Page 17 of From That Moment

This time,I was going to make our plan work. Dakota had promised me that the man was sweet, wasn’t a condescending asshole, and was an excellent tipper. The fact that we were now at the bottom of the barrel when it came to men we had met in our lives, just told me that this was going to work.

Why?

Because, honestly, there wasn’t another alternative. It was either the date in front of me or find an app to find partners for one another. And while a few people in my life had done that, and said it had worked out or at least they hadn’t turned into a bleeding ball of fire, none of us really wanted to do that. Honestly, it wasn’t what we were trying for. Our goal was to find dates for each other.

And that meant not going on an app and swiping or clicking or loving or hoping a hookup was inevitable.

And although I missed sex, and a hookup would be nice, I wasn’t ready for that.

No, what I wanted was aconnection.

Honestly, I didn’t think that was going to happen anytime soon.

I tossed that thought from my head, annoyed with myself. It really wouldn’t happen if all I did was complain about it.

I pushed those thoughts away and smiled at my date.

The man seemed like a nice guy. I was going to count that as a blessing. We were sitting at a little Mediterranean restaurant that I had been to a couple of times before because the naan they served at the beginning was twice the size of my head and came with the best olive oil and feta cheese with seasonings dip ever.

“I love this place,” I said to my date, grinning. “Have you been here before, Kansas?” I asked.

Yes, his name was Kansas. And my friend Dakota had introduced me to him. All of us had thought Dakota should have been the one going out with him for the name thing alone, but she had pushed him my way. She thought we would be good together. I figured it was because it wasn’t her turn and she didn’t want to have anything to do with dating.

For a group of women who had gone into this wanting to find a connection with someone, we sure were hesitant when it came to the actual dating part.

Probably because of how everything had started with Hazel. But again, I didn’t want my thoughts to go down that path, so I focused on Kansas.

He had dark blue eyes behind wire-rimmed glasses. His spiky hair was thinning a little bit at the corners, but that didn’t bother me at all. I was probably losing about as much hair as he was at my age.

It honestly made him look more regal.

He had a soft smile, a firm jaw, and was pretty built.

What I liked beyond the looks that gave me warm feelings was that he had already made me laugh once when he met me in front of the building. It had been some stupid joke about parking, but it had made me laugh, and I counted that as a win.

See? Tonight was already going better than the last date I’d been on. And he wasn’t connected to any murders that I knew of.

I should probably throw salt over my shoulder or knock on wood if I was going to state things like that in my head.

“I’ve been here once. I liked the kabobs.” He smiled again, a little blush right under his wire frames. I warmed, leaning in. That was cute. Only…why was he blushing?

He must’ve seen the look on my face because he turned even redder. “Sorry. I usually just end up cooking at home or ordering in Panda Express or a hamburger.”

I shrugged, shaking my head. “Why would you be embarrassed about that?”

“Because your name is Paris. And look at you. You’re all cosmopolitan, and you probably go out to eat at fancy places like this all the time.”

I didn’t think this place was all that fancy, but I guessed it was, compared to fast food. This restaurant was quite reasonable compared to some of the other restaurants in Boulder. I didn’t say that, though. Instead, I smiled. “I don’t think I’m anywhere close to cosmopolitan. I haven’t even been to my namesake.”

His eyes widened. “For real?”

“I’m a Colorado girl. I’ve never even been out of the country. And Boulder isn’t that cosmopolitan. The mountains right there kind of make it hard,” I said, and he smiled at me again. I liked that expression. I could get to appreciate that smile.

“Oh, this place is very cosmo for me. Though I don’t even think I’ve had a cosmo before.”

“I’ve had one because it was all the rage back before I was legally allowed to drink, thanks toSex and the City. They’re a little too bright pink and sweet for me.”

“Well, good thing this place is a bring your own bottle establishment, and we can’t bring the hard liquor in with us.”