CHAPTER FOUR
Thursday, July 20th
Claire walked into the Social Southern Table restaurant and looked around for her friend. Stepping to the left, she spotted her tucked into a booth toward the back. Thankfully, Andi wasn’t on call and, for that, she was grateful. When her date had canceled earlier, she was actually relieved. Turned out dating three days in a row had just about done her in.
Three hours on a date was equivalent to about twelve hours of working, she’d discovered. Nothing in her life had prepared her for the amount of energy it took to meet someone new every night. The getting ready alone was more than she’d bargained for. Never before had she spent so much time fussing with her hair, clothes, and makeup.
And how long she was going to be able to keep it up was anyone’s guess. Having a night off was just what she needed to regroup and recharge for the next set of dates.
Maybe scheduling dates seven days in a row hadn’t been such a good idea after all.
When she’d first come up with the idea, she assumed it would be the fastest way to date as many different men as she could and then determine who was her type. So far, she hadn’t met anyone she wanted to be more than friends with. Which wasn’t awful. It just wasn’t the point of joining an online dating site. At least, not for her.
As she wove around the people in the bar, she heard little snippets of conversation and wondered how many people were here on first dates. It was a special kind of hell going through the initial couple of minutes of making conversation. Chitchatting and trying to determine if you had any interest in the person sitting across from you was not for the faint of heart.
Waving to Andi, she slid into the booth and let out a breath. “I’m so happy that you could make it tonight.”
“Me too,” Andi replied. Lifting her glass, she winked. “This Basil Daisy Martini has set my world right.”
“What’s in it?” Claire asked as the waitress walked toward them.
“It’s got vodka, Aperol, simple lemon, peach bitters, and basil 9. Not sure what half those things are but it sure is delicious.”
When the waitress approached, Claire ordered one and then sat back. “Well, if we go down after a couple at least we go down together.”
“Always.”
Taking a pen out of the bun on top of her head, Claire let her hair fall down onto her shoulders and grinned. “I can’t tell you how happy I am that I didn’t have to do my hair and makeup before I came to work today.”
“Dating more work than you expected?” Andi asked as she sat back in the booth and crossed her legs.
“Uh…yeah.”
“That’s why I don’t take the time to do it. I barely get a shower, a meal, and some sleep in before each shift, so I can’t imagine taking the time to go through the painful process of first dates.”
Claire’s drink was delivered and she took a sip and grinned. “You were right. This martini is going to fix whatever ails me, including my flagging interest in my dating project.”
“I told you going on that many consecutive first dates wasn’t a good idea. Unless you have crazy chemistry with someone, the whole thing is a lot like seeing your accountant. Necessary but not a lot of fun.”
“Amen,” Claire murmured.
The waitress came by again to see if they needed anything, and Andi ordered some small plates for them as well as a second round. “Seems we’re going to need a second drink so that you can get through the descriptions of the men you’ve spent time with over the last couple of days.”
Claire sipped her drink and stared over the top of her glass at the restaurant. The low lighting and warm casual interior were making her feel relaxed and she realized that was the thing she’d been missing during the dates. “I might be too uptight about the whole thing because I haven’t allowed myself to enjoy one minute of this process. Which clearly wasn’t the goal.”
Andi threw a sympathetic smile toward Claire and shrugged. “I know you just wanted to step back into life and meet new people, but I think that analytical brain of yours turned a good idea into something that’s not a lot of fun. Dating success is not something an algorithm can solve. Human beings with human feelings rarely fit into a program.”
“I know,” Claire moaned. “I just thought since my human feelings steered me into the last disaster, that applying logic to the process might net better results.” She rolled her head in a circle, then rested her face on her hand. “That’s why I chose a different sort of man for each date.”
“Tell me who you’ve met so far,” Andi said as their second round was delivered.
Claire drained her first drink, then pushed it away and pulled the second one closer. “Get ready. I’m going to give you the CliffsNotes version.”
Andi turned in her seat and rested her hands in her lap. “Hit me… I’m ready.”
“Monday was Kevin the pharmacist, who has a penchant for hand sanitizer and recounting full episodes of Game of Thrones. Tuesday was Ed the orthodontist who has the prettiest smile you’ve ever seen. Unfortunately, he cheats at miniature golf and chews with his mouth open. Wednesday was Lewis the personal trainer. He took me bowling and has the body of a Greek god. We didn’t have much in common, but every time he bent over to bowl, I didn’t much care. I think if I could keep my sentences to five words, he might actually be willing to go on a second date with me. Which I might do if it gave me a chance to see him with his shirt off.”
“And what about the guy who you were supposed to go out with tonight?” Andi asked.
The food that Andi had ordered arrived and they each took a moment to fill their plates before Claire responded. “Tonight, was Ivan the ER doctor. He had to stay for a second shift and I’m guessing we may never reschedule.”
Andi sliced into a fried green tomato and shook her head. “Yeah, that date is never going to happen.”
“Tomorrow, I have a date with Roy the mechanic, and after that, it’s Vince the vet, and on Sunday, it’s Sol the pharmaceutical sales rep.” Taking a bite of the crawfish cake, Claire moaned. “Holy shit, this is delicious.”
Nodding, Andi took her own bite and then moaned as well. Once she had wiped her mouth, she smiled. “Too bad it’s just our food that’s making us moan and not a man.”
Claire lifted her fork and waved it at Andi. “There is a really good-looking man who is ready, willing, and able to make you moan and you won’t give him five minutes of your time.”
Sitting back, Andi tilted her head against the back of the booth. “I know. But if I let Kane in an inch, he is going to take a mile. I have six months left on my residency and I can’t be distracted.”
“I know.” Claire twirled her hair up and thought about a man who seemed to want some of her time. A cocky, beautiful man with mesmerizing blue eyes. A man who made her shiver when he touched her. Realizing the road she was going down, she shook her head and cleared the picture of Brady right out of her mind.
Which didn’t really work since the man himself was striding in their direction. Along with Kane, who was smiling at Andi like she was the last drink of water in the desert. Sweet baby Jesus, this was supposed to be a night off from men. Was there a cosmic joke that she was unaware of? Sure seemed like it was possible if the one man who flustered her was walking in her direction.
“Did you tell them where you were going?” Andi asked out of the side of her mouth.
“No!” Lifting her drink, Claire took a gulp and then plastered a smile on her face. No way was she going to let on how she felt. The last thing she needed was to be attracted to a man like Brady. He was too good-looking, too confident, and too…alpha for her to consider him a candidate. And that’s all she was going to pay attention to: men who were good candidates. No matter how unexciting they were.
Kane called out a greeting as the men approached, and the women offered small waves in return. “Be nice,” Claire instructed.
“I’m always nice,” Andi replied as the men slid into the booth.
“Hey,” Brady said as he rested his arm above Claire’s shoulder. “We decided to grab a bite to eat before we went home, and when I heard you talking about this place, I thought it sounded terrific.”
“Eavesdropping is not considered good manners,” Claire responded.
“How else do you expect us to gather intel?” Kane asked as he lifted Andi’s hand and kissed her fingers. “A man has to do what a man has to do.” Turning toward Andi, he grinned, displaying the dimples that had gotten every single one of his sins forgiven.
“Kane, we’ve discussed this and you promised me that you would back off until I’m done with my residency.”
“Darlin’, this is as far as I’m ever going to back up.” He scooted an inch closer to Andi and kissed her cheek.
The waitress came by and took the men’s orders, as Claire watched her best friend melt under Kane’s attention. No matter what she said, she was attracted to the retired SEAL, and her capitulation was just a matter of time. At least, that’s what it seemed like.
Speaking of capitulation…a certain large hand was tracing circles on Claire’s shoulder, wreaking havoc on her nervous system. Flashes of electrical pulses moved through her body as the heat from Brady’s body drifted into hers. Damn chemistry.
“What happened to date number four?” Brady asked.
“I can barely keep track. How is it that you can keep them straight?”
Smirking, he rested his hand on her shoulder. “Because after your seventh date on Sunday, you’re going to go out with me. The bozo parade will be finished and we’re going to get started on getting to know one another.”
Leaning away from his hand, she folded hers in her lap. “I don’t remember acquiescing, so right now, the bozo parade continues.”
Throwing his head back, he let out a laugh. “Whatever you need to tell yourself is fine with me. I saw the look of relief you had after you realized you had the night off from the torture you’re putting yourself through. So…come Monday, we’re going to grab something to eat and see about this chemistry we’ve got going on.”
“Says you.”
Turning his head, he gave her a gentle kiss on her forehead. “Yeah, Claire…says me.”
“Fiddlesticks.”
The men’s drinks were delivered and the group decided to order dinner. As Claire sat back and listened to the conversation going around the table, she realized this was the most fun she’d had all week. Which meant that she might need to reconsider her approach to this whole dating business.
Logic and reason were giving her a lot of boring dates, but chemistry had only ever given her heartbreak. Maybe there was something in between. Her date with Roy the mechanic tomorrow could be the turning point, and there was no reason to give up until she made it through all seven of her dates. No matter how fluttery she was feeling with Brady’s hand on her shoulder.