Page 21 of Dashing for Love

The drinks are in front of us within moments, the martini glasses chilled and filled to the brims with a frothy pink concoction. “Enjoy,” Anthony demands, then moves down the bar.

We raise our glasses. “To blind date apps,” Willa says with a smile.

I grin. “Cheers.” I take a sip, and it’s delicious. Delicate and fruity, with absolutely no hint of the alcohol in it.

“Whoa. That’s dangerously good,” Willa declares. After another sip, she sets the glass down and spears me with one of her signatureI’m older than youlooks. “So. How are things going with James?”

“Good. He’s so easy to talk to and funny. Super considerate. I swear, half the time I think he’s gotta be a woman—he’s far too emotionally mature to be a guy,” I laugh.

“You’re not using your real name, right? What if his name isn’t even James?”

I shrug. “I assume it’s not. There’s a level of trust I’ve gotta have, you know?”

“I get it, but why don’t you two just come out and tell each other who you are already? What’s the hold-up?”

I consider the question. “It’s hard to say. I think both of us are comfortable with the pace.”

Willa snorts. “A snail moves faster. Seriously. Hasn’t it been two weeks? And you still don’t know what he does?”

He’s a cowboy, I think with a grin.

Willa points at me. “What’s that expression for?”

“Just thinking of something we’ve talked about. He does something with horses, but that’s about all I’ve gotten out of him.”

“Horses?”

I nod and take another sip. “Horses.”

She narrows her eyes at me. “There’s more to it than that, but I’ll leave it alone for now. I have to pee.” She slides off the stool and heads in the direction of the bathroom.

I consider her words. Yes, James and I are moving slow, but it’s actually really nice. I like being forced to get to know him. Sure, we could have traded phone numbers and gotten off the app way before now, but Ilikethat we’ve both followed the rules and allowed the app to set the pace.

Willa returns, waving a flyer. “Look.”

I inspect it. “Ooh, a masquerade ball? Fun!”

“Raising money for the food bank,” Willa confirms. “Next week. You should invite your mystery man.”

I consider it. “That’s…not a bad idea, actually.”

Willa smiles. “Thanks. Do it now.”

“Now?”

“Yeah,” she urges. “Why not?”

I grin. “You know, I like this version of you.”

“Which version is that?”

“The one where you’re all pushy and confident and stuff.”

Her cheeks tinge pink. “Aw, thanks.”

I pull out my phone and snap a picture of the flyer, then send it to James through the app.

Dawn

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