WARREN
The smells of grilling meat and Korean pop music filled the air. The surrounding walls were green with fake hedges climbing to the ceiling, and all the yellow booths were divided by slats of light wood, making it harder for me to see out onto the city street. My eyes narrowed to scan the long row of windowpanes.
Who was Caleb bringing?
Caleb had been very elusive over the phone. When he mentioned bringing someone to our standing date at the Korean barbecue joint, my friend didn’t mention her name or anything about her. It was only that they were working together, and she was, well, she. I couldn’t even get a damn name out of him.
“Just trust me, Warren,” he insisted over the phone. “You’ll like her.”
If this was a blind date, I was going to have a word with Caleb Harrow.
Had I been going through a dry spell recently? Maybe a little one.
Did I need my friend setting me up with some random woman? Well, I really hoped I wasn’t there yet. I had never been one to date like it was going out of style. Some of my exes said I spent too much time hunched over a keyboard. One called me full of myself, but nobody was perfect, right? Besides, maybe she wouldn’t have chided me for being a snob if she saw me drinking Japanese beer about to eat beef and seafood off the round grill built into my table.
Caleb never had problems like that. Everyone seemed to be endearing by his boyish looks, even if he was closer to forty than thirty-five. Those blue eyes of his and his upbeat disposition seemed to charm the pants off of everyone.
Hell, they charmed me. That was how we became triathlon buddies.
“So, can I get you started with anything?” the waitress asked as she popped over for a second time.
Glancing down at my watch, I replied, “I’m waiting for my friends. They should be here any minute now.”
They were supposed to already sitting here, but I figured the Friday trains were running five minutes late.
“Oh,” she said with a smile. “Can I get you anything else to drink?”
“I’ll have three waters,” I replied, setting the stage.
“Wow, you must be really thirsty.”
The perky waitress laughed at her own joke, insisting she would be coming back with the drinks post-haste. With a wink of her eye, I couldn’t believe her flirtatious smile of serious. She looked no older than twenty-two, and I was on the wrong side of forty, even if it was only forty-one. I couldn’t help but smile a little, though.
I guess my few gray hairs didn’t mean I was put out to pasture.
“Hey, Warren!” Caleb called with a wave.
I looked up to see my friend in his usual thin cotton sweater and checked shirt, but his companion was far from the ordinary. Caleb pushed up his sleeves and smiled as she mentioned something in her ear. His companion flashed the prettiest smile. She batted her eyelashes in his direction, and as if the world started moving in slow motion, the effervescent beauty turned my way. If this was supposed to be some kind of setup, I needed to thank Caleb, groveling at his feet.
“Hi, Caleb,” I greeted him as they reached the table.
“Warren, this is Millie Jackson, my research assistant,” he explained with a brightening smile.
I knew what that look meant. Caleb’s eyes caught hers, and the attraction lingered there in his expression. In her hip-hugging black ensemble, I couldn’t blame him. Millie was a sight for the sorest eyes, sweet relief after a long week of working.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Warren,” she remarked with a faint Dubliner’s lilt, making my name sound more musical than it was. “Thanks for letting me tag along to your get-together.”
I smiled. “Trust me, Millie. It’s my pleasure.”
Caleb helped her settle into the booth beside him just as the waitress came back with those waters. Caleb, a creature of habit, ordered his usual IPA, but all of a sudden, I was in the mood for something stronger.
“Do you like sake, Millie?” I asked her.
“I’ve never had it,” she admitted, “but I’m always willing to try something at least once.”
There was danger in how those words rolled off her tongue. Her lips curled into a smile, and somehow, she looked too innocent. It felt like a lovely little trap.
“One bottle of the white sake for us,” I told the perky waitress. “Oh, and a kimchi pancake to start.”