So, the man liked variety. That was interesting. You could tell a lot about someone by the type of cupcakes they ordered. A lot of people were only about the chocolate or only about the vanilla. When someone ordered a lot of different things, it let me know that they weren’t afraid to get out of their comfort zone.
“Coming right up,” Beatrix said. She grabbed a couple of cupcake carriers and started loading them. I gave them both a little wave and headed out to the car. As I left the shop, I made my way back to the car.
Today had been a long day, but it had also held a lot of surprises. For one thing, I’d learned a few new recipes. For another, I’d also spotted a very handsome, very charming man. He was delightful, I thought, and he was the kind of guy I’d love to spend more time with.
My problem was that I wasn’t busy, but I was a wreck. I didn’t want to jump into a relationship too quickly, so I just didn’t jump into anything. It had been months since Tony and I had broken up. In fact, it had been nearly six months. Why was I still waiting to start dating? I wasn’t saving myself for him or anyone else. I was just frozen in time, it seemed, waiting for someone to come along and thaw me.
“Lock frozen over?” I glanced over my shoulder to see Cowboy standing right there. I hadn’t even heard him approach.
“Oh, um, no,” I shook my head. “It’s not.” Apparently, I’d been standing beside my car just daydreaming about him instead of actually getting into the car and leaving. That was a dangerous thing, wasn’t it? It wasn’t a good idea to sit and dream about people you’d just met, especially not when you were still awake.
“What’s wrong?” The cowboy’s eyes were soft and gentle, and in that moment, I was tempted to grab him, hug him, give him a cup of cocoa, and tell him all of my sorrows. That wasn’t how this kind of thing was going to go, though.
“Nothing,” I lied, shaking my head. “I just spaced off for a moment.”
His eyes narrowed, and he frowned at me. Oh, I hated being the reason for that furrowed brow. This was the kind of guy I wanted to please. I didn’t want to make him worry or feel concerned, and I definitely didn’t want him to look at me like I was disappointing to him.
“Try again,” he said. “I’ve got a daughter, love, so I know that when a woman says nothing is wrong, there’s usually something very wrong.”
He had a daughter? That was nice. So, this cowboy wasn’t just stopping in the shop to get cupcakes for himself. He was probably going to share them with his kid. That was kind of him. When I was growing up, my dad and I hadn’t really had that sort of relationship. We hadn’t really been the family that stopped off and picked up cupcakes or donuts on the way home. We’d been the polite, cold, not-very-huggy type of family.
“I had a long day,” I explained. More like a long year. “And unfortunately, that’s made me a bit absent minded.” That was putting it lightly, but that was okay. I didn’t know this guy, I reasoned. I didn’t need to be overly honest with him.
“I know how you’re feeling,” he said. “Things have been a bit rough for me, too. You know what I think is going to make my day a little better?”
“What?”
“Eating these,” he lifted the little bag he’d gotten in the bakery. I knew that Beatrix had packaged his cupcakes up nicely for him. She was always very thoughtful and sweet. She wanted to make sure the cupcakes looked just as good when they were being eaten as they did when they were being packaged.
“Cupcakes always make me feel better,” I smiled.
“You know what else will make you feel better?”
“What?”
“Having dinner with me tomorrow night.”
I stood staring at the cowboy. Was he for real? Had he really just invited me to dinner? Alarm bells went off in my head. The timing was all wrong. I was just getting out of a bad relationship. I was busy. I had a cat to take care of. I…
Only, I hadn’t just gotten out of a relationship, had I? It had been six months, and Tony certainly hadn’t waited to try dating someone. It was okay for me to date someone, too. This guy was a stranger to me. He was a total, complete stranger, but he was handsome, and he was kind, and he liked cupcakes. That had to be good enough, right?
“Okay,” I found myself nodding, agreeing to dinner. I smiled, and it wasn’t fake or forced. It was natural. When was the last time I smiled for real at someone brand new like this? “Okay, I’ll have dinner with you.”
“Good,” the cowboy smiled and tipped his hat at me. “That makes me happy.”
“Um, where do you want to meet?”
“My place,” he said.
“Your place?”
“I’m a fine cook.”
“What do you like to cook?”
“That will be a surprise,” he said. Usually, I didn’t like surprises, but I could get on board with this. I could handle a guy who wanted to cook for me. After all, it was just dinner. There was no pressure. He wasn’t inviting me to an expensive restaurant where we would have to argue over the check or where I’d feel awkward if I didn’t have anything to wear. Nope. This was just dinner at his house. It was simple and easy. Hopefully, it would also be fun.
“I’m allergic to shellfish,” I blurted out. The worst thing I could imagine was that he might make shrimp pasta or something that sounded equally delicious, but that was deadly to me.