Jennifer McKenzie - Table for Two

“Right.” Which made the whole hand-holding feel horribly awkward and made Mallory self-conscious. It was all she could do not to rip her fingers free. She settled for giving him a gentle squeeze and then picked up her wineglass, so it wasn’t as though she didn’t want to touch him, she was merely thirsty. But she was careful to put her hand in her lap and out of holding range once she let go of the glass.

Still, she was having a nice time and resolved to continue doing so. Josh appeared to be everything she was looking for. He told her he was a lawyer, though she didn’t ask which firm, and that he lived downtown, though she didn’t ask which neighborhood. Mal, in turn, informed him that she had bought her own little slice of heavenly real estate last year.

“We could be neighbors and not even know it,” he said. The downtown core was so densely populated that it was possible to live next door to someone for years and never see them.

“Maybe. Do you like to practice guitar on Thursday nights?” Her neighbor did. But aside from that, Mal knew nothing about him or anyone else in her building. She seriously doubted she could pick any of them out of a lineup.

“No, that’s on Mondays.”

“Well, good. Because my neighbor is pretty bad.” Or maybe it was just that she didn’t love his music choices, which seemed to consist of him strumming the same chord over and over and over. “If it had been you, I’d have had to pretend I enjoyed it to spare your feelings.”

“So thoughtful.” His dimple winked again. “But then, you haven’t heard me play yet.”

“There is that.” She cocked her head, feeling some of her earlier fear recede. See? She could do this. She could date and flirt. Totally like riding a bike. She even left her hand on the table the next time she sipped her wine and was rewarded by Josh picking it up.

“So, I was thinking.” He leaned closer. He had very pretty eyelashes, long and dark and lush. “I’m very much enjoying this date and you.” He gave her hand a gentle tug, pulling her closer. “And I’d like to continue it. If you’re interested.”

Mal hesitated. She should be interested. Josh was a good-looking guy with a good job. He was very much her type and what she’d told Angela she was looking for. And yet...

“I’d like that very much.” Mal said the words quickly before she could change her mind. She could figure out later if it had been a good idea or not.

“So where were you thinking?” Mal asked once the bill was paid—split between them—and they were on their way toward the restaurant’s lobby.

“What about Elephants?”

Mal stiffened. Really? Of all the places in the city, he had to choose the one owned by her family? And the one that housed her office upstairs? Her eyes darted to him. Did he know? Had he somehow uncovered who she was and this was a little test to see if she’d explain?

But Josh merely looked back at her with an open smile and nothing in his eyes resembling guile. Still, she trod lightly and chose her words carefully as they entered the lobby. “Have you been there before?”

“I have.” The hostess had their coats ready and Josh helped Mal into hers. She shivered when his knuckles brushed across the back of her neck. She wasn’t sure what it was from. Fear that he was possibly toying with her? The fact that his hands were cold? Attraction?

“A lot?”

“Once or twice. It’s nice, but if you’d prefer, we can go somewhere else.”

Mal looked into his eyes again. She saw no sign that there was any hidden agenda. And really, why wouldn’t Josh suggest Elephants? It was a great lounge in a great location, perfect for extending a date, and she didn’t think that just because it was owned by her family. She made a snap decision before things got awkward and Josh started thinking she wasn’t interested.

“I think Elephants sounds great.” And Owen wasn’t working tonight, so there was no chance of him horning in and embarrassing her, accidentally or otherwise.

Maybe being on her own turf would help ease some of her unsettled feelings about reentering the dating arena. She had no reason to feel unsettled. She was single, with no lingering strings that needed to be severed, the ring in her jewelry box notwithstanding. Josh had a lot going for him. She wanted to be attracted to him. She should be attracted to him.

They shared a cab as it only seemed sensible since they were heading to the same place, but Mal wondered what Angela would say. She decided she wouldn’t tell her—what Angela didn’t know wouldn’t hurt her.

Conversation flowed easily during the brief ten-minute trip across the downtown core. Josh had one brother and was in a men’s hockey league.

Mal admitted to having two older brothers, though she definitely thought herself the wisest of them all, and a newly discovered affinity for Pilates. “I think part of it is just the opportunity to spend time with friends.”

Josh nodded. “Friends that Pilates together and all that.”

When the cab pulled up outside of Elephants, Josh paid the fare and helped her out. He didn’t let go of her hand after he closed the cab’s door. Didn’t let go when he pulled open the heavy wooden door of Elephants, either.

Mal had a quick internal discussion with herself over whether to break the contact or not before deciding to roll with it. But, once again, she was glad Owen wasn’t in—because holding hands with a stranger was the kind of thing he’d bring up for years after the fact. In truth, it was nice to have the human contact. So what if Josh’s touch didn’t give her butterflies? That part of herself had been shut down for so long that she probably just couldn’t feel the butterflies fluttering around. They might very well be flapping away in there and she just didn’t know it.

She wrapped her fingers more tightly around his, which earned her a smile as they stepped into the wine lounge. And though it was a Monday, the tables at Elephants were already full. Even the actual bar itself had a full house of people bellied up to it.

“Busy place.”

Mal tried not to shy away at the fact that his mouth, which was bent close to be heard over the noise, had practically brushed her earlobe. “Do you see any seats?”

She was tall, made more so by her stiletto heels, but Josh, at just a shade over six feet—according to Angela—was taller. “Nothing except a man waving his arm like he’s trying to get your attention.”

Mal’s first thought was that it was Owen. That her dear brother, after taking two weeks off for his honeymoon, was making up for the time away by working on his one off night. But when she followed Josh’s pointing finger it was much, much worse.

Travis. He was sitting in a large booth with both of her brothers, Donovan and Owen, and their two wives, Grace and Julia. All were staring at her with a range of expressions from surprised to sad. As though what she did on her own time was anyone’s business but her own.

Mal put on a smile she didn’t feel, reminded herself that she wasn’t doing anything secretive or illicit and turned to Josh. “I realize it’s a bit rushed, but how would you like to meet my family?”

She could only hope that her parents weren’t going to come sauntering by next.

CHAPTER FIVE

TRAVIS WATCHED MAL move toward him, hips swaying, hair bouncing, hand held by another man. He fisted his own hands beneath the table and hoped what he was feeling wasn’t written all over his face. But it probably was.

She wasn’t supposed to be dating other men. She was supposed to be with him.

He’d called her three times since the wedding. Every Tuesday to ask if they could talk. Every time she’d claimed work or other activities filled her schedule so completely that she didn’t have time. He’d suspected she hadn’t been entirely truthful with him and now he had proof.