“That’s mine? How did you get that?”
“When you walked away to look for a napkin, it fell out of your purse. I picked it up, took a peek at your name. Kendall Sparks. I like it. You’re lucky you can trust me.”
“I’m not so sure about that,” I huffed, snatching the passport.
We stood there for a bit just staring at each other. His mouth curved into a smile, and for the first time I noticed the dimple on his chin.
“I saw her standing there,” he said.
“What?”
“The Beatles song. I Saw Her Standing There.”
“What about it?” I asked.
“I have this theory. If you think about almost any given moment in life, there’s a Beatles song that can describe it.”
“So, that’s the song of the hour?”
“Exactly. I saw you standing there. I walked over, and apparently I disrupted your decision-making. So, let me buy you another drink. We can figure out together where you’re gonna go. We can work it out.”
When he laughed, I repeated his last words in my head.
We can work it out.
God, he’s a little nutty.
I shook my head in disbelief. “We Can Work It Out. Another Beatles song.”
“Very good. You’re too young to know The Beatles so well.”
“My mother listened to them. What’s your excuse?”
“I just appreciate good music, even if it was before my time.” He looked down at his watch. “Speaking of time, I don’t have all that much of it. How about that drink?”
When he smiled again, I couldn’t help feeling like my resolve was melting. There wasn’t any harm in one more drink, especially since I hadn’t decided where I was going yet.
“Sure. Why not?”
Carter led me to one of the tables then left to put in an order at the bar.
“I hope you don’t mind. I ordered a few appetizers for us.”
“Thanks. That’s fine.”
“So, what’s the nature of this voyage, Kendall?”
“I have some important things to think about. I need to get away from real life for a while to do that.”
“Hopefully, it’s all good stuff? You seem really on edge. That’s why I assumed you were running away from something.”
“Just an important decision that I have to make.”
“Anything I can help with?”
Not unless you want to impregnate me.
If he only knew.
“No. It’s a problem I have to figure out on my own.”
“Seriously, though, how bad can it be? You’re healthy, vibrant…beautiful, and you seem to have money. I’m sure it will all work out for you.”
“You think you have me all figured out, huh?”
“You’re young. Whatever it is…you have plenty of time to solve the issue.”
Don’t I wish that were the truth.
“How young do you think I am?”
He scratched his chin. “Twenty-two?”
“I’m about to turn twenty-five.”
That’s the exact problem. Twenty-fucking-five.
“Okay. Well, you look a little younger.”
“And how old are you? Given your musical taste, I’d guess around fifty-three…but from your looks, I’d put you at twenty-eight.”
“Close enough. Twenty-nine.”
A waiter brought our appetizers over to the table. Carter had ordered a medley of fried mozzarella sticks, Buffalo wings, and egg rolls.
My stomach growled. “It’s a good thing I’m not on a diet.”
“Yeah. They don’t really have much else that’s any good here. Everything fried tastes good.”
I noticed that he hadn’t ordered a beverage. “You’re not drinking?”
“I can’t.”
“Why not?”
“If you tell me what your dilemma is, I’ll tell you why I can’t drink.”
Grabbing a fried cheese stick, I changed the subject. “There’s no time to get into it. Right now, I really just need to make a decision about where I’m going. What about you? Where are you headed?”
“Hang on.” He ignored my question, instead pulling out his phone and began to scroll.
“What are you doing?”
“This is a full list of international flights that are departing in the next three hours.” He pointed the screen in my direction.
I took the phone. “Okay…Madrid. Iberia Airlines, 8:55.”
“You don’t want to go to Spain.”
“Why?”
“It’s July. Super hot there. You’ll sweat your ass off. And you can’t take off your shirt, because you’re not wearing a bra.”
Feeling flush, I looked back down at the list. “Okay…um…what about Mexico? American Airlines, 10:20.”