Hailey
“Dear Life”—High Valley
One year later…
As I sat across the table from my date, a bland smile pasted on my face, my mind wandered. The words he was rambling, extolling his awesomeness, faded away.
A flashback of that night with the sexy stranger played through my head like a home movie. Every move he’d made had been magic. Hot, sweaty, pulse-pounding magic.
When he’d told me I wouldn’t ever forget that night, he wasn’t kidding. I literally relived it every single night. In vivid technicolor.
“So when I finished up, everyone was coming to me to congratulate me,” my date said. What the hell was his name again? Charlie? Chester? Wait. No, it was Chet. And what the hell was he talking about?
“That’s awesome,” I said as I pasted a brilliant fake smile on my face. I was going to choke my new friend Justine for setting this up.
With a pleased grin, he raised his glass for a drink. I frowned and made a production of pulling out my phone. Looking at the blank screen, I whispered, “Oh, shoot.”
“Is everything okay?” he asked with a furrowed brow.
“It’s my mother. She says it’s important. I’ll just be a minute,” I said as I excused myself to step outside. Then I held the phone to my ear and had a one-way conversation with no one. After an acceptable amount of time had passed, I reentered the restaurant.
“I’m so sorry to cut our night short, but I need to run home. It’s my mom. She’s visiting, and she thinks she sprained her ankle.” With an Oscar-worthy look of concern, I gathered my purse and light jacket.
He placed his napkin on the table and stood. “Is there anything I can do?”
“Oh, no. Thank you, though. That’s sweet of you. Thank you so much for dinner. It was lovely.” I blinked a few times and shot him an apologetic smile.
“Let me walk you to your car,” he offered. Afraid he might ask me out again on the way or, God forbid, try to kiss me, I waved him off.
“No need, but thank you. You finish your dessert.” Before he could say any more, I rushed out, heels clicking on the tiled floors. The sun had gone down, and the temperature had dropped, but I didn’t pause to slip my jacket on.
Reaching my car, I was thankful I’d had the foresight to meet him at the restaurant that overlooked the lake. Not wasting time, I started the car, cranked up the heat, and got on the road.
The lights of the lake faded in my rearview mirror as I headed home. My phone rang, and I grinned as I saw the display. “Hey, Mom. Your ears must’ve been burning.”
Her chuckle carried over the line. “What are you up to?”
“Oh, not much, just heading home because you might have sprained your ankle,” I said, then pulled my lips between my teeth in an attempt not to laugh.
“Child, you are incorrigible. One of these days, you using me as your escape plan from bad dates is gonna backfire. What was wrong with this one?” Her tone was chastising, but the laugh at the end ruined the effect she was going for.
“Ugh, well, let’s just say, pretty package but too in love with himself.”
“One of those, huh?”
“You have no idea.”
“Well, your father and I are talking about making a trip up to see you. When is a good week?” We ironed out the details, and I pulled into my neighborhood on the edge of town.
“Okay, Mom, I’ll see you in a few weeks.”
“Sounds good. Maybe while I’m there I can find a nice boy for you. You’re not getting any younger, and I sure would love some grandbabies to spoil.”
I laughed as I parked in my garage. Once I ended the call, I grabbed my crap and went inside.
After dumping everything on the counter, I went to my room and fell back onto my bed.
I shot off a text to Justine.
Me: I hate you. We can no longer be friends.
Justine: Uh-oh. That bad?
She was a part-time dispatcher for the sheriff’s department and somehow knew my date, but he wasn’t a sheriff. No, Mr. Chet Edwards was a stuck-on-himself city cop.
Me: Let’s just say… no more blind dates
Justine: Eek. Ok. Sorry
She inserted a sad-face emoji, and I laughed. It really wasn’t her fault, I supposed. She was trying to be nice. The problem was, I didn’t really have time to date, but it didn’t mean I wasn’t lonely.
“Why aren’t there any decent guys out there? Let me clarify. Ones that are single. I’m never going to meet the right guy. Fuck my life.” Not that I wanted to rush into anything, but my biological clock was ticking, and I wanted to be a mom more than anything. Maybe I’d look at a donor. A man in the picture wasn’t super necessary.
But what a shitty thing for my kid to never have a dad. Sure, people did it all the time, but I always pictured myself finding the right guy and settling down to raise a big family.
“Damn you, sexy stranger! You’ve ruined my expectations for a man. Where the hell is a man that is like you in the bedroom and just as amazing out of it?” I sighed. I was looking for a unicorn among men.
And I really needed to quit talking to myself. I buried my face in my hands.
“Your appointment is here, Hailey,” the receptionist said when I answered the phone. Pinching the bridge of my nose, I closed my eyes. I’d slept like shit the night before. My dreams of the sexy stranger had left me restless, and I’d woken up gasping at least three times.
“Send him back,” I huffed. Regret that I hadn’t rescheduled surfaced, and my shoulders drooped. I dropped my head into my hand with a sigh.
“If this is a bad time, I can come back,” a deep voice said from the doorway. Tingles of awareness skated up my
