Page 12 of Forever Only Once

“What’s going on in that mind of yours?” Cross asked, his voice low, almost a growl.

He sounded genuinely concerned, and I rolled my shoulders back, trying to pretend that I was whole and not shaking inside.

I was really good at pretending.

“Sorry, it’s been an odd day, and it’s ending quite bizarrely, as well. Don’t you think?”

Cross nodded and then leaned back as the waitress came with our drinks.

“Would you like a few minutes to look at the menu?” the waitress asked, and Cross nodded again. “Yes, please, I haven’t even opened it yet.”

“No problem. Dinners sometimes last a little bit longer here,” the waitress said, winking. My eyes widened.

“That was a little bit brazen of her,” I said after she’d walked away, and Cross laughed.

“It was, but I think this is a place where most people go on first dates, don’t you think?”

I shook my head. “Maybe. My friend was the one who set it up.”

“Your friend?” he asked, and I shook my head.

“First, you. You said you were going to tell me about your day.”

He searched my face for a little bit longer, and I felt as if he could read every emotion, see everything that made me tick. I didn’t like it. After all, I barely understood how I’d handled today, I didn’t like the fact that someone else could read me better than I could read myself.

“As I mentioned, I was supposed to be here for a work meeting,” Cross began, and I tilted my head.

“Here?” I asked, a little incredulous. What he’d said about the place was true. Meeting a client here seemed a bit strange.

Cross snorted and took a sip of his beer. “Nice,” he said, setting down the glass.

“They have some of the best drinks here,” I said, taking a sip of my own.

He tilted his head and looked at me with those gorgeous eyes again. “Cheers. I guess I should have done that first. I’m not very good at this. Not that I know exactly what this is.”

I laughed softly. “You’re right about that. There’s nothing normal about today.” I clinked glasses with him, took another sip of my drink, though only a small one because I was planning to only have the one.

I set my glass down, then played with the stem.

“So. You and work?” I asked, wanting to get back on track with the previous subject so I could focus and not let my mind drift onto odd paths.

“Yes,” he said, his eyes clouding a bit. I wondered what that meant. “The co-owner of my business set this up so he could meet with a client, and then forgot to tell me until I was already here that it was canceled.”

“It sounds more like a date, though. Am I right? Here? That doesn’t make a lot of sense.”

“Chris doesn’t make a lot of sense.”

“Wait, you own a business with a man named Chris? And your name is Cross?” I could have rightly slapped myself because I wasn’t a fan of making fun of names. I didn’t even know why I’d said it.

He just smiled. “It helps with the name of our business. Chris Cross Furniture.”

My eyebrows rose to the top of my forehead. “Really? I know of you guys. A couple of my friends have some of your pieces. They’re tough to find and purchase. Wow, I’m sitting at a table with an artist.” A really wealthy artist from what I had read in an article in Forbes. Chris and Cross weren’t just furniture makers, they were artisans who were sought after by people from all over the world.

It had been a couple of years since I had heard anything about them, but they had been very up-and-coming the last time I had seen anything mentioned.

“Anyway, I was supposed to meet a potential new client here, but it was someone for him. What she wanted isn’t the type of work I do.”

“So, you guys select your clients?”