"How could I forget? You spent days stressing about whether the whole Ben thing made it weird."
She lifted a shoulder. "I know, but I'm over it now."
Her original excuse for not pursuing anything with Eric had been that she'd dated his brother Ben for six months when she was an undergrad. He was six years older than Tiffany and at the time he'd been a teaching assistant in the psych department. It wasn't a grand passion, but they'd had great conversations. It had ended when he entered a doctoral program at a college in the Northeast-- where he now had a teaching position--and Tiffany had only realized how uninspired the relationship had been when his leaving hadn't left a hole in her heart. He was a nice guy, just not her guy.
Her guy would make her tingle. Her guy would generate sparks. He'd make her laugh. He'd make her feel.
Ben simply wasn't that guy.
But she thought that Eric might be...
"If you're over it, then why haven't you done anything?" Cam asked reasonably.
"Because right about the time I got over it, he started going out with that girl."
"That was last September. And they broke up before Christmas. And now it's March. Look at all the weeks you've wasted."
She made a face. "Well, if I'd made a move earlier, then I would have been the rebound girl."
"Procrastination, much?"
"Dammit, Cam. Have you thought that maybe he just doesn't like me?"
"Or maybe he's the one who thinks it's too weird to ask you out."
"I don't know. I only saw him a couple of times when Ben and I were together. I felt guilty for thinking he was hot--and kept my mouth shut, of course--but I don't think he noticed me at all."
Cam shrugged. "Maybe he didn't. Then again, maybe you were wrong."
"And maybe he's not even remotely interested now."
"Dunno. But the point is neither do you until you do something about it." His expression shifted to one of sympathy. "Come on, Tiff. You're the one who helped me finally get Mina, remember? I want to do the same to you."
"I know. Thanks. I'm just chicken."
"Yeah, well, you know what they say."
"What?"
He leaned toward her. "Get over it."
She rolled her eyes and was tempted to hit him with the bar rag again, but Eric was on his way back.
Cam was scooting under the bar, and she was about to follow. "Hold up. Why don't you make us a pitcher of Pinot Punch? Appetizers should be out soon."
"I can do that," Eric said as he passed Cam, then ducked under the bar and emerged about two feet from Tiffany. She was a full head shorter, and she tilted her head up to smile at him.
"Love the hair," he said as Cam headed off toward Mina.
"Oh." She reached up and pushed an errant curl off her face. Her friend Selma had referred Tiff to her hairdresser, and now her wavy light brown hair was highlighted with streaks of magenta. "Thanks. And I can get the drink. You have opening stuff to do."
"You sure?"
When she nodded, he gave her a thumbs-up then started to pass by her to get to the prep station. But there was a box of wine in the narrow walk space, and since she hadn't anticipated his movement, she couldn't get completely clear of him. He ended up passing her sideways, so that for one moment they were facing each other and the air between them crackled, sparking with possibility. His chocolate brown eyes met hers, and she thought she saw a desire as potent as her own.
Then he was past her and the earth started turning again--and the moment evaporated, and she was left to wonder if she'd really seen it, or if it had all been her imagination.
She stayed there like an idiot until she heard him call from the end of the bar, "We moved the pitchers over there."