Total pages in book: 68
Estimated words: 64354 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 322(@200wpm)___ 257(@250wpm)___ 215(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 64354 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 322(@200wpm)___ 257(@250wpm)___ 215(@300wpm)
“It’s understandable that your son’s wedding day would stir up a lot of emotions. And it’s not the worst thing to drink too much champagne and spill your guts to a stranger.”
“But that might not be all I did. Actually, I just remembered that my son’s housemates invited me to join them for brunch this morning, so I can ask them if I did anything embarrassing. What time is it?”
Tory glanced at his phone. “Nine-thirty.”
“I should go soon.”
“Before you do, can I get your number?”
“Why?” Okay, so maybe that was a weird response to his question, but I couldn’t imagine why he’d want it.
“You mentioned you live in Southern California. I do too, and I’d like to call you when we’re back home and take you to dinner.”
“Are you asking me out?”
He grinned at me and said, “I’m trying to.”
“Why would you want anything to do with me after last night?”
“You didn’t do anything wrong, Armando.”
“I was a disaster, and I don’t understand why you’d want to see me again.”
I hadn’t been fishing for a compliment, but I got one anyway. “I think you’re sexy and interesting,” he said. “I also think we’d have a good time together.”
This didn’t make sense. How could someone like him want someone like me? He was suave, sophisticated, and totally out of my league. Unless he was a knight in shining armor type and thought I needed rescuing… or maybe he wanted a project and thought I needed to be fixed.
“I’m really not the guy you met last night,” I said. “If you’re expecting me to open up about my problems, or cry on your shoulder about everything that’s wrong with my life—”
“You don’t have to do any of that. In fact, you don’t have to tell me anything at all.”
“Are you after a one-night stand? Sex only, with no conversation? Because that’s not really my style.”
“No, I’m just saying we don’t have to get deep and personal. My life is pretty complicated right now. It seems like yours is, too. Maybe we can agree to leave all of that at the door when we get together, and just keep this light.”
“You’d be okay with that?”
“More than okay.”
“But then, what would we talk about?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. You could lie to me, if you wanted to. In fact, let’s do that.”
“I couldn’t lie to you. I’m a very honest person.”
“But it’s not dishonest if we both agree to it. Think about it—you don’t want to talk about your life, and I don’t want to talk about mine. So, we could treat lying to each other like a game, kind of like trying on a different persona for an evening. The more far-fetched, the better.”
“Give me an example.”
“Okay. You mentioned last night that you own a diner. Instead of talking about that, maybe you could tell me all about your life as a celebrity chef. Not that it has to be tangentially related. You could just as easily tell me you’re a journalist, or a pilot, or an actor—literally anything but the truth. Not that there’s anything wrong with running a diner, obviously. It would just be a way to… step outside of yourself, I guess.”
The thought of getting to be someone else, even for just an evening, definitely sounded good to me. “That could be fun. It’d almost be like role playing.”
Tory nodded. “In a way, yes.”
“Can I think about this? I don’t just mean the make-believe part. I’ve never dated a man before, although it’s something I’ve wanted for a long time. Actually, I’ve barely dated at all these last few years because work takes all my time, so even something light would be a big change for me.” It was more like the last three decades, but that sounded pathetic.
“Of course.”
“Let me give you my number.” He handed me his phone, and as I typed in my information, I asked, “Are you heading back to Southern California this morning?”
“No, I’m visiting my relatives. What about you?”
“I’m driving home right after brunch.”
I returned his phone to him and he sent me a text, so I’d have his number, too. Then we both stood up, and I impulsively grabbed him in a hug. “Thanks for taking care of me last night, Tory,” I said. “I was in no condition to wander around San Francisco on my own, and I hate to think what might have happened if you hadn’t stepped in.”
“I’m glad I could help.”
I held on to him for a long moment. Too long, probably. I really didn’t want to let go, but I didn’t want to make it weird either, so I finally stepped back and looked up at him. Maybe it was my imagination, but something that looked an awful lot like desire was burning in his dark eyes.
I wasn’t ready to see where that might lead, so I murmured, “I’d better go.”