Crazy Little Thing (17 page)

“What looks good?” Des asked.

“Gosh,” I lied, “all of it.”

The wine came and I took a gulp from my glass as Des lifted his to toast.

I swallowed hard. “Oops, sorry.” I lightly clinked my glass against his. “To...?”

He paused, as if measuring his words carefully.

“To new friends.”

The whump in my chest felt strangely like disappointment.
Well, what had I expected him to say? Here’s to Sadie and her hot, rockin’ baby-mama body?
I forced a smile and clinked his glass again.

“Sure, to new friends.”

The rest of my wine went down fast and easy, and I began to relax. Harp music mingled with the bubbling sounds from the fountain. We chatted casually about mundane things, such as how pretty the restaurant was and how nice the weather had been. This wasn’t so hard. I could do this.

I picked up the menu again, and my momentary peace of mind fled. This actually wasn’t going to work. I’d have to come clean about my Japanese-food ignorance or risk inadvertently ordering octopus and then having to eat it. “I have a confession to make.”

Des lowered his own menu warily. “Yes?”

“I’ve never had sushi.”

“You’ve never had sushi?” His good eye widened.

“No, I’ve never had sushi.”

“How is that even possible? Don’t you like it?”

“I’ll probably like it.” I set down my menu. “Richard hated fish. And rice. And Asians. And Mexicans who looked like they might be Asians.”

Des took a sip of his own wine. “He sounds neat.”

“He’s a one of a kind. I hope.”

Des ran a hand through his hair. “Do you want to go someplace else?”

“No, I like fish and rice. I just have no idea what to order.” I lowered my voice. “And for the record, I personally have no issue with Asians or Mexicans.”

He smiled. “I’m glad to hear that.”

Then he explained to me about the intricacies of Asian cuisine. This guy was so smart.

“And we should probably have a little sake too. But be careful. It’s very potent stuff,” he warned.

“Isn’t it, like, rice water?”

He shook his head. “Don’t be fooled. It doesn’t have much flavor, but it’s got a hell of a kick.”

“Sounds like my ex.”

Des chuckled. “Mine too.”

The waitress returned and we ordered. Des was cordial with her, but not the least bit flirty. I relaxed a little more and sipped my second glass of wine. Then, just for fun, I crossed my arms on the table and leaned forward, sort of setting my breasts on them in a maneuver Penny called “displaying your wares.” She was a master at this, and every time she did it, some guy would buy her a drink. Of course, her wares were bigger than mine and hadn’t gone through two pregnancies. As soon as I thought of that, I sat back up.

The sake was brought to us in a small ceramic bottle along with miniature cups. It reminded me of one of Paige’s little play tea sets. Des filled one tiny cup to the brim and handed it to me before pouring one for himself. This time I waited to see if there would be toasting. Sure enough, he lifted his hand.

“To new adventures,” he said.

That was more encouraging. “To new adventures.” I nodded. Then I courageously tipped back the cup and drank it down in one swallow. The sake was warm, which startled me. And it heated up as it went down. I looked at Des in surprise, only to find him gaping back at me with an equally stunned expression.

“Wow!” I sputtered.

Then he started laughing. “Sadie, you’re supposed to sip it. It’s not a shot glass.”

I looked at the cup in my hand. “It isn’t? Are you sure?”

He laughed harder. “I’m positive.”

“Oh.” The warmth of the sake mingled with burning embarrassment, and I flushed from head to toe.

He shook his head and refilled my cup. “Sip it,” he said again.

So I sipped it. But it was very tasty, and I still seemed to be drinking mine much faster than Des.

The tables around us began to fill with other diners as we talked and enjoyed our drinks. Then the food came, and I discovered I loved sushi as much as sake. So far this evening was going quite well. I mentally patted myself on the back. Either I was naturally charming and vivacious or the alcohol was giving me superpowers of seduction.

Des smiled brightly as I told him how Paige cried when she lost her first tooth because she was worried it might be her “sweet tooth.” Then I remembered Fontaine’s warning not to spend the entire evening talking about my kids, so I changed the subject.

“You have three sisters, right?” I actually remembered him saying a few things about them before, but this seemed like a nice, safe topic. And the more he talked, the more I could listen to that yummy accent.

He nodded. “Yep. Bonnie, my older sister, is a pediatrician. Shannon is the teacher, and Robin is a museum curator. No brothers.”

“Two doctors in the house, huh? That’s interesting.”

He deftly picked up a piece of sushi with his chopsticks. “Bonnie and I were pretty competitive with each other, so once she got into Harvard I couldn’t resist the challenge. It turned out to be a good thing for us, though. It forced us to help each other out since we were there and the rest of the family was in Illinois.”

“Are you close now?”

He finished chewing before speaking. Had I been allowing myself any comparisons between him and Richard, I would have noted that my ex-husband frequently talked with his mouth full while Des did not.

“Yeah, we’re all close,” Des finally answered. “But I’ve been moving around a lot these last few years, so I don’t see any of them that often. It’s always good to visit home.”

“What made you decide to do that local tenant...what’s it called again?” I sipped more sake.

“Locum tenens.” He shrugged. “Quite honestly, after my divorce I wasn’t sure where I wanted to be. Chicago was home, but I kind of needed a break, you know?”

I nodded, and he refilled my cup.

“I had a bunch of job offers at the time, but nothing felt quite right. I didn’t want to move someplace for the sake of moving. Then a buddy of mine suggested I try this for a bit until I found a place that clicked.”

“And have you? Found a place that clicks, I mean?” I bit my lip, hoping he might say yes but realizing my question was totally Dody in caliber.

His smile was enigmatic. He took a sip of wine before answering. “Some places have more perks than others.”

That wasn’t quite the glowing endorsement I was going for, but then he winked at me and my breath escaped in a soft gasp. Damn, he was delicious.

The conversation veered to other topics. I told him about my foray into organizing, and he had the polite fortitude to act as if that was fascinating. While we talked, I tried to mimic his chopstick skills but wasn’t having much luck. Mostly I kept pushing the sushi around on the plate. Every once in a while, when he wasn’t looking, I’d pop a piece into my mouth using my fingers. I didn’t have trouble with the wineglass, though. That was easy, and so I kept drinking it.

As Des talked and smiled, I marveled at my being on a date. With him. Tall, dark, handsome him.

But he was more than good-looking. He was kind and sweet and funny and bawdy. He laughed at my dumb jokes and told silly stories of his own about medical school and crazy things that happened in the emergency department. He asked me questions about my life back in Glenville and my childhood and family. I drank more wine and noticed he had a subtle crook to his nose, and that the tip of it moved the teensiest bit when he chewed. I looked at the little scar near his eye and wondered how he’d gotten it. Its paleness stood out amid the bruising. These were flaws, technically, but they made him more magnificently real. He wasn’t some beautiful, glossy, anonymous creature running past me on the beach anymore. He was Des.

And I was falling for him.

The thought startled me as much as the warm sake had. Because I had no business falling for anybody. It wouldn’t be convenient or logical or wise. It wasn’t part of my plan. I gulped another shot of sake when he looked down at his plate. I felt the stirrings of a panic attack. I’d had a few since finding Richard with the redhead but thought they were behind me. Apparently not.

The room spun. It was warm in here with all these people. I looked back at my date, in his ironed shirt with his hair all combed, and my anxiety doubled. This was too much. He was too much. Des, with his intense gaze rolling over me like hot lava, making me sizzle right to the bone. I wasn’t ready for this.

But I wasn’t sure it was up to me anymore.

The buzzy din of the crowd pressed in, and it got harder to hear what he said. But I wasn’t listening to his words so much as watching his lips move. They were luscious lips, full but not too full. His dimples deepened when he smiled.

In the candlelight Des glowed bronze like a gleaming fertility statue. He took a drink from his water glass, and suddenly I longed to be that glass in his big, strong hand. Or better yet, to be the water, pouring myself into him.

Wait
.

What?

Oh...no...

Oh, shit!

I was wasted
.

Damn it! I was completely and totally wasted! Pouring myself into him? What the hell did that even mean? Crap, crap, crap! If I was drunk, how the hell was I supposed to keep on my little red dress?
Full-blown panic descended.

I needed to eat more, quickly. Something to soak up the booze. But the chopsticks taunted me, refusing to bring food to my mouth.

I looked at Des helplessly. He smiled back, ignorant of the alarms clanging in my head. He needed to stop looking at me that way, as if I was interesting and desirable, because I was intoxicated enough to believe him. I was woozy and delirious. My head and stomach rolled in opposite directions. I was seriously drunk. And besides that, I was seriously drunk.

He leaned forward to say something, something illicit and persuasive, I was certain. He slid his hand over the table toward mine. He was about to ask me back to his place. And I would say yes.

But before he spoke, something caught his eye. He sat back abruptly and dropped his hand into his lap.

I felt the whoosh of cold air, and then I saw her. She was tall, with white-blonde hair and full, pouty lips curved into a seductive smile. As she sauntered toward our table, her clingy black dress did what clingy black dresses do best.

Des shifted in his chair. I saw his skin flush as he adjusted the collar of his shirt.

“Why, Des. What a surprise. Have you been hiding from me? What happened to your eye?”

He stood up, and she pressed herself against him and kissed the air near his ear.

He leaned away. “Long story. And no, I’m not hiding. I just haven’t had time to call.”

“That’s a shame. You know offers like mine don’t last forever.”

The cold finger of reality goosed me in a most unpleasant fashion. It was like being out with Richard again. The woman’s body language practically screamed they’d been lovers. Or if they weren’t, she wanted to be. And she was stunning. I, on the other hand, had two children, a C-section scar, and 230 pounds of ex-husband strapped to my back. Why would Des be interested in a woman like me when he could have a woman like her? The truth was he wouldn’t be. I must have made a mistake.

I downed another shot of sake and let it burn all the way to my gut.

Des smiled. “I haven’t forgotten. But it’s not the time to discuss it.” He glanced at me. I crossed my arms and stared back, hoping I looked bored rather than despondent.

“Oh, I see. And who’s this?” She reached out a well-manicured hand. “Hello. I’m Reilly Sommers.”

I reluctantly shook her claw, but before I could respond, Des said, “This is my neighbor, Reilly. We’re finishing up dinner as you can see. Would you excuse us? You and I can talk later.”

A neighbor? Did he just call me a neighbor? Not a date or even a friend. God, I wasn’t even an acquaintance. I was someone you borrowed sugar from. He had confirmed my fears. He wasn’t interested. The sake roiled in my gut and nearly returned itself to the table.

“Of course. Sorry to interrupt. But don’t forget to call me, Des. We really need to talk.”

He nodded. “I’ll call soon. I promise.”

She slithered away, and I found myself wondering if she could possibly have anything at all on under that dress.

Des sat back down with a thud.

“Sorry about that. Now where were we?” His bright smile didn’t reach all the way to his eyes. I considered blackening the other.

Where were we? We’d just gotten to the part about how I’m your neighbor
.

I forced a smile in return. “I think we were about to leave, weren’t we?”

His face fell. “Please don’t be upset by her. I would’ve introduced you but—”

“It’s OK,” I interrupted. “We’re only neighbors. It doesn’t matter.” How many times had Richard said that? “Don’t be upset.” As if my being angry over his bad behavior was the problem.

But I wouldn’t be angry at Des. At least not so he’d see it. He’d done a nice thing, bringing me out to dinner. He probably felt sorry for me, the poor lonely divorcée with the crazy aunt. I bet she put him up to this. Oh God. She probably did! That would be just like Dody. I took another gulp of wine and let its swirling powers overtake me. I was more than halfway to drunk, but I wanted to go all in.

He sighed. “How about some coffee?”

The catwalk-strutting hostess wandered by, and I watched her, wishing I looked like her instead of me.

“Sadie?” Des said.

“What?” My voice was louder than I expected.

“Would you like some coffee?”

Coffee? Hell, no
. I wanted to dunk my face into a fishbowl full of sake and drink myself blind. But that might be rude, so I said, “Sure, let’s have coffee.” I swished my hand as if it held a magic wand that could (
poof!
) bring coffee.

Des signaled for the waiter. That should work as well. He started saying something about being in Bell Harbor, but it didn’t make any sense to me. We were already in Bell Harbor. Maybe he was drunk too. Maybe that’s why he was so blurry.