Page 31 of Breaking the Ice

She shot him a quelling look. “I have estrogen, Nick. Loud estrogen. I can’t drift through my life waiting for that special person to find me. I’m running out of time. I need to hunt him down and drag him back to my cave.”

It dawned on Nick then that Samantha was the kind of woman he’d avoided all his adult life. Or this stage she was going through, anyway. He could take one look at a woman and know if she was a Samantha in one second flat. Samanthas haddesperatestamped on their foreheads in writing visible only to men on the make.

“Not for nothing, but the I-want-your-babies act tends to scare more men than it catches.”

“Iknowthat. Which is why I’ve chosen an older age bracket. They’ve been there and done that. They well and truly regret that they didn’t let some woman snag them years ago. They’re not trying to wriggle off any hooks. They want to be landed.”

Nick blew out a breath. She’d obviously given it a lot of thought. And maybe she was right. Maybe men needed a period of freedom and after they’d had it were content to settle.

Was that what was in store for him? If he didn’t recover from this injury and his career went down the tubes? The thought made him shudder.

“I don’t know, Sam.”

“Trust me, I’ve worked with that age group. They’re ready. The single ones complain all the time about how they can never find a woman who wants to settle down. All I need now is someone decent to work with. Find me someone decent, Nick. There must besomebody.”

“You want me to personally vet your dates?”

“If they’re coming from a family recommendation? Hell yes. Your brothers have appalling taste. EvenIhave better taste in men.”

“Alright. I’ll check out any prospective guys more thoroughly.”

“Oh no, I want more. I need an escape hatch. Next blind date, you’re coming with me.”

“Uh… okay?” That sounded like a very bad idea. “Isn’t three a crowd?”

“Notat the table. You can sit nearby and if it turns out to be another disaster, I can signal you and you can come to my rescue.”

“That’s a really dumb plan.” And he really didn’t want to watch some guy drooling in his entrée over her.

“Nuh uh. Being stuck with disaster number nine would be dumb.”

“How, pray tell fair lady…” She quirked an eyebrow at his choice of words. Yeah, okay, maybe he was reading far too many Ritas… “Do you plan on executing this little plan?”

“I’llworry about the logistics.Youjust find me someone normal.”

11

Samantha settled herself in the restaurant chair. She’d arrived deliberately early and she could see Nick three tables in front. He had wanted to wear a fedora, a fake mustache and a trench coat. She’d vetoed it. She’d vetoed his secret password idea too – he was getting way too much entertainment out of her tribulations.

Although he had been recognized by a couple of diners wanting autographs so the disguise hadn’t been such a ridiculous idea.

She smoothed down the front of the little black dress she’d worn on nearly all her dates because Nick had been right about it. Some mascara, lip gloss and her hair loose and wavy and she didn’t look half bad.

A good-looking man approached her table and Samantha held her breath. Surely, she couldn’t be this lucky? Could she really go from Vincent to va va voom? He stopped and smiled at her. “Hi? I’m Paul?”

Oh Nick.You have done well.

“Are you Samantha?”

She smiled back, almost lost for words as her eggs stood to attention.Finally.He shook her hand. It was a nice, firm, warm grip. One tick against the wall.

“You’ll have to forgive me, I’m a little nervous,” he admitted as he sat opposite. “I haven’t been on the dating scene for years.”

Samantha grimaced, wishing she could say the same. “You haven’t missed much.”

Paul laughed. “Oh dear, that doesn’t sound good.”

Samantha bugged her eyes. “It’s a jungle out there.”

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