“No, it’s not that,” I said. “I’m just bad with faces, that’s all.” I felt a little guilty about lying, but the last thing I wanted was for Jonah to know that I would recognize him anywhere. I could point out the back of his head in a crowd full of middle-aged men. The image of his gorgeous face, that strong jawline and those piercing eyes, had been burned into my memory since the day I met him.
But he couldn’t know that.
Not yet, anyway.
“Well, then, since you’re the person I am waiting around for,” he said. “Shall we?”
“Absolutely.” We headed for the door, and he opened it for me. I stepped out onto the sidewalk and was immediately hit by a surprisingly icy wind. I put my hands into my pockets but tried to act like I wasn’t too cold. If Jonah noticed I was chilly now, he would suggest I run up and grab my coat. I wanted to wait until we were far enough from the building, so that running back wasn’t an option, and then the gentlemanly thing to do would be to offer me his coat.
“I hope you don’t mind,” he said. “But I was thinking we could go to this burger place down the street. I know burgers aren’t the most glamorous meal for a welcome to the company lunch, but I have a meeting that starts in an hour, so I wanted to grab something quick and easy.”
“Who doesn’t love a good burger?” I said. In all honesty, I didn’t care where we ate. I was just excited to sit down at the table across from him and see how deep this attraction between us really went. I thought he was cute,very cute, but I thought a lot of guys were cute. What I really wanted to know was how compatible we were. A single time, office hook-up is fun, but an officeflingwas just about the most fun a person could have while still being clocked in.
In order to have a fling, however, you needed to have more than just a physical connection. I wasn’t looking to marry the man or anything, but I wanted to know that we would have something to talk about whenever our lips weren’t otherwise occupied.
At the restaurant, Jonah opened the door for me again, and I stepped inside the warm burger joint and inhaled the scent of cooked meat and French fries. My stomach growled, but luckily the music was too loud for anyone around me to hear it.
“This place is so cute,” I said. “I’m glad you chose it!”
He grinned and walked up to the counter to order. “I’ll have a cheeseburger, with no pickles, French fries, and an iced tea.” He looked over his shoulder at me, and since I wanted to get a move on with our date, I just nodded and said, “Same! But leave the pickles on mine.”
The cashier rang us up, Jonah paid, and we went to find a free table. Thankfully, one was open near the back. The table was sort of shoved into a corner, so the two chairs sat very close to one another. As we climbed up onto the tall stools, our knees accidentally touched. He apologized, but I just smiled and said it was all good.
“So,” he said after we got settled. “How has your first day been so far? I’m sorry I didn’t get a chance to say hello before now. I’ve had a crazy morning. My daughter’s school called, and so of course I went into panicked parent mode. Everything is fine though.”
“Oh no,” I said. “What happened with Victoria?”
He smiled. “You remember her name?”
“Of course, I do! She was just a baby when I left the states, but I remember my dad showing me a few pictures of her. She was very cute back then.”
He nodded. “She really was. Cutest baby I’ve ever seen, but maybe I’m a little biased.” He shrugged. “But she’s fine. In fact, she’s better than fine. She got called into the office because she won an award of some kind. She entered a playwriting competition for teens, and she got first place. Of course, she didn’t tell me any of this, so when I saw the number for her school pop up, I just about had a heart attack.”
“She’s a writer!” I said. “That’s very cool.”
“I think so too. I just wish she would share with me more. I hate having to find out about things like this from her school, you know?”
“Yeah, well, it can be hard. She’s a teenager, so her instincts are always going to be to keep things from you.”
He laughed. “That’s comforting.”
“Sorry,” I said. “But I am just trying to prepare you. Take it from someone who used to be a moody, quiet teenage girl herself.”
“That’s right,” he said. “I remember you being a little shy, a little introverted. Especially after—” He caught himself just in time, but I knew what he was about to say anyway. He was going to say, “especially after your mom died.” And he wasn’t wrong. If I was closed off before I lost my mom, then you could say I locked myself behind a steel vault after she passed away.
He started to stumble through an apology, but thankfully he was saved from getting too far along in it by the waiter coming around with our food. I felt my cheeks getting warm, and I was very glad to have something new to focus on.
“This looks delicious,” I said.
“They do make great burgers here.”
I picked mine up, careful not to let any sauce drip on my clothes, and took a bite. It was better than I had anticipated, and without meaning to, I let out a loud, satisfied moan. Jonah laughed at this and took a bite of his own burger. For a while, the two of us said nothing. We just ate and enjoyed. When I was about halfway done with my burger, however, I put it down and took a sip of my iced tea.
“Next time, I’m taking you out to my favorite pizza place,” I said. “It’s a lot like this spot. Small, family owned, I think you’ll really like it.”
“That sounds great,” he said. He smiled. “I’m looking forward to it.”
I smiled right back. “Yeah. Me too.”