroline. “Two sold. The sea glass and the dragonfly one.”
“How great that someone liked them.” Here phone buzzed and she pulled it out of her pocket, checked what it was, and before she put it back it buzzed again.
Bailey gave her a questioning look. “Everything okay?”
“Yep, I just… It’s nothing.”
“Uh-oh,” Jinx said. “I recognize that look. It’s got to be either your shop or your love life.” When Caroline’s face turned hot, Jinx laughed and said, “Ooh, she’s blushing. Guess that answers it.”
“Anybody we know?” Bailey asked.
“No. It’s…” She shook her head, and the women took the hint and changed the subject, offering her coffee and talking about an upcoming craft show that they wanted her to consider doing.
When Caroline got back to her SUV, she pulled out her phone. Brina would gloat and laugh and shake an “I told you so” finger at her when she told her what was happening. Caroline had been getting notifications nonstop from the dating app. Where did all these men come from? She didn’t even know there were that many single men living around here.
When she had agreed to do the profile with Brina, Caroline had decided she would not go searching out any of the men on the app but would allow for the possibility of connecting with the one or two she expected might come to her.
One or two? Try over forty so far.
As Caroline sat in her car and scrolled through the messages and checked out the profiles, she had to admit it was kind of fun. She even saw a few that seemed kind of nice.
“Omigod.” Her breath caught and she stopped scrolling. Could it be? Caroline expanded the profile photo as far as she could and squealed out loud. “It is. It’s him!”
His profile name was Boat Boy. How much closer can you get?
She immediately called Brina and as soon as she answered, Caroline yelled, “You are not going to believe this!”
“What? What happened? Are you okay?”
“He messaged me! On the dating app.”
“He…” A short pause. “Tyler Westfall? No.”
“Yes! I can’t believe it. What is someone like him doing on a dating app?”
“I told you all kinds of people use them.”
“But why would he pick me? I don’t even have any cleavage showing in my photo.”
Brina laughed. “Maybe he liked the things you said in your profile.”
“But I sound so boring.” She gasped. “Do you think he recognized me from the coffee shop?”
“Did he say anything about it in the message?”
“No. I’m not sure whether to be glad or insulted. I told you he never even noticed me.”
“People tend to notice superficial things, and you are no longer blue-haired and pierced.”
“True.”
“What did he say?”
“Well, he didn’t follow the rules of that article you gave me about writing the best opening lines. I’m not sure if that means he’s not a regular user or if he doesn’t like to conform or if he is just lazy.”
“Stop analyzing and read me what he said.”
Caroline sighed. “He said, ‘I’d like to get to know you.’ That’s it. How am I supposed to answer that?”
“How about simply ‘I’m interested’ to play it as casual as he did.”
“Okay. I just sent that as a reply. Eeeeeee.”
“Whoa. Don’t break my eardrum, girl.”
Caroline bit her bottom lip. “What am I going to tell him when we start talking?”
“The truth. Just don’t share too much until you get to know him.”
“But he will know I’m the coffee shop girl.”
“Yes, and if you really would like an actual relationship with him, he will find that out soon enough.”
“But my hair and all…”
“Tell him you needed a change.”
“I’m still baffled. My profile said I was seeking a long-term relationship and that I wanted marriage and kids.”
Brina chuckled. “Wouldn’t it be ironic if the hottie you were crushing on because he is so sexy is actually a solid kind of guy who wants to settle down?”
“OMG, Brina, that is exactly what his profile says. Could it actually be true?”
Chapter 6
Tyler waited inside a booth at Natalie’s Coffee Cove, a popular local diner. His leg was bouncing under the table, his fingers drumming on top. He had never done anything like this before. Never had any kind of blind date or setup and certainly not this weird version.
He had messaged a few women on the dating app and gotten some inquiries from others. When it became clear in their text conversations that they were a bad fit or he would not like them too well, he politely cut the thread. The woman he was meeting today made it past his initial exchanges. Tyler liked her dry wit in their message conversations, and the fact that she could keep up with him on a broad range of subjects made him move quickly before she got snatched up by some other dude.
He knew some people went on a long time before meeting in person, but it was the beginning of June now and if this woman did not work out he needed time to start over with who knew how many others before his Labor Day deadline.
So Ms. Plain Jane was his top pick.
Turned out her name was Caroline. And there she was coming through the door. Yeah, she was perfect. Not too flashy in beige linen trousers and a pale pink blouse. Not a bombshell or fashion model type. But a nice rounded figure. Another thing he liked. And a nice intelligent face. Not beautiful, but definitely pretty.
“Hello, Tyler,” she said, walking toward him.
He liked her voice too. She sounded confident and grounded. Not a game player, this one.
Sudden guilt hit him for the machinations he was playing at. But he told himself he was also interested in getting to know her. And like any dating situation, neither person knew if it would work out or not. She never had to find out his initial reasons for starting this because the outcome would be determined by whatever happened between them regardless.
He stood, as he had been taught to do by his mom, and reached out his hand, saying, “Nice to meet you, Caroline.”
Was it his imagination or did their hands somehow linger a bit too long, the feel of their skin touching sparking a connection? He wasn’t sure, but he could tell she sensed it too. Yeah, she was smart and alert. He liked that in a woman.
She slid into the booth across the table from him and when the waitress came over they both ordered the chicken avocado salad and coffee from the lunch menu.
He smiled at her. “You like avocados?”
“Could eat them every day,” she said.
“Terrific. Well, I guess that settles it. What say we get married?”
She gave him a devilish smirk. “Sure. Why not? People tie the knot every day for dumber reasons than that.”
He liked her earthy style. Not the squeamish type. Good sense of humor. Definitely a plus factor. He studied her sexy green eyes. Something about them. They looked familiar. And her face… “Wait minute—I know you. You’re the barista at the Three Girls cafe.”
Something he could not read flickered across her face. “And you work at Westfall Yacht World.”
“Actually, it’s my father’s company and my brother and I will own it when he retires.” He grimaced. “Sorry about that. It came off like I’m bragging and I didn’t mean it that way.”
“That’s okay. I’m also a proud business owner. Three Girls Roasting Company is mine. I started it with two friends, hence—Three Girls.”
“Cool. Well, you’ve really got a great place there. Best coffee on the North Fork.”
“Thanks. Just make sure Natalie doesn’t hear that.”
“Oh, right. This is Natalie’s Coffee Cove.” He peeked beneath the table. “Let’s hope this booth is not wired.”
Her sexy giggle got under Tyler’s skin.
The waitress brought their salads and they both fell into silence as they ate. Tyler couldn’t help taking glances at her luscious mouth and creamy skin. And when she looked up at him—those bright green eyes of hers said all kinds of things he wanted to explore.
“By the way,” he said, “you look different than the way you did when I saw you at the cafe.”
Caroline shrugged. “I needed a change.”
“From blue hair and facial jewelry to the ‘Plain Jane’ in your profile.” He studied her and she looked down at her hands, clearly feeling self-conscious. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to—”
“It’s all right.” She faced him and he could tell she was wrestling with something. Then she asked, “Which version do you like better?”
Whoa. Most women would never ask that. “This one. Not that you didn’t look good the other way. I used to look forward to seeing you every morning.”
Her eyebrows shot up and he could tell that surprised her. He was about to ask why she needed a change, but she said, “Why did you stop coming in?”
Now it was his turn to gaze at the table. He opted for honesty, without spilling his guts—or the problem that put him here. “There was an issue with my family business and I took a leave. So I don’t drive that route every day anymore.”
“I would guess it isn’t easy to work for a parent.”
She put that together fast. Smart woman. Luckily not too nosy. And he noticed she had asked for two separate checks. Independent. “So, aside from the cafe, I saw that Three Girls markets your own coffee blends?”
She nodded. “Mostly on the East Coast to specialty st
ores. But one of our partners moved to California so we now have a West Coast branch.”
“Ambitious.”
“Not really. My friend—one of the Three Girls—didn’t want to give up the business we began, but there was no way she was going to stay here. She fell in love with a man who lives out there and married him and of course she wants to spend every day for the rest of her life with him.”
Tyler wondered what it would be like to be that much in love. Could he fall in love with Caroline?
Whoa. He caught himself.
This meeting with her was not supposed to be about love. He was just going to spend some time with this woman and hopefully the two of them could have some laughs along the way. His main goal was to have a Plain Jane on his arm to show his folks he was trying. If his lost sight of that goal, he could find himself in deep water.
But as he looked at Caroline’s enthralling green eyes and luscious mouth, her sexy voice wrapping around him as she spoke, he knew he had some major league swimming ahead.
After lunch they took a stroll down the street of the small town, passing by their own cars, and Caroline had the feeling he was not quite ready to end the date. Her less-than-confident side wondered if this was where he told her he didn’t think they would be a good match.
But then he turned to her, looking like an excited kid, and asked, “Do you want to go for a boat ride?” That took her totally by surprise. She had a feeling any relationship with him would be full of surprises. When she hesitated, he added, “It’s a beautiful day for it.”
Maybe it was her years of city living; maybe it was having once been married to a man whose mood could turn on a dime, but the thought of being stuck out on the water in a boat with a man she did not know all that well made her say, “Let’s get to know each other a little more. If you want to continue seeing each other, that is.”
Tyler's Blind Date Experiment Page 4