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“By the way, you look stunning,” Jake told Sylvie, and he meant it.
She was gorgeous. Beautiful. Curved in all the right places. He figured she stood at around five foot three based on where her head reached his shoulders.
He was six feet three inches and could see she was about a foot smaller than he was. A lovely gem. Her dark, wavy shiny hair cascaded down her back. Her eyes were large and framed by long pretty curved lashes. She had the most adorable cheeks.
She stole his breath away the moment he first laid eyes on her.
“Thanks,” she said, shyly. “And so do you.” Her pretty brown eyes lit up as she spoke. He loved that sparkle in them.
Sue Mae forgot to tell him how amazing Sylvie looked. Sue Mae only described her features with no other comments on them, like her height and hair color and what she’d be wearing. That was what they had agreed on beforehand, how he could spot her at the restaurant. That had all been arranged. But he could not have imagined this.
He was just glad he’d gotten to the restaurant in time. He’d planned to come earlier than the arranged time to meet her, but it looked as if she got there before him.
“I had no idea you were a real cowboy,” she said, looking impressed.
“I guess my aunt forgot to mention that.” He grinned.
“I don’t usually do this. I mean blind dates, but Sue Mae and my sister convinced me to give it a shot.”
“Seems like we have a lot in common.”
“So what made you decide to, you know? Take a chance on the blind date circuit?” she asked, sweetly.
“Well, I’m not sure how much Sue Mae told you, but...” Just then they were interrupted by the waiter coming by and placing their entrees in front of them.
The portions were large and the entrées laid out decoratively. He was glad they’d decided on meeting in a nice cozy upscale restaurant.
He was about to say grace when she bowed her head first and proceeded.
Nice girl.
He loved that in a woman. Proudly saying grace in a public restaurant.
“Amen,” they both said.
“That’s another thing we have in common,” he said.
“That’s good,” she said. “My grandmother always taught us to say grace whenever we get our food. Giving thanks and blessing what goes into us.”
“She seemed like a wonderful woman.”
For a moment, their eyes locked and his heart fluttered in his chest.
Focus, cowboy. This isn’t about love. You’ve done the love thing already. You had a family. This is about a possible marriage of convenience. Nothing more.
He turned his gaze from her for a moment, staring outside then back to the table.
“Something wrong?” she asked perceptively.
“No, nothing. I was just remembering something, but it’s all right.”
She didn’t seem convinced that it was nothing.
“So what is it that you do for a living?” he asked her, trying to change the subject.
“I used to work in advertising. I graduated with a marketing degree from college.”
“Very good. You’re creative and smart.”
“Thanks, but I haven’t exactly been using it the past few years. I’m looking to get back into the industry.”
“How so?”
“You see when I got married...” She hesitated for a moment, twirling her fork into the vegetables on her plate.
“Are you okay?” he asked, concerned.
“I’m fine. It’s just that...well, I had to give up my job.”
“You had to give up your job?”
“I don’t know how much Sue Mae told you but...well, I have a son.”
She looked up at him as if waiting for him to respond unfavorably.
“That’s wonderful. You never mentioned that before.”
“I know.”
“I didn’t see any pictures of him on your phone.”
“That’s because I didn’t want to show you them.” She looked up at him as if waiting for something else.
“Well, I didn’t want to show you them yet,” she corrected herself.
He could see her swallow hard. Was she nervous? He hoped he wasn’t making this pretty little thing nervous.
“You were wondering how I felt about children?” Now it was his turn to get emotional. His thoughts went directly to his little girl, his angel now in heaven. How he missed her and his wife so much. It crushed his soul.
“Yes, not all men want to take on extra baggage. But he’s a lovely little boy. He’s my pride and joy. My world.”
He loved the way she beamed when speaking about her little son. That’s the way all parents should be with their children. They’re a lot of hard work, but they are also a gift from God.
“Yes, children are a blessing,” he said. “I can’t understand anyone who wouldn’t want to be around children.”
“Sue Mae mentioned you were married before. Do you have any children?”
He said nothing for a moment. He felt guilt tug away at him inside.
“Did I say something wrong?” she asked, noticing his expression.
“No, you didn’t,” he said softly. “I did have a family.”
He didn’t want to get all emotional here. Not on this blind date.
“What happened?”
What happened?
Did he really want to go there right now?
The last thing he wanted was for anyone’s sympathy or to probe too deeply into what happened that fateful night. Maybe this was a bad idea after all. What had he been thinking agreeing to this blind date?
Sylvie was lovely. She was a beautiful woman. Beautiful inside and out as far as he could tell. And he was often a good judge of character. It didn’t take him too long to figure out what a person was like based on their situation and circumstance.
But right now, he didn’t think he would be a good fit for her. Sure, this was supposed to be a blind date to see if they could connect on another level, for a specific amount of time, but he would have to be compatible too.
Oh, she was nice all right. But could he handle his heart around her? Would his crushing guilt over the past and her probing into his family cause too much pain for him to even be in the same room with her, under the same roof for a year or six months in a convenient marriage?
Maybe this was a bad idea, after all.