Which was funny. Because they were both ridiculous. It wasprobably why they didn’t get along.
I wanted to just drop the Mr. Pruitt thing. But it was stillweighing on me. I needed to talk to James about Poppy’s threat. But that didn’tmean I couldn’t talk to Tanner about my plans. “I actually have a better idea thangoing to see him. I’ve been trying to dig up dirt on his business dealings. IfI could just have some leverage…”
“Consider it done,” Tanner said. He slid off his stool andpulled on his coat. “All you had to do was ask.”
Wait, what?
“I’ll call you with the details.” He turned to walk away.
Where was he going? What details? “Tanner!” I called after him.
But he was already gone.
Chapter 15
Saturday
Those big blue eyes. I could drown in those eyes. But nomatter what I did today, I couldn’t capture the color. The size, the shape, thelove they held…everything else was right. But not the color. It wasn’t quiteher. I was usually good at painting Brooklyn’s eyes. But it was like the memoryof her was drifting away.
I swirled more green into the paint and tried again. No,that isn’t right either. I closed my eyes and tried to remember. I picturedher laughing, the cool autumn breeze blowing a strand of hair into her face. Ireached out to brush it away and the back of my hand collided with wet paint.
My eyes flew open. Crap. I grabbed a paper towel offthe roll and wiped off my hand as I stared at the smeared paint. It looked likesome kind of abstract portrait of Brooklyn crying. My fingers paused on thepaper towel. How many times had I made her cry versus smile? Was it weighted inthe wrong direction? Because this picture looked more like her than my othersnow. Brooklyn crying. I tried to swallow down the lump in my throat.
I just wanted to go back and do everything differently. I wantedto meet her when I wasn’t a dumb kid. I wanted another chance. Just one more freakingchance.
My cell phone buzzed, pulling my attention away from thecanvas. I grabbed my phone with my hand that wasn’t covered in paint. There wasa text from Penny wishing me luck on my date.
My date? I looked at the time. Shit! I’d completelyforgotten about the stupid blind date.
I hurried out of the room and closed the door behind me. Itried to scrub the stupid paint off my hand but it wouldn’t come off. Shit,shit, shit. I didn’t have time for this. I was going to be late. Being latefor any kind of meeting was rude. And it seemed especially rude for a date. Notthat I cared about making a good impression. I was only doing this so I couldkeep hanging out with Penny.
Another text came through from Penny: “I really think you’regoing to like her. Okay, I’ll leave you to it. Good luck!”
I looked at the time again. I only had 15 minutes to getacross town. Which wasn’t possible. I didn’t bother responding to Penny as Ichanged into a pair of dress pants and a white button-down. I was out the doorin a matter of minutes, without having bothered to shower or get the rest ofthe paint off the back of my hand.
***
I had no idea what my date looked like. I didn’t even knowher name. But I still found myself looking around the restaurant instead ofgoing to the hostess stand. There was a brunette in the far corner that wasalone…nope. A man had just joined her with a kiss. If that was my date,we weren’t off to a great start.
My eyes kept scanning the restaurant. Everyone was pairedoff. It was like flourishing couples came here in droves. There were candles oneach white-tableclothed table, giving the restaurant a romantic glow. Why hadPenny chosen such an intimate restaurant for a first date? Or maybe my blinddate had chosen it.
Either way, I didn’t see anyone else seated alone. Wait.I leaned forward to see a girl with mousey brown hair reading at a table. Thathad to be her. Penny loved reading. It would make sense for her to choosesomeone else who enjoyed it too. But I didn’t want to walk over, just in case Iwas wrong. I walked up to the hostess stand. “Hi. I have a reservation underMatthew…”
“Matthew Caldwell,” the hostess said. “Yes, I know.” She gaveme a smile that I could only describe as seductive.
I smiled back. She was exactly the kind of girl I’d invite tospend the night in a hotel. She knew who I was. Or had at least heard about me.It was an easy win. An easy distraction. Part of me wanted to just steal heraway now and skip this date that would most likely be terrible. I didn’t date. Iflirted and hooked up. There was a huge difference. One that Penny definitelywouldn’t understand. I doubted the woman with mousey brown hair would understandeither.
“I’m Tamara,” the hostess said. “And if there’s anything atall you need tonight, I’m your girl.”
I bet you are. Tamara got me.
Her smile quickly turned into a frown when she looked down ather chart. “Oh, it says you reserved a table for two.” She cleared her throat. “Yourother party isn’t here yet, would you like to wait at the bar or be seated?”
I looked over my shoulder at the girl with brown hair. Sothat wasn’t her? I glanced down at my watch. I was 15 minutes late. Where theheck was my date? “Are you sure about that?” I asked. I wanted to ask her aboutthe girl sitting alone reading, but I felt like it wouldn’t be well received. Ifshe was my date, Tamara would have taken me over there.
“Positive.”
Huh. “I’ll just sit at the table to wait.”
“Very well. Right this way.”
I followed her to the table and she handed me a menu. Shetook a step back and then took a step forward. Her cheeks turned rosy like
