Another Shot At Love Read online

  “That’s too bad. I like the pink.” Ted twisted the cap off the olive jar and his dreadlocks dangled around his face. “Extra-dirty martinis?” He looked up again the dreads settled around his shoulders.

  I glanced over at Matt. “Are you a martini guy?”

  “I’ll just take a beer,” Matt said and pointed to a dark lager.

  “Sure thing, man,” Ted said and pulled a frosty mug from a freezer behind the counter.

  “Ted, this is my friend Matt. Matt, this is Ted.” They shook hands and I nodded toward the adjoining room where I always sat. There was no door separating the rooms, just a wide open space where French doors had once been years ago. “We’re going to grab the sofa and I’ll come back for the drinks.”

  “I’ll be back for the drinks,” Matt told Ted, as he settled his hand against the dip in my lower back, leading me away from the bar. “My dad would skin me alive if he thought I made my date pay for my drink and carry it too.”

  I shivered at his touch and the words he’d whispered against my ear.

  “Such a gentleman,” I breathed, unable to hold my grin in check. I looked back over my shoulder at Ted who reached to pull a bottle of liquor off the shelf, and said to him, “You heard the man, he’ll be back for the drinks.”

  Who was I to turn down a free drink? Besides, I was too thrilled by him calling this crazy night a date instead of a disaster.

  “So, what do you think of this place?” As we reached the sofa, I took my phone from my purse. It hadn’t rang yet, which surprised me. Lexie would be curious, and worried, that I’d left with Matt. I’d messaged her on the way to the bar to tell her I’d call her later, but I knew it wouldn’t be good enough to placate her for long. I set my purse on the coffee table and sat with my phone in my lap, sinking down into the plush cushions as Matt settled in beside me. There wasn’t much space between us—a calculated effort on my part; I’d sat in the middle so he’d have to sit close.

  “It’s nice. I like it.” Matt looked through the doorway at Ted shaking my martini. “Do you come here a lot?”

  My phone chimed and I glanced down at the display. It was Roxanna: Where are you?

  I wasn’t sure what to say yet, so I ignored the message and put the phone back on sleep mode. “Yeah, I come here quite a bit. My best friend and I have sort of adopted it as our hang out. It’s dead now, but it’ll be packed in a few hours.”

  “I don’t mind the quiet,” he said and settled his arm on the back of the couch. “I got enough of the club scene in college.”

  “I don’t miss it, either, “I admitted.

  “Looks like our drinks are ready.” Matt stood. “Do you need anything else while I’m up there?”

  “No, I’m good. Thank you,” I said and he turned to the bar. Even his walk was sexy. My phone chimed a reminder I had a message and I looked at the display.

  Roxanna wrote: I want to meet this Matt and find out what his deal is. Lexie’s with me. We’re taking guesses as to where you took Lover Boy.

  My eyes bugged and I looked out the window facing the street, afraid I’d find them parked out there. “Shit,” I mumbled just as Matt held out the martini.

  “Everything okay?”

  I took the drink from him and plastered on a smile. “Yeah, everything’s great.”

  He didn’t need to know my over-protective best friend and twin were driving around the city looking for us. If he knew they were on a mission to interrogate him, he’d run. That’s what I would do. And I didn’t want him going anywhere. He smelled too good and I wanted another kiss.

  My phone chimed again, but I ignored it and settled in beside Matt. His weight made the cushion slope, making me lean in closer to him. “Sorry, the couch is pretty old.”

  Sorry? I wasn’t sorry! This couch was perfect, which was why I’d chosen to sit here instead of at the corner table I normally sat at. Roxanna would have high-fived me for my cunning—if she approved of him, first. I didn’t plan on introducing her tonight, though. I wanted him all to myself.

  “You need to get that?” Matt asked when my phone chimed again.

  I dug my phone out of my purse. “It’s my friend. She’s…”

  “Worried about you?” he asked when I failed to come up with anything. I didn’t want him as worried as I was about Roxanna and Lexie possibly showing up.

  “Kind of. It’s fine, though.”

  I texted Roxanna back quickly: I’m not telling you where I’m at. Don’t worry about me, I’m great! I’m turning off my phone now.

  Of course, I didn’t turn it off. She probably knew I wouldn’t, which was why she texted me immediately to give up my location, or else. Usually Roxanna’s “or else” threats were valid. She’d probably make me regret telling her no. I did it anyway.

  My phone chimed again. It was Lexie: It’s okay. Rox is just mad she missed all the excitement tonight at dinner. And she’s mad she didn’t get to see Matt in person. Just text me if you need me. I’ll keep an eagle eye on my phone all night. Love you.

  I texted her a thank you because I knew Roxanna probably wouldn’t let her hear the end of it. She’d probably still spend all night looking for me and this mysterious guy who’d gotten me all hot and bothered only a few hours after meeting him.

  “I’m more interested in hearing about you. The other night, you made me do all the talking. Tell me about your family. They’ve got to be more normal than mine.”

  He laughed and settled his arm along the back of the sofa once again, and I shifted and crossed my legs toward him. His hair had my attention now. I’d never dated a man who wore his hair as long as Matt’s, and it fascinated me. I wanted to finger the ends hanging just over the tops of his ears, then run my fingers through the bangs that were parted and touched near the dark brows that slanted over his eyes.

  “My sister is your age, so eating dinner with her is similar to eating dinner at your parents’ table,” he said, and I grinned.

  “I’m not sure if that was meant as a compliment or not.” I laughed and took a sip of the martini.

  “It was.” His lips were turned up in a soft smile and his eyes focused on something outside the window overlooking the old brick street. “Raygan was always the dramatic one. She’s twenty-four and content to never settle down. My younger brother, Michael, he wanted to stay on the farm. Dad wouldn’t let him until he went to college, said he needed to experience what else was out there first in case he fell in love with doing something else.”

  “And did he? Fall in love with something else?” I asked, fascinated that Matt had grown up on a farm. He seemed so city.

  “Nope, that kid lives and breathes the land, just like our dad.” His fingers played with the label on his beer bottle. “I’m glad he’s out there, though. Even with all the farmhands, it’s too much for my dad to take care of on his own.”

  “You weren’t interested at all in farming?”

  “I like it and I help with as much as I can on the weekends, especially during harvest. I make up for what I can’t do out in the field by managing the farm’s banking and investments.”

  “Tell me about your sister.” I was fascinated with everything he said, the way his eyes glazed over a little as he thought of his family, the way his lips twitched with a smile when he said their names. Knowing he was a family man made me like him even more, because family was important to me.

  “Raygan just returned to the states from a culinary school in Florence and now she’s in New York taking a French cuisine course. She’s very…” He focused on the brick wall opposite us and I focused on his dimples. “…gypsy, I guess you could say. I think she’d be happy with traveling the world and never settling in one place.”

  “Wow,” I breathed. “The Sistine Chapel is on my bucket list.”

  “I went last year when I visited her. It’s amazing. Someone as colorful as you would love it,” he said, his eyes on my hair again. “You said you’re an artist. What kind of art do you do?”

  �
�I mostly paint with acrylics, but I dabble in oils and I sketch. I love color though so I’m never satisfied with pencils.” I set my martini down on the coffee table. “Tell me about your job.”

  “I play with money,” he mused. “I really enjoy my job.”

  I wrinkled my nose. “I know absolutely nothing about investments and the stock market.”

  “It’s not for everyone, but I’m good at it. I’m the senior account advisor for our branch so I’ve got one other investment officer in the office and a secretary. It’s pretty quiet, nothing like the insurance company you work in.”

  “Senior Account Advisor…that sounds important,” I said. He was so sure of himself. No hesitation at all. Even the way he lounged with his arm over the back of the sofa was confident.

  “I guess it is.” He grinned with a shrug. “I’ve been with the company a long time, though. I worked for a branch in Denver before taking over the office here in Lincoln.”

  “Do you miss Denver?” I asked.

  “Not really. I was happy to come back. My dad’s getting older and refuses to admit it. He’s hired a few hands to help out at the farm, but still prefers to do most of the work himself. I go out there in the evenings most nights and on the weekends. He lets me steal him away to fish every once in a while.”

  “He must have been lonely with you kids gone,” I said and wanted to kick myself. I hadn’t meant to give him any painful memories. “I’m sorry. Let’s change the subject.”

  “No, it’s fine.” He grasped my shoulder and drew me into his side in a hug. “When I went off to college, my mom was healthy, never still, always bustling around the farm, canning or baking or taking in a stray animal. I remember this one time she came home with a box full of kittens, and my dad nearly had a heart attack. We already had a farm full of cats.”

  My heart thrummed with the bass of his laughter. “Where did she find a whole box of them?”

  “She didn’t find them. She answered an ad in the paper.” He shook his head and chuckled. “The woman told her if she couldn’t get rid of them before the end of the week they were all going to the Humane Society. So she brought all six of them home.”

  “Oh, my gosh, my dad would have pulled his hair out.” I couldn’t take my eyes off his lips. They were fascinating to me. Maybe because every time they smiled, I couldn’t stop myself from smiling, either. “What happened to the kittens?”

  “They’re all still out at the farm, except for one. She was hit by a pickup truck at the end of the driveway. Mom and Raygan cried for weeks.” He took a swig of beer and settled the bottle on his leg. The condensation left a wet ring on his jeans when he moved it over a little. “Mom loved to cook, too. She was always baking or had something simmering on the stove. I remember coming home from school and she’d have apple pie cooling on the counter. That’s where Raygan got her love of cooking. Mom taught her everything she knew and encouraged Raygan to learn more.”

  “She sounds like a great woman, Matt,” I said and hoped I wouldn’t cry, because his eyes were watery as if he might.

  “She was. It’s been hard on Dad since she passed.”

  And hard on you, I thought. “I’m sure it has been. I can’t imagine.”

  “It’s good to be near home again. I take him out fishing every now and then to take his mind off of things.” He took another drink then set his empty beer beside my martini glass on the coffee table. “What about you. Do you like it here?”

  “I do, actually. I always thought I’d move out of state, but it just hasn’t worked out that way yet. I know if I left I’d miss my family. It’s nice to be able to gather around my parents’ dinner table every Saturday and just hang out.” I sighed and crossed my legs. “But there’s not much for me to do career-wise here. I can’t imagine working at Bradshaw Insurance much longer.”

  “You don’t seem the type to sit behind a desk,” he said.

  “I’m not.” I smiled. “I spent most of today jotting down ideas for my five-year plan and browsing the classifieds.”

  His eyes were on my lips and in response, my tongue darted out to lick my lips. I couldn’t help it. My mind was on naughty things.

  “Oh? How’d that go?”

  “Not well. I miss working at the art gallery and I’m just not sure what else I’d enjoy as much. There’s just nothing around here I can do with my art degree.”

  “Are you still thinking you might move out of state?”

  I shrugged. “It’s crossed my mind a few times the last few months. But I really like it here. Now that Catherine’s having a baby and I’ll have a niece or nephew, I’m hesitant to go anywhere.”

  “You like kids?” he asked.

  “I love kids. I’d like to have about ten of them,” I said and his eyes widened.

  “Ten?”

  “Yeah, ten. And then I’ll buy a short bus to drive us all around in,” I said and enjoyed his incredulous expression.

  “That’s…ambitious,” he said kindly and I laughed.

  “I’m just kidding. But I’d always imagined at least having four. It’ll probably take me four times to get a boy, based on my mother’s history and her sister’s history. It took my aunt five tries to get a boy.”

  Matt whistled. “That’s dedication.”

  “What about you? Do you like kids?”

  “Yes, I’ve always wanted kids,” he said and I wondered if I’d imagined the frown at the corners of his lips because it flashed for a moment and then was gone.

  My phone rang and I looked at the display. It was Roxanna. I stood. “I have to take this. I’ll be right back.”

  “I’ll get us another drink.”

  I took my phone to the bathroom, shutting myself in before answering. “Yes.”

  “What are you doing?” Roxanna screeched on the other end.

  “I’m having drinks with Matt.”

  “Tell me where you are right now.”

  “No.”

  “You can’t just go out with a guy you don’t know,” Roxanna said and I laughed.

  “You want me to date, remember?”

  “Date guys that I know, not strangers.” Roxanna whispered something and then said, “Lexie wants to know if he’s made a move on you.”

  “No!” I said. I lowered my voice. “Look, he’s very nice. We’re just having drinks and talking. He hasn’t made a move on me. And if you remember, I’m the one who jumped him and stuck my tongue down his throat after just meeting him.”

  More whispering on Roxanna’s end. Then she said, “Lexie said you were making out with him in front of your parents. What has gotten into you?”

  “We weren’t in the house, we were outside. No one was around. Tell Lexie it’s creepy to spy on me kissing a guy.”

  “She’s worried about you.”

  “Yes, well, you were all worried about me not dating, so now you don’t have to worry about that.”

  “Yes, well, until I meet him, you’re not allowed to stick your tongue inside of his mouth again.”

  “I am not making that promise,” I said, because that’s exactly what I wanted to do again. “I’m going now. I’ll be fine.”

  I hung up before she could protest.

  The answering machine flashed an angry red when I stepped into my apartment. I hit Play wearing the same grin I’d worn all night, the same grin I’d worn on the drive home beside Matt. He hadn’t been able to stay out late since he’d promised to help out at his dad’s farm the next morning, and it was just as well. Roxanna and Lexie had blown up my phone with text messages all night, asking for every detail. I’d ignored most of their requests for information, but snuck in a few messages. I’d spent most of the two hours with Matt unable to take my eyes off of him, shivering at every brush of the hand, holding my breath every time he leaned in to whisper something to me. For a woman who’d sworn off dating a few hours ago to my sisters, I was very, very interested.

  And he’d kissed me good night. Not the hot, passionate kind of kiss we’d s
hared the first night we met, but a simple, soft kiss on the lips coupled with an “I’ll see you soon,” leaving me to wonder when “soon” would be. Like tomorrow soon? Or two days soon?

  You are pathetic, I thought with a big idiotic grin on my lips. The damn smile wouldn’t go away.

  “You have three new messages. Message one,” the machine said, and brought me back from obsessing over Matt’s dimpled smile.

  “Hey, Gen, you weren’t answering your cell so I looked up your home number on the internet,” Richard’s voice said. “I thought maybe you might want to catch a movie tomorrow night? The Sunday matinee starts at five. Call me when you get in.”

  “What the hell?” I wondered out loud. He’d been the one to tell me we weren’t right for each other, a point I agreed with wholeheartedly. And now he had my unlisted home phone number. Obviously, there were ways around that. Maybe Dad and Tony were right: the internet would be the downfall of all humanity.

  “So much for privacy,” I muttered and grabbed a glass from the cabinet beside the sink.

  “Message two.”

  “Hi Gen, this is Matt. Uh, your mom called me at work today. She invited me over for dinner…I’m not sure if you wanted me to come? She seems to think we’re, uh, dating. I hope you don’t mind, I asked her for your phone number. If you get this before dinner tonight, you should call me.” My heart accelerated at the sound of his voice. I waited breathlessly during the pause before he said, “I’ll show up in case you don’t get this message in time. In case you lost my card, here’s my number.”

  My fingers went up to her lips while he read out his phone number. The scent of his cologne still lingered on my skin.

  “Message three.”

  “Hey, Gen, it’s Richard again. You must not be home. It’s…nine forty-five. I was really hoping we’d get a chance to talk tonight. Maybe you’ll still get this in time to catch the matinee tomorrow. Hope you had fun wherever you were.”

  I frowned at the sad hint to his voice. Like a lost-puppy-dog kind of sad. I had a sinking feeling he liked me more than he’d let on, which confused me since he’d been the one who’d orchestrated the whole dump-n-dash in Mario’s Italy.