Page 23 of The Backup Bride Proposal

They ended up at a place called Bricktown, which seemed touristy but was actually pretty cool. Awesome brick buildings and walkways along with water and bridges and lots of things to do. They walked along the path next to the water.

“Okay, so,” Mae said. “Fancy or regular or a bar or down home?”

“That’s a lot to choose from. What do you like?”

“Hmm. Let me think a minute.” She pondered as they walked along the tree-lined walkway. He could see why she liked this place. It might be commercial as hell, and it was probably crowded in the summer, but there was something peaceful about it. He really wished he could take her hand while they walked, but they weren’t there.

Not yet, anyway. He’d like to get there with her. He liked her sharp wit, her beauty and, God, he really liked the way she smelled. All he could think about was getting closer to her.

But he was a patient man, and he could wait.

“Bricktown Brewery,” she finally said, making an abrupt turn. He followed.

“Yeah?”

“Great food. Awesome beer. TV screens for sports. Nice, relaxed atmosphere. Really, there’s nothing better.”

“I can’t think of anyplace I’d rather eat.”

They made it to the restaurant, which was exactly the kind of place he needed. Filled with couples and families and had TV screens all over. They were seated at a booth and, though their server did a double take, she didn’t say anything to him.

“You think she recognized you?”

He shrugged. “No idea. Sometimes people think it’s me, but they don’t want to say anything only to find out it’s not. Then they’ll look foolish, and no one wants to look foolish. And I try not to give them that sly ‘Yeah, it’s me’ kind of smile.”

“Low profile, right?”

“As much as I can.”

He ordered a specialty beer, a dark ale that looked really good. Mae ordered a blueberry ale and then they perused the menu.

“The burgers here are so good,” Mae said. “And order the sea salt caramel sweet potato fries. They’re incredible. Sweet and spicy because they add jalapeño.”

His stomach growled at the description. “Oh, yeah. We need those.”

Their server brought their beers and set them on the table. She hovered and Kane thought that maybe she was going to say something about recognizing him.

“Do we know each other?” she asked him.

“I don’t think so.”

“Are you sure? My older brother went to college with a Clyde McKellum and you look just like him.”

He wanted to sink with relief. Instead, he shrugged. “Oh. Sorry. That’s not me.”

“Damn. You two could be twins. Anyway, are you ready to order?”

She took their food orders, then wandered off. Mae snorted out a laugh. “Clyde?”

“What? I could totally pull off Clyde.”

“Sure you could.”

He leaned forward. “Have you ever been mistaken for someone else?”

“Just once, in a store when I was about ten. Some woman thought I was her daughter and started screaming at me from across the store. I knew that wasn’t my mother so I stood there and then the woman started walking fast in my direction. My mother saw her and was convinced the woman was trying to kidnap me, so she threw herself in front of me. Thenthere was a very loud confrontation between my mom and the other lady.”

“So where was her daughter?”

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