Page 47 of Perfect Imperfections

She signed off, stating she needed to feed someone named Bill. He supposed that was a bird. Weird name for a bird, but he didn’t really care about that right now. She said yes! He had a date. Holy shit, he had a date! He hadn’t been on a date since…he couldn’t even remember. He went out with his brother and some buddies when his housekeeper offered to watch Charlotte, but he hadn’t gone out on an actual date with a woman since before his marriage.

Picking up his cell again he hit the number for his brother without even thinking about it. The moment his brother answered words spewed out of his mouth like lava from an erupting volcano.

“I have a date.”

“Sullivan?”

“Yes, it’s me. Who else would it be?”

“I don’t know, but since I haven’t heard the word date come out of your mouth in almost a decade, I figured it wasn’t my big brother.”

He could really do without the sibling heckling right now.

“Gavin, focus. I have a date.”

“So you’ve said, but I still can’t believe it. Who’s the unlucky lady?”

They made phones you could wear on your wrist, video call to see the person’s face, hell he’d seen some that could work underwater these days. What he really needed right now was a phone that had a button you pushed, and it would automatically smack the other person on the line. Right upside the back of their head. He’d pay good money for a phone like that right about now.

“Don’t be a dick.”

“I’m surprised you have a dick.”

“Hanging up now. Thanks for all your help.”

“Wait! Wait.” His brother laughed. “I’m sorry, really. I’m happy for you, big brother. I’ve been telling you to get out for ages. So, what do you need?”

Debating whether he should hang up on his immature ass of a brother—but then who would watch Charlotte?—he sighed and explained. “First off I need you to watch Charlotte on Friday night.”

“Done.”

That was easy. Not surprising. Gavin loved being an uncle. He was always game to spoil his niece. Speaking of spoiling, Sullivan would have to reiterate the “no candy after six” rule. Not that Gavin would follow it, but it still needed to be said. He had to portray some authority even if the troublesome twosome ignored his every edict.

“What else?”

Here was the tricky part. He hated to admit it, but he needed some advice. As his brother so rudely pointed out, it had been a while since he’d been in the game. This date was too important to mess up. Ellie deserved an amazing night. Something told him ordering mac and cheese and watching dinosaur movies wouldn’t sweep her off her feet. What worked for an eight-year-old girl would not appeal to a twenty-eight-year-old woman. He didn’t think.

“I need some…” God, he hated to confess this. “Tips.”

“Tips? Like restaurant recommendation? Ideas for after dinner? Ways to make Ellie fall into your arms and spend the night riding you like a bronco at the county fair?”

“Yes, I mean no! I—wait, how do you know I’m going out with Ellie?”

“Dude,” his brother chuckled. “You haven’t shown any interest in a woman since Claire left. You met this woman a few weeks ago and you talk about her nonstop.”

“I do not.”

“You invited her to your daughter’s birthday party.”

“Charlotte wanted her there.”

“You barely strayed five feet from her the entire day. You like her.”

He didn’t know why he was arguing with his brother about this. Of course he liked Ellie. So why did it bother him so much that Gavin had noticed?

“Are you going to give me advice or not?”

“Are you going to admit it’s Ellie?”

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