“I will, Girl Scout honor.”
RoryLynn narrowed her eyes at Harriet. “Hmm, I have met some very dishonorable Girl Scouts. There was this one girl when I was still living at home who used to throw rocks at our house if we didn’t buy the damn cookies.”
Harriet turned her friend around and gave her a gentle push. “Go, I’m coming straight down. Anyway, don’t you have an anniversary dinner with Rob, or something?”
RoryLynn looked at the time, “Oh, goodness, Rob will kill me if I’m late. He has tickets for a show after. I have to go, but Katie will be at the bar keeping an eye on things, so you just let her know if you need to bail.”
“Katie? Why? Where is Logan?”
“I don’t know. His cousin’s birthday or something? But don’t sweat it. Sarah is there, too.”
Harriet took a deep breath. Okay, Sarah might look slight and willowy, but that woman could handle herself. Harriet had seen the mixologist deal with rowdy customers. She didn’t suffer fools, and, if she had to, she’d physically restrain them with one of her self-defense moves. The woman taught Krav Maga classes on the weekends, so she was tough.
“Just stay on the premises until you are sure you are comfortable with the guy.” RoryLynn fluffed Harriet’s hair and squealed with excitement. “I have such a good feeling about this match.”
As Harriet watched her friend leave, she tried to gather up some of RoryLynn’s positivity. “Come on, you have chatted with this guy by text, he seems great.” She grabbed her purse and skipped downstairs.
Wesley Carter was standing at the bar. Harriet could tell it was him straight away. He was tall, and just as athletic as his photos had promised, and he was even as handsome as he had been in his pictures. From where she stood at the bottom of the steps, there was nothing about the man that made her feel nervous, and the earlier butterflies flew away.
His eyes swept the bar area, and when they landed on her, he grinned and waved at her. He stood up taller as she walked over to him. “Harriet?”
“Wesley?” She asked, giggling a little. “Sorry if I seem so surprised, but you actually look like your pictures.”
He grinned back at her. “You, too. We must be the only people to use our real up-to-date images. Can I get you a drink?”
“Mmm, yes, a glass of Malbec would be nice. Um, do you want to sit at the bar, or shall we find a table?”
Wesley attracted the attention of Sarah, who was currently serving Katie. Harriet gave her friend a smile and rolled her eyes at the guy next to her, a huge grin appearing on her face. Katie gave her a thumbs up, and Harriet turned away quickly before Wesley saw her friend. “Oh, look, there is a table free over there, shall I go and grab it?”
While Wesley gave Sarah the order for their drinks, Harriet organized the chairs around the table a little closer, so they could talk easier in the noisy bar. She watched him carry their drinks over with a menu tucked under his arm. He placed her wine in front of her. “I brought this, and I hope it’s not presumptuous, but I think I’d like to buy you dinner.”
From that moment on, the conversation flowed. Wesley was a lot of fun, and as they selected dishes from Logan’s new tapas menu, they laughed a lot and got to know each other.
“So, I guess working at an ER means you do long hours?” Harriet was fascinated to learn he was a doctor at one of the busiest hospitals in the area.
He nodded. “It varies from week to week. I tend to do a lot of waterfall shifts.”
“Waterfall?”
“Yeah, so this week I’ll work a shift at 6 a.m. on Monday, then the next day at 3 a.m., then the next one from 3 p.m. to 11 p.m., and finish my week with an 11 p.m. to 7 a.m., then I’ take a day or two off to reset my clock. But sometimes, I find myself doing some back-to-backs if things are insane.”
By eleven, Harriet was surprised that the evening had flown by. Wesley shyly looked up at her. “This has been really fun. Can I walk you home?”
Harriet blushed. “Um, I’d love that, but I actually live here. Above the bar.”
He laughed. “Just my luck. I’d pictured walking hand in hand with you under the moonlight.”
“That sounds like something I’d love. How about a stroll?”
They left the still crowded bar and stepped out onto the street. As luck would have it, there was a full moon, and the heat of the day had chilled to a pleasant temperature. Wesley offered his hand to Harriet, and she took it as they walked along the street. A while later, after they had circled the area, they found themselves in the small park across from Jackson’s. Wesley led them to a bench, and Harriet’s heart raced, as they sat down and he put his arm around her.
Placing his hand gently on her face, he leaned forward and kissed her. It had been awhile since Harriet had kissed anyone, and her nerves made her clumsy. They clashed teeth, and then her nose seemed to be an awkward size as she struggled to angle her head just right to kiss him back. When they broke away, she found she had enjoyed the gentle kiss, but was a little nervous about what to do next. She liked Wesley a lot, but she wasn’t ready to invite him back to her place.
Harriet shouldn’t have worried, because he rose and helped her up off the bench. “I should walk you home, like I promised. It’s late, and I have an early shift tomorrow.”
When they reached the bar, the place was quiet, and the bar locked up already. Wesley walked her to the door. “Would you like to do
