Page 55 of Dating Mr. Right A Collection
“I like to wear all sorts of hats. Head of marketing, captain of the softball team, and chief tour guide.”
He stopped in his tracks. “Whoa. Did you just say softball team?”
I laughed. “Yes. Is that a surprise?”
“No. It’s just—could this day get any better? I love softball.”
I nudged his elbow.
Wait, did I just nudge his elbow?
Must behave.
I tried to make light of it. “Then you really ought to join our team. We have a ton of fun playing with the other food companies in the city.”
He shot me a quizzical look. “And you like sports leagues? Like, really like them?”
“Sure. My daughter’s school is right near the park, so it works out perfectly. She’ll meet me at Central Park and work on homework during the games.”
His eyes swept down to my hand. Was he hunting for a ring? Well, he wouldn’t find one.
“That is so cool that you’re into—I mean, that Heavenly has a softball team. I’m fired up to join.”
I flashed him a smile. “And I’m fired up you want to join.”
I gave him the rest of the tour, popping by to say hi to other key team members, saving the best for last.
When we reached the corporate cafeteria, I swept my arm out wide. “And the best part? Heavenly has fabulous food. Yummy soups and delicious salads, and all sorts of options if you’re a vegetarian or gluten-free, or what have you.”
He nodded appreciatively at the spread. “This is going to be perfect.”
I glanced at my watch. It was twelve thirty.
“Want to get something to eat?”
He smiled brightly. “Is everyone here as friendly as you?”
I shrugged playfully. “We do have a great group of people. That’s why I’ve been here for more than a decade.” I lowered my voice to a conspiratorial whisper. “Not for nothing, they do call me Ambassador Ginny.”
He offered a hand. “Have I mentioned what a pleasure it is to meet you, Ambassador Ginny?”
“And it’s a pleasure to meet you, Noah.”
See, I did all that because I’m helpful.
Not because I was totally perving on the hot new guy.
We sat down and had lunch together, and that’s when I made the biggest mistake.
“Tell me more about you.”
I learned he lived in Queens, a few blocks from his family, had dinner with his parents every Sunday, and liked to play soccer with his older sister’s youngest son.
He was a freaking twenty-five-year-old family man.
Thanks, universe, for the temptation.
His Prologue
She was friendly. Outgoing. Liked softball. Could talk up a storm.
She was also sexy as hell.
Oh, and she had an Australian accent.
Nothing hotter in all the world.
It was official.
I was falling in love.
1
Noah
I hear my favorite sound when I head to the break room to grab a bottle of water. The sound of a certain woman.
“You know how it is, right?”
That sexy voice. Gets me every time. In the you-know-where.
Ginny is pouring a cup of coffee and talking to a gal who works in operations. “I hear ya,” the woman, Julie, says.
“You’re just so overwhelmed, you try to do two things at once all the time, like you suddenly think you’re superwoman, and you can both wash dishes and dry them at the same time.”
Julie chuckles. “Or fold laundry at the exact moment that you’re cooking.”
“What a skill set. Don’t I wish I could do that.”
“I’d also like to be able to sleep and exercise simultaneously.”
Ginny high-fives Julie. “That’s how it is being a mom. You’re completely convinced you can do everything, and then you get really cocky, and also totally overwhelmed, so you try to do two diametrically opposed things at once that never work. Like brush your teeth and pee.”
“Girl, that never works.”
“Which leads me to my point. All this superwoman stuff—we can have it all—is just a bunch of poppycock. We’re simply trying to do it all, and we fail at all the things that way. For instance, how can I truly do one of the gazillion things on my to-do list while I’m working out? Too hard to answer email. Can’t fold laundry and exercise. And I’ve yet to figure out how to sweep the floors while I’m on the treadmill.”
I figure this is my chance to cut in since working out is my hobby, my passion, my second favorite physical activity. I turn the corner into the room. “You could try doing squats while you brush your teeth,” I offer in as friendly a way as possible. “After all, isn’t that a great use of time? That’s totally achievable. I do that every day, in fact. I always do squats and lunges while I brush my teeth, and I use my electric toothbrush, which runs for a full two minutes. You do thirty seconds on each quadrant of your mouth, so I do lunges on each side. Right, left, right, left, boom, done.”
I do a few squats and a couple of lunges to demonstrate.
