Page 7 of Heartsmashed
I almost smirked as I took another sip of whiskey, letting my gaze travel around the room once more, though nothing of interest was catching my eye?—
Until the door opened.
I noticed him immediately, not because he was trying to be noticed, but because he wasn’t.
The man stepped just inside the entrance and paused like it had suddenly hit him where he was, and it was clear as day by his expression that he was reconsidering the life choices that brought him here. For a second, I thought he might turn around and bolt right back out the door. But then he exhaled, squared his shoulders, and moved forward like he’d made a deal with himself to see it through.
Thathad me cocking my head to the side.Another blind date, perhaps?
Curiosity alone was enough to hold my attention, but the rest of him didn’t hurt.
Dark hair, a little disheveled in a way that said he’d worried his fingers through it more than a few times. Cautious eyes that swept the room, searching for something or someone, and almost nervous that he would find it. Tension strained his broad shoulders as he flexed his hands by his sides before shoving them in his pockets.
And yeah…he was attractive. Striking, actually. The sharp lines of his face showed just how expressive he was, his emotionsopenly on display and easy to read, something I doubted he realized.
My gaze dropped down his body. He’d left the collar of the fitted button-down he wore undone, and he’d matched it with a pair of dark jeans that looked tailored for his long legs. It was clear he wanted to make an effort, but not overdo it with a suit-and-tie routine, which meant I could crossjob interviewoff my list of why he was here.
He pulled his phone from his pocket to check it, and this time when he looked up, his eyes swept the room, where they caught—and stopped—on me.
More specifically, on…my tie?
Something shifted in his expression and then he was moving, heading in my direction.
Hmm. Interesting.
I took another sip of my drink as he made his way across the room, and it didn’t escape my notice that a couple of people did a double take when they saw him.
He gave me a smile that was more confident than his tense body betrayed as he stopped beside my table. “Hi.”
“Hi yourself.”
Up close, his eyes were darker than I’d thought, but somehow warmer too, and I caught a faint scent of his cologne or body wash. Something clean and expensive. Delicious.
He hovered for a second, his fingers curling around the back of the chair across from me like he wasn’t sure whether he should sit or run. Then he took in a deep breath and let it out quickly.
“Okay,” he said, more to himself than to me. “Right.”
Amused, I watched him work through whatever internal debate he was clearly having, and when he finally looked up at me, there was a flicker of determination.
“So, you’re here for the, uh…” He trailed off, scrubbing a hand over his jaw as he glanced around us. A flush crept into his cheeks as he met my eyes again. “Sorry, this is… I’ve never actually done this before.”
Now, there were a few ways that sentence could go, but considering he had the whole should-I-stay-or-should-I-go vibe about him, I was hedging my bets that he was in the same blind-date boat as I was. Too bad he wasn’t mine.
Then again…finders keepers.
I held his gaze. “First time for everything.”
Relief flashed across his face. “Right. Yeah, you’re right.”
He continued to white-knuckle the chair, standing there awkwardly until I inclined my head and said, “Sit.”
Like he’d been waiting for my permission, he did just that, the chair scaping against the floor as he scooted in close. “Have you, uh, been here long?”
“Long enough.”
“Oh. Sorry. The train was late and I?—”
“You don’t need to apologize.”
