“How have you been, anyway? I haven’t talked to you in a while.” The change in his voice didn’t go unnoticed by me.
“Good,” I lied, thinking back to Lesley’s hand touching Cane’s stomach which, in turn, made my stomach a little sick. “How about you?”
“I’m fine, always fine,” he said. “Hey! You had to bail the last time we tried to grab a bite to eat. Wanna try again tonight?”
I paused for a second, my chest compressing as I remembered Cane’s warning to stay away from Simon. I recalled Lesley leaning her head into his side and wrapping her arms around his waist and my blood boiled.
Don’t mow the sidewalk …
“Sure, Simon. That sounds good. Where do you want to meet?”
I knew he was smiling on the other side of the line. “There’s a great little restaurant over here by me. I can come and pick you up?”
Cane’s words rolled through my mind again and I was a little uneasy.
Was his warning because he was jealous or was there something else going on?
I hesitated, chewing on my fingernail. “You know what? I will just drive over there. I don’t want you making a trip all the way over here and back again tonight. If you text me the address, I’ll meet you there around seven?”
“Sounds great! Can’t wait to see you.”
“See you soon, Simon.”
I spotted Simon’s Avalanche at the rear of the parking lot and pulled in beside him. I checked myself in the mirror before exiting the Jeep. My hand trembled slightly as I wiped my fingertip beneath my eyes, pressing away the puffiness that I couldn’t see but could feel.
I had worn a pair of black pants and a really cute silver top I found in Kari’s closet. I was a little nervous about this date, or whatever it was, and I felt like the extra bit of fabric covering my body would help put a little barrier between Simon and I, should that be necessary.
Not that he had ever done anything to make me feel like that was necessary. I had felt slightly uncomfortable the first time we met. Looking back, that was probably because of my anticipation of seeing Cane again. The only thing that had me slightly on edge at this point was Cane’s little spiel, but that was probably just his arrogance coming through.
I grabbed my purse and was about to toss my phone into it when it lit up. Cane’s name flashed across the front.
Fuck you.
I sent the call to voicemail, set the phone to vibrate, and squared my shoulders. I marched into the little restaurant. It wasn’t a large, corporate affair, but a more intimate place. I pushed open the doors and was taken aback at the beauty of the decor. It looked like a scene out of a vineyard in Tuscany.
I put on my prettiest smile when I spotted Simon sitting at a table in the back. He slowly rose when he saw me, raising his eyebrows.
He had on grey dress pants with a white button down shirt. He wasn’t breathtaking like Cane; Simon was more attractive in a plain kind of way. He was above average in appearance, but there was nothing striking about him. And while Cane had an inherent charisma, something that pulled you to him, Simon was just the opposite. He seemed to be on guard at all times, calculating. It was a little off-putting, but I figured it was just one of his quirks.
His shirt was a little wrinkled, his hair just a touch disheveled as he pulled out my chair. “You look beautiful.”
“Thank you.” I placed my purse on an empty chair and sat down. “You look very nice yourself.”
Simon took his seat across from me and immediately, I felt on the spot. His eyes searched every inch of me and as a sly smile fell into place, I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear nervously.
I’m only overthinking everything because this is my first real date in forever. Breathe.
“I’m surprised you came tonight, if I’m being honest. I wasn’t sure what happened, but I haven’t really been able to get ahold of you since the night at the diner.”
I blushed, embarrassed at being called out. I couldn’t tell him that I had been blatantly ignoring him. “I was assigned a few different projects that have been keeping me pretty busy. Have you been here before?” I asked, trying to change the subject.
“Ah, once or twice. I don’t take a lot of people out to dinner, so I don’t have a reason to come here. But I’d love to come here more often.”
I pretended to not pick up on his innuendo and scanned the menu, twirling my ring around my finger.
“Good evening. My name is Jennifer and I’ll be your server tonight,” said the pretty brunette waitress that arrived, a notepad in hand. “Can I start you off with something to drink?”
I went the safe route. “Water for me, please.”
“Same here.”
“Great. I’ll go get that and be right back.”
“What do you suggest?” I glanced at Simon over the top of my menu. “Everything sounds delicious.”
He studied the information in front of him. “If you like fish, the mahi-mahi is really good here. I’ve had the sirloin before and it was great.”