Tim cursed under his breath.
Sabrina tried to soothe him, “I told Tasha to be ready around six. Should I call her and tell her never mind? I will if you ask me to? Just know that having Tasha with you is almost as good as me being there. She knows my style like no other.”
Tim was pissed and even though he’d threatened, he definitely didn’t want to even think of buying a house without Sabrina’s input.
“No. Call her and tell her I’m on my way.”
*****
Tasha had been a god send. Tim wasn’t sure how he would have gotten through viewing all those homes had it not been for her. She was easy to talk to, very patient, and asked the realtor thoughtful questions. Sabrina was right; she seemed to really have a good eye and a real sense of Sabrina’s style.
Craig was spot-on too. Tasha definitely seemed like the type of woman that could be just as comfortable in a designer gown as she was in a pair of jeans and t-shirt.
Thinking of Craig made Tim smile. Every time they spoke, he wanted to know if he’d put in a good word with her, or if she ever mentioned him. Unfortunately, she hadn’t.
Tasha hadn’t complained all night about his foul mood. After several hours, they’d just finished looking at the last house with the realtor. So far, he hadn’t found anything that felt like home.
They were mostly silent as they walked back to his truck. Tim was quiet until he opened her door, “I haven’t had a chance to tell you thanks for coming out tonight.”
Tasha smiled, “No problem. I could understand why you would really want to get out of the condo. I’m surprised you haven’t found something before now.”
“If it were up to me, I would have. Regrettably, I haven’t been able to get my wife to find the time.”
“Trying to get Sabrina to commit to anything outside of work can be a little challenging. But, this is a busy time of year for her.”
“Isn’t it a busy time for you too?”
“No, not really. Not until around January. That’s when it starts to get a little out of control.”
Tim nodded, “Got it. It’s pretty late. Have you eaten?”
“I’m fine. I’ll just have something when I get home.”
Tim took his eyes off the road for just a moment, “I can’t let you do that. You just spent hours viewing houses with me. As a thank you, please let me take you to dinner.” Tasha looked as if she were going to decline but he wasn’t going to take no for an answer. “Come on…what do you have taste for? We can have anything you like…steak…fish?”
“Seriously, that’s not necessary.”
“Yes it is. I won’t take no for an answer.”
Tasha could see that determined look in his eyes. It was probably the same look he gave when he was closing big deals. She hesitated for just a moment. This was the same man that married Sabrina. Obviously, when he’d made up his mind…it was made no sense arguing with him. “I guess…I don’t know…do you eat pizza?”
“Do I eat pizza? Is that a serious question?”
Tasha didn’t miss a beat, “Yes it is. I can’t remember the last time Sabrina ate a carbohydrate.”
“Alright, so I haven’t had it in a while, but I love pizza.”
“Okay…how about Giordano's or Lou Malnati's?”
Tim programmed Lou Malnati’s into the GPS in his truck. “Lou Malnati’s is great pizza. I’ve had that before when I came into town for business. Let’s go.”
*****
Tasha couldn’t stop laughing. As a matter of fact once they sat down to dinner, Tim really opened up and kept her laughing with crazy story after story.
He took a sip of his drink, “I would be remiss if I didn’t ask you…are you dating?”
Tasha was kind of thrown off with that question. “Excuse me?” The expression on her face must have said it all.
Tim felt the need to quickly clarify, “My brother, Craig would kill me if I didn’t ask. He’s a really nice guy and I couldn’t let this opportunity pass.”
Tasha took a sip of her water, “Yeah, he does seem like a really nice person. But….”
“…but I could tell maybe you two didn’t get off on the best foot. He was really nervous when he met you in Palo Alto.”
“Oh no, that wasn’t it. I was on vacation to decompress from work and from men.” Tasha laughed, “I hadn’t had a vacation in a while and I hadn’t had the best string of luck when it came to men. I mean the man of my dreams could have fallen out of the sky onto my lap and I wouldn’t have been interested.”
Tasha picked up another slice of pizza. Tim was impressed that she had a healthy appetite. “So, have you found him?”
She was just about to take a bite before she answered, “Who?”
“The man of your dreams. Back to my first question, have you found him? Are you dating?”
Tasha looked thoughtful, “I am dating but I’m not sure if he’s the man of my dreams yet. We’re still kind of new in our relationship. We met shortly before you and Sabrina got married.”
“Interesting. Sabrina and I have been married a little over a year. And…you’re still classifying the relationship as kind of new?”
“What? Is that weird?”
“Considering I married Sabrina within three months of meeting, I wouldn’t call it weird but I would say it’s the opposite of our courtship.”
Tasha recalled their first encounter with Craig and Tim and it brought laughter into her eyes.
