At last, I met his eyes. His held a certain conviction in them. My poor little idealist. He’d never change.
“I’m not afraid of anything,” I replied, my tone stiff and defensive even to my own ears. A small smile tugged at the edge of his lips.
“Why didn’t you dress up tonight?”
“Why would I? This isn’t a date.”
“So a man and a woman who were once romantically interested in each other go to a restaurant to have dinner…and it’s not a date?”
I cleared my throat, feeling a wave of heat rise to my cheeks. “Exactly.”
Terrell shook his head. “That’s what I’m talking about. You won’t admit this is a date, or at least similar to a date, because you don’t want to think about me that way.”
“What way?”
The amused look on his face caved in to a more serious expression—one that made my stomach flop. “You know I didn’t ask you out just to catch up.”
I glanced away. “Don’t know what you’re talking about.”
He sighed. “Fine. I get it. It’s not like I expected you to leap into my arms or something. I guess what I’m trying to say is that I don’t believe in coincidences. There’s no way that we’d be in the same city at the same time in the same park if it wasn’t for a reason. Forgive me if I’m an idiot for trying to make something of it.”
Terrell lifted his right hand to signal the waiter. Guilt gnawed at my gut and I reached out, touching his left hand still resting on the table. “Wait.”
He hesitated, giving me a considerate look. I exhaled. “I’m not trying to run you off. It’s just…weird. I don’t like thinking about what happened between us. It took me a while to stop worrying about you. I’m sorry.”
Slowly, he smiled again and flipped his hand over so our fingers were intertwined. “Then, if you don’t mind, why don’t we just be honest and get through the weirdness together?”
That made me chuckle. “You always did have a way with words.”
“Thanks for remembering.”
“My pleasure.” He squeezed my fingers and let go, returning to his orange chicken. Feeling a tad more comfortable, I ate the stray mushroom on my plate.
“So who’s the guy?”
I coughed, nearly swallowing the mushroom down the wrong pipe. “Come again?”
He gave me an incredulous look. “I’m a doctor, if you recall. I can read people, and I’m getting a vibe off of you that you have a boyfriend.”
I stared at him. “There is no way in hell you can know that.”
Terrell shrugged. “Well, there’s also the fact that you smell a little like AXE cologne, and as much of a tomboy as you are, that’s not what you’d wear.”
My shoulders relaxed. “Oh. Well if you knew that, why’d you still ask me out?”
He flashed me a grin. “I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t think I could steal you from him.”
I rolled my eyes. “You wish. You’re half-right. I have been traveling with a guy, but he’s not my boyfriend.”
“Good. That saves me the trouble of putting the moves on you.”
I kicked him in the shin and he laughed. The room got a little warm when he did. Dammit.
“Alright, so why is your just-a-friend guy traveling with you?”
“I needed a little help covering the costs. Besides, he knew it’d be hard for me. I’m actually in town looking for information about my mother.”
Surprise stole across his face. “What kind of information?”
“Anything I can find. There’s not much, but I finally got the chance to visit the psychiatric hospital she was in.”
He leaned forward. “Did you find anything?”
“A bit. They still had her profile. I had to go to my aunt’s place to get the last of her things.”
Terrell’s handsome face darkened at the mention of Aunt Carmen. “I doubt that went well.”
A bitter smile crossed my lips. “It didn’t, but…at least the trip wasn’t a total disaster.”
“So when are you heading back to Albany?”
“Not sure. I have a couple more things to take care of, and then we’ll go back in a day or two.”
“Well…” he said, rubbing the back of his neck in a self-conscious sort of way. “If you’re not too busy, I need an escort to this event tomorrow night. Black tie affair.”
My breath caught in my throat. Shit. Talk about a blindside. I licked my lips and thought about it. Well, I could go. The only thing on my schedule tomorrow would be helping those ghosts we met in the park. I actually did want to go with him. I’d forgotten Terrell’s ability to draw me to him. However, why was I hesitating?
At last, I shook off my thoughts and nodded. “I guess another night out wouldn’t kill me.”
“Great. If you need help finding a dress, give me a call.”
I had to grin. “I also forgot what a metrosexual you are.”