“Because you’re blind,” his son said.
“Hmm. Well, you must be blind because I thought I asked you to pick up your toys in the den before Aunt Natalie arrived.”
He lifted his shoulder. “But we’re just going to take them out again.”
They’d had this conversation a million times. His son could not understand the logic of picking something up that was going to be disturbed later. “Indulge me. Blind man.”
“I want to play Blind Man’s Bluff, Aunt Natalie. Can we?” his son asked.
“Sure. Haven’t played that in years, but don’t you need more people?”
Andy shook his head as Danny ran off, most likely for the handkerchief they used. “Not in Danny’s game. He’s created his own rules. One person is blind-folded, and the other has to run around the room to avoid being tagged. It can be deadly. Watch out for the cars. He loves to line the floor with them. Hurts like hell if you’re barefoot.”
She tossed her purse on a chair in the corner. “I’ll keep that in mind. So, how nervous are you?”
His belly tossed and turned like he was in a cargo hold of a ship at sea. “Pretty nervous.”
Her eyes darkened. “Don’t…force it. Just try and have a good time. Failing that, try and keep yourself entertained. If it sucks, don’t be a hero—you don’t have to stay for dessert.”
Was she thinking of her first few dates after her breakup with Blake? How must those memories seem to her now that they were reconciling? Did she regret dating other people while they were apart? He knew from Moira and Caroline’s teasing her that she’d been out with a few guys. Not that they’d ever talked about it. He didn’t like to hear those kinds of details about his sisters.
“How are things?” he asked, not asking specifically about Blake.
“Great.” She pushed him toward the door, apparently not wanting to say more just yet. “Now go. Danny and I have some Blind Man’s Bluff to play.”
When Danny ran back brandishing a white hanky, Andy swooped him up in his arms. He hadn’t told him much about his evening, other than that he was meeting a new friend for dinner.
“Be good for your aunt, and go to bed on time.”
He gave his sister a pointed look. None of his family adhered to Danny’s bedtime when they babysat. Not even his mother.
“Okay, Dad.” Danny gave Andy a smacker on the lips. “Have fun with your friend.”
But after thirty minutes at Brasserie Dare with Valerie, Andy concluded fun just wasn’t in her vocabulary. She’d fussed about the fifteen minute wait for a table, suggesting he might say he was related to the owner. Andy wasn’t the kind of person who would ever do such a thing, but rather than say so, he’d explained that everyone already knew, and besides, it would make no difference. All the tables were occupied.
She must have been nervous too because she kept up a steady hum of conversation about the recent thriller she’d seen at the movies while he studied the menu. Kim had never bothered him when he was reading something, knowing he liked to give it his full attention.
When she ordered a cosmopolitan, the floor dropped out of his stomach. It was Kim’s favorite drink. It wasn’t fair she was ordering his wife’s favorite drink when Kim couldn’t enjoy one anymore. And it certainly wasn’t fair he was with a woman who liked cosmopolitans like Kim but was nothing like her. This little voice inside his head started listing all of his date’s imperfections. Her teeth were too big for her mouth. Her right eyebrow rested a quarter inch higher than the left. And her nose, well, it was too snooty by half.
He could never imagine kissing her, least of all falling in love with her. He’d written her off by the time their appetizers arrived.
Sure, she asked him about his work at the hospital, but there was a certain sheen in her eye—one he’d seen in other women who idolized the idea of dating a doctor. She even asked about his family, knowing he was a Hale. When he brought up Danny, she tensed. Yes, it was only the slightest of reactions, the extra curl of her fingers around the knife as she spread foie gras on a piping hot slice of baguette. That nailed the coffin shut.
A woman who liked cosmos but not his son would never be the right match for him. After their entrees and some more awkward conversation, he told her he needed to get home to his “pride and joy.” Her eyes lowered, and he knew she’d received the message. He paid for the check, wished her well, and walked to his car since they’d met at the restaurant.