A Second Date

I groaned out loud as I put the car into park and reached for my purse. Hesitating, I looked from my purse, to the restaurant door, to my steering wheel. Just how mad would Ellen be if I just didn’t show? I huffed a sigh. Probably angry enough to write a column on people afraid of commitment and submit it to the Tribune. I flipped down my visor mirror to refresh my lip gloss and wipe away any mascara smudges before drawing in a breath and opening my door.

One more blind date, and Ellen had promised she wouldn’t try to set me up for at least six months. I could sit through one more awkward meal in exchange for six months of peace from her. I concentrated on the swish of my skirt around my knees as I headed for the restaurant to avoid thinking about who she might have waiting for me this time. An ex-convict? A high school dropout? Maybe a flight attendant who tried to find girls in every city.

“This one’s different,” Ellen had reassured me a few days earlier during lunch. “I met him a few months ago when my car needed repairs. He’s not just handsome, he’s an intellectual.” She spoke the word with the enthusiasm of someone who’d been waiting all her life to say it. “And you two have so much in common! You both like martial arts, he hates James Bond, and, get this, he owns a boat.”

“Just promise you’ll stay with me this time,” I had groused, conceding only to get her off my back, not because I was intrigued. “Last time, the guy tried to grope me as soon as you left.”

“Okay, I promise. But this one is different. You’ll see.”

A hostess with a mechanical smile greeted me as I opened the door.

“Can I help you?”

“Yes, I’m meeting—”

“Over here, Vicki!”

I rolled my eyes as I turned towards Ellen’s voice floating above the rumbling conversation of the dinner crowd. My vivacious friend had no concerns about sticking out. I, on the other hand, preferred a corner. The darker the better. Perhaps former years of military training had ground that into me, but I suspected it had only accentuated my normal characteristics.

I lifted a hand to let her wildly waving arms know I had seen them, nodded a thanks to the hostess, and headed to the booth she had staked out.

She grinned at me as I approached and I purposefully did not look at the man sitting at the table behind her as I greeted her with a hug.

“For a few minutes, I thought you’d skipped out on me,” she joked, though the slight raise of her brow still asked the question.

“Me? Never.”

“Good. Now, Vicki, I’d like to introduce you to Ronald.” She turned me to face my fate for the evening. “Ron, this is Victoria, but she likes to be called Vicki.”

I forced my eyes up, and felt my jaw drop. His face mimicked the stunned look I was pretty sure was on my own. I stared, unable to move if I had tried.

“Vicki? Are—are you okay?”

I heard the frown in Ellen’s voice and the corner of my eye caught her head move between us.

“Do you know each other?”

Panic struck me and I snapped my mouth closed, infusing as much pleading into my eyes as possible along with the barest shake of a head at him.

Ron pressed his lips together for a second and I thought he might ignore my plea, but a moment later he sprang to his feet and flashed a daredevil grin at Ellen. “Not unless you count my dreams.” He winked and turned to me. “Your beauty has rendered me speechless.”

Relief made my shoulders sag and I mustered my own flirtatious smile. If he could do this act, so could I.

“Ellen usually exaggerates the appeal of the men she sets me up with, but in your case, I don’t think she did you justice.” I felt rather than saw Ellen’s mouth drop open, but ignored her as I slid into the booth. If I looked her in the eye right now, she would know I was lying.

“So,” I tossed my red hair over my shoulder, “I’ll get straight to the point.”

Ron sat back down across from me and leaned forward, his hands clasped in front of him. “I like a woman who doesn’t beat around the bush.”

“Handsome, debonair, charming—why don’t you like James Bond, considering how alike you both are?”

His green eyes lit with surprise, followed by amusement. “I prefer real-life heroes. A man who seduces women and uses fancy, unrealistic gadgets to get what he wants isn’t my idea of a hero.”

“You’re military?”

“Ex-army.”

“Me too.”

“I thought you might be.” His eyebrow quirked in amusement, but I refused to respond. The more details we got out of the way, the less likely we were to slip in front of Ellen. Still, despite my inner commands to stop, my eyes traveled over the dirty blonde curls that seemed far too long, the raw strength that outlined his face, to the sparkling humor in—his eyes. The eyes that were now laughing at me. I restrained an annoyed grimace.

“And what do you do for a living other than compare yourself to secret agents?”

He chuckled and the sound warmed me as if it really were our first date.

“I run a mechanics shop. Fix cars, tractors, anything really.”

I smiled. “You always—you look like you’d do well at that,” I stumbled over the words, clamping back what I’d been about to say. You always were good with machines.

“And what about you, Vix? Find a good job after getting out? It can be hard…readjusting.” The sudden flex in his jaw betrayed that he was remembering just how hard it could be. I swallowed.

“It’s Vicki, not Vix,” I said, hoping Ellen would believe it was just a mistake and not a slip of the tongue. Speaking of Ellen, she had been uncharacteristically quiet. I dared a glance at her. She was shifting her eyes between us, the expression on her petite face half disbelief, half delight.

Rob followed my look to her and she started a little before grinning, her hazel eyes glinting with almost as much mischief as Ron. She tilted a head of glossy, black hair and smiled sweetly. “I think I’ll go find out what’s keeping the waiter.”

Neither of us objected and she scurried away as if afraid her presence there one more moment might break the spell.

When I looked back at Ron, all vestiges of amusement and flirting were gone. The sadness across his face squeezed my heart.

“You never told her?” His voice was low.

I shook my head. “I’ve never told anyone since—since then. I guess I just didn’t want everyone to know I’d been so—”

“Foolish?” he supplied and regret danced around my stomach.

I shrugged, dropping my eyes to the table between us, and watched as he unclasped his hands and stretched one toward me. An invitation, not a demand. I drew in a breath and placed my hand in his. He wrapped his fingers around it and began rubbing his thumb gently between my thumb and forefinger as if it wasn’t our first time meeting in ten years.

I watched the motion, mesmerized by how much his touch could still make my heart stutter.

“You never married again?” he asked.

At that I huffed a laugh and looked at him. “I’m pretty sure you’d have known, my husband, considering I would have had to track you down and serve you divorce papers.” I cocked my head, lifting a brow. “Unless you are accusing me of bigamy?”

He laughed and I was surprised at the joy that swept through me at the sound.

“Fair enough.”

“And you? Did you ever—think about it?” I wasn’t sure I wanted to know the answer, but the question came out anyway.

It was his turn to shrug, his thumb still caressing my hand as if it couldn’t get enough. “Once. But when I went to a lawyer for advice on finding you, I—couldn’t make myself say the words.” His eyes pierced through me. “And I realized then, even if I never saw you again, you were the only woman I ever wanted to call my wife.” A hint of mischief made its way into his tone. “My Vixen.”

I didn’t respond to the baiting. I couldn’t even make myself smile. “Ron, I—”

A flash of color caught my eye and I jerked my hand out of his in time for Ellen to bounce up to the table.

“Sorry I was gone so long. I see Vicki didn’t say anything to scare you off while I was gone.” She darted a warning look at me before smiling at Ron.

“Are you kidding?” Ron grinned at me. “I’m thinking about asking her to marry me right now before she gets away.”

I choked on the water I had just sipped and his grin grew wider.

Ellen clapped her hands. “I knew you two would get along.” She turned to the waiter who was standing by patiently. “I’ll have the chef salad and an iced tea.” She raised a brow at me. “And did you two have a chance to look at the menu between flirting?”

I ordered the first thing I saw, and Ron nodded at the waiter as he closed his menu. “Same.”

“So, Ellen.” I decided to take the offense before Ron could say anything else. “Did Ron tell you about his childhood ambition to be a dancer?”

It was Ron’s turn to choke on his water and I bit back a grin as I blinked innocently between them. This dinner was going to be fun.

~

Ron asked if he could walk me to the car, and I smiled at Ellen’s two thumbs up as we parted ways, feeling only a little guilty for deceiving her.

We strolled through the parking lot, and my heart gave a little leap as Ron reached down and entwined his fingers through mine. The quiet was a nice break after the jovial dinner conversation in which we had each tried to figure out how much we could get the other to disclose about themselves without revealing our secret. More often than not, the result left Ellen in shrieks of laughter as we grinned conspiratorially at each other.

“Well, this is me.” I tried to sound nonchalant as we approached my car, though my heart sank a little as Ron let go of my hand. Instead of turning away, however, he stepped closer to me and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. I sighed at the touch without thinking.

“What happened, Vix?” he whispered.

My stomach dropped to the ground along with my eyes and I shrugged. “It was stupid, getting married while we were still enlisted. People change.”

“I know. But we could have worked it out.” His hand rested on my cheek and I had to restrain myself from leaning into it. “Why did you leave?”

I closed my eyes as the memories assailed me. The fight we’d had when he wanted to reenlist and I didn’t. The look of devastation on my mother’s face the day she’d found out about my father’s multiple overseas affairs. The moment I realized I didn’t want to chance the same thing happening to me. The day I packed and left without telling him.

“I was scared.” I felt a rush of relief as the words came out and I focused my eyes on his chest, reaching out to pluck some dust from the shirt that matched his eyes.

“Of me?”

I heard the hurt in his voice and forced myself to meet his gaze. “Of us. Of—becoming my parents.”

Understanding dawned in his face, followed by another flash of hurt. “I wish you’d told me.”

“I wish I had too.” I reached up and placed my hand over his, still on my cheek, and the hurt disappeared as his eyes softened.

I felt an arm go around my waist, pulling me closer, and my eyes dropped to his mouth. I dropped my hand from his and placed it on his chest, breathing in the musky scent of his cologne. His hand left my cheek to entangle itself in my hair and I heard his breath go ragged as he pulled me even closer and leaned down. My eyes closed as his lips brushed mine, as gentle as a feather.

He pulled back and rested his forehead on mine, a teasing smile playing on his mouth. “If it’s okay with you, I’d really like a second date, Vicki.”

I grinned. “I’d like that too.”

He pulled back and lifted my hand, pressing a kiss to it. “I’ll pick you up tomorrow at 8:00.”

I nodded and watched him as he turned and walked back to his car. My stomach danced with happy butterflies as I turned to open my door.

Ellen wouldn’t believe me when I told her I had a second date with my husband.