Page 7 of My Brooding Valentine

“Let me guess.” He set down his fork and studied me a long moment, his eyes narrowing. “You were a cheerleader. Most popular girl in school.”

I laughed. “Hardly. My graduating class was seven hundred.”

His brow furrowed. “You had to be the hottest girl in school, even in that crowd.”

I felt myself blushing. “I developed too soon. And I had a little more weight on me than the popular girls, but I didn’t care.All that stuff seemed shallow. I was probably a lot happier than they were.”

“So, what were you into back then? Baking?”

“I didn’t really start baking seriously until I got the job in the bakery the summer after high school. It’s always been my hobby, but in high school, I was kind of a dork. Traditionally, anyway. I was in the band. Played the flute. We won competitions and stuff. Some of the best people were in band with me.”

“I’m sure you dated a lot,” he said.

My movements froze at that comment. How did I answer that? I could go with honesty, but would he judge me? I could lie, but what would be the point of that?

I decided to stick with the truth. “No, not at all, but I’m grateful for that. I have my whole life to fall in love and get married and have kids. My younger years were all about spending time with friends and learning what I needed to know to open my own business someday.”

Okay, so that might be an exaggeration. School gave me the basics, but most of my classes didn’t focus on building and growing a successful business. I was learning that now, thanks to books, podcasts, and online courses.

“You didn’t date at all?” he asked.

I shook my head. “Never dated. To this day. I guess I need to get out more. Once this competition’s out of the way, I can focus on that, but…”

I hesitated, looking at him. I wasn’t being completely honest. The truth was more complicated than that.

“My friends say I’m too picky, but it’s not like there are hot guys like you all over Billings. Most suburban guys are…”

I struggled for a word to finish that sentence. I didn’t want to badmouth the men I’d met over the years, and I’d certainly had plenty of chances to date. I just couldn’t summon an interest in any of those guys.

“Boring?” he guessed. “Full of themselves?”

“Pussies,” I blurted before I could stop myself, then I grimaced. “Sorry. That’s probably a bit strong.”

He shook his head, and I’d swear I saw a hint of a smile on that face of his. “I didn’t do all that well in high school. My senior year, I took advantage of the co-op program and only went half days. The rest of the time I spent working for a local homebuilder. It was hard work, but it got me outdoors, which was exactly where I wanted to be.”

“That’s definitely the kind of guy I would’ve gone out with in high school,” I said, looking off to the side as I slid some lettuce into my mouth and chewed.

“What about now?” he asked.

I shifted my stare back to him, not sure what he was asking. “What do you mean?”

“You said I’m the type of guy you would’ve gone out with in high school. What about now?”

Oh, crap. I’d stuck my foot in it that time. Heck yes, I’d go out with him. In a heartbeat. In fact, I’d love to call what we were doing right now a date.

I decided to take a lighthearted approach. “I mean, look at you. Any woman would have you at the top of her list.”

List? What list? No wonder I never dated. I was goofing this up in a big way.

He stopped chewing and stared at me. Then he swallowed and said, “I don’t care about any woman. I’m talking about you specifically.”

Was I hearing right? Was this guy asking if I wanted to go out with him?

“Maybe this counts as a date,” I blurted before I could chicken out.

In the silence that followed, I was sure he could hear the pounding of my heart.Boom-boom, boom-boom, boom-boom. Iwas doing my best to play it cool, but I’d stopped breathing as I stared at him, waiting for him to answer.

He shook his head. “No way.”

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