Page 7 of Sheltered

I inhaled deeply, and as I exhaled, I confessed, “I’m a rather boring woman, I guess. I’ve lived a pretty quiet life. When I tell you that this dating app thing was a first for me, I’m not joking. I don’t do things like that.”

The silence stretched between us for a moment. Maybe I should have been embarrassed by my situation, but I wasn’t. While I wondered what Blaze was thinking, I certainly didn’t feel bad for living the life that I had.

“So, after ten years or so of not dating, what prompted you to join the app?” he queried.

I shrugged. “Loneliness. Living a sheltered life will only get me so far, and there are things I want in my life that I won’t get if I don’t start taking steps to make them happen. At least now, I can add something adventurous to my list of exciting things I’ve done.”

“What’s that?”

I bit my lip to stifle a laugh. “I’ve pretended to be friends with a man I didn’t know just to get out of a bad date.”

Blaze didn’t stop himself from laughing. “You really think that’s exciting?”

The corners of my mouth tipped up. “For me, it is. You don’t understand just how boring I am.”

In a move I hadn’t been anticipating, Blaze reached across the table and covered my forearm with his hand. He stroked his hand back and forth a few times before he offered a squeeze and said, “Why don’t I believe that’s true, either?”

My throat grew tight, my mouth dry. I reached for my coffee cup with my other hand and lifted it to my lips. After taking a sip, trying to ignore the warmth of his hand on mine, I rasped, “I’m not lying.”

Blaze squeezed my arm once more, released it, and returned his hand to his own mug. Once he’d taken a sip of his coffee, he returned, “I didn’t mean that in a bad way. I just think you’re underestimating yourself. What do you do for a living?”

“I’m a hairstylist.”

“See? That’s already exciting. You’re far more talented and creative than I am,” he reasoned.

My belly flipped. I liked that he saw it that way. “Oh yeah? What do you do for a living?”

“I’m a private investigator.”

My eyes nearly fell out of my head. “Are you serious?”

He nodded. “Yes.”

It was suddenly making sense. “So that’s how you knew things weren’t right back at the bar. It’s your job to notice things like that.”

“You could say that, if the situation had been different,” he began. “But that isn’t entirely the truth in this case tonight.”

Confused, my brows pulled together. “What do you mean?”

Blaze took another sip of his coffee. When he set the mug down, he said, “I have a confession to make.”

Confusion turned to surprise. There was, perhaps, a bit of hesitancy lingering there, too. “A confession?” I repeated.

He hesitated a moment before he shared, “I saw you. When you walked into the bar and sat down, I couldn’t help but notice you. Initially, I thought to myself that if there was a guy meeting you there tonight, he was one lucky man, because you’re beautiful. But the longer you sat alone, waiting, I started to think I’d gotten it wrong. I thought I needed to work up the courage to walk over, take a chance, and introduce myself. And just as I decided to do that, I saw that guy walk up and sit down with you. Then the thought that ran through my mind was that if I had been him, there isn’t anything in this world that would have prevented me from arriving on time to meet you.”

Wow.

I hadn’t been expecting that.

And since it had been so long since I’d been in this position with a member of the opposite sex, I had to admit it felt good to hear him say he thought I was beautiful.

In fact, it wasn’t until he’d said it that I realized I’d forgotten what it was like. I didn’t remember how it felt to have someone appreciate me in that way. All it took was Blaze’s honesty for me to have it again.

I couldn’t deny that perhaps I was meant to go on that horrible blind date.

Because if I hadn’t, I wouldn’t have been sitting here with that flutter in my belly or the rapid beat of my heart.

“Gosh, Blaze, I don’t know what to say to that.”

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