“Really.” He sits back and smiles at me, but there is no spark in his blue eyes. “Well then, I’d say they weren’t having sex right.”
“Or the shoes are just amazing,” I counter and take a sip of my sweet tea. “That’s basically it. I just love shoes.”
“Not a bad reason to start a business, I guess.”
“I don’t think so either.” I push my plate away and order the peach cobbler when the waitress arrives.
“I’ll have the same,” George says.
“So tell me about your family,” I say, leaning on my elbow.
“I have two sisters,” he replies. “My mother passed when we were kids. Dad lives in Florida now in a retirement community. He loves it. Golfs all day, plays bridge in the evenings with friends. It works for him.”
“Are you close to your sisters?”
“Not really.” He shrugs, as if it doesn’t mean anything, and there’s just one more reason that he’s not the one for me. “We don’t not get along, but they have families of their own, and I don’t see them often.”
“I see.”
“But from what I can tell, you’re close with your family.”
“Very. I don’t know what I would do without them.”
George smiles and takes a bite of his cobbler and we fall into silence as we eat our dessert. Finally, when the dishes are cleared, he leans over and takes my hand, and I feel…nothing.
“You’re not really feeling this, are you?” he asks.
“I’m sorry, George. You’re a nice guy, and you’re handsome, but I just don’t think there’s any chemistry here.”
“Whew,” he says and leans back in his chair. “I feel the same. I’m glad you said it first. But I do like you.”
“I like you too, but it’s more of a friends thing for me.”
“Sounds good,” he replies with a decisive nod. “Just friends.”
“And just to be clear, not the friends with benefits kind of friends,” I add firmly.
He sits back again and studies me for a moment, then shakes his head.
“I don’t usually have sex with my friends.”
I cock a brow, not a little surprised. George is simply a nice, normal guy who’s grown out of the fuck-buddy phase.
“What are you thinking?” he asks with a smile. “You have a funny look on your face.”
“You’re like the Easter Bunny.”
“Excuse me?”
“You’re just a nice guy. No gimmicks. No strings. An adult man who doesn’t have to sleep with a woman to be friends with her.”
“Okay.”
“I’ve never seen one of you in the wild,” I explain and smile when he bursts out laughing again. He has a great sense of humor.
“Your brothers seem to be the same.”
“Yes, but I wouldn’t consider dating my brothers.”
“Good plan.”
George reaches for the check.
“I can pay for mine.”
“Even if we’re not going to date again, I’ll still pay for this one.” He winks and passes his card to the waitress. “It was a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Boudreaux.”
“Likewise.”
It’s late and I can’t sleep. Rather than going to the shop after my date with George, I came home to get caught up on housework and filing. I would rather be in the Quarter, with the noise and activity always happening there. It’s too quiet in my house.
But that’s not why I can’t sleep. I’m too busy thinking about a certain sexy British motivational speaker.
I miss him. It’s really that simple.
And I’m sure that if I sent an email to Violet through the website, I could ask for his number, or ask her to pass along a message.
But why would I do that? Nothing long term can work out for us. The distance would kill me, and we said goodbye in Montana. Besides, if he wanted something more with me, wouldn’t he have tried to contact me by now?
No, I won’t humiliate myself by trying to contact him. We didn’t exchange numbers, and stalking him is just… desperate. I need to concentrate on forgetting him altogether.
And I definitely need to stop comparing every man I know to him. That’s just not fair, to them or to me.
My phone rings, making me jump.
“What’s wrong?” I ask immediately. “Is it Kate?”
“No,” Eli replies. His voice sounds tired. “I’ve been waiting up to hear from you.”
“Why?”
“Because you said you’d call.”
I pull the phone away from my head and stare at it for a second. “I’m almost thirty, Eli.”
“I know, but I set you up with this guy, so I want to know.”