Page 25 of Second Round

“Young guys always get crushes on their babysitters.” Sharon was a master of plausible yet unprovable statements like this. “But for you to be this nervous and excited, you must feel like there’s a chance something real couldhappen.”

I nodded. “I know that it’s been years and years since I dated, but there’s this vibe between us. It’s intense. Unless he’s like that with allwomen.”

I rubbed the palm of my hand in exactly the same place he had touched me. “Maybe it’s silly, but I’ve already spent so much time in his apartment, trying to figure out what he likes. So I felt like I knew him already. But he certainly wasn’t anything like I’d imagined he’dbelike.”

“So, are you going to cancel the date because he’s younger than youthought?”

We locked eyes and laughed simultaneously. There was no way I wasn’t going outwithLeo.

9

MountainGoat

Jackie

Outfit Number Eightwas the winner: a white angora turtleneck with my magic pants—a stretchy black pair that were both comfy and flattering. The floor of my walk-in closet was filled with the first seven rejected outfits. “Wear something warm and comfortable,” Leo had said. That was a challenge when I was trying to look sexyaswell.

At least I had nice underwear on. I had spent way too much money on a navy lace bra and panty set after Brent left, hoping to wear them when he came back. What a dummy. It would have taken more than lingerie to fix our marriage. It would have taken marriage counselling, but he’d been adamant about not wanting to do that. So I’d gone alone. Of course that hadn’t helped our marriage, because I could never fully explain why Brent left in the first place, so the therapist could only counsel me on what changes I could make to myself. But Dr. Veol had helped me to get through all the turmoil of the split and made me focus on building a positive relationship for the sake ofthekids.

I gave myself a mental head slap. Now was definitely not the time to think about Brent. I needed to think about Leo. But thinking about Leo was making me very nervous. I’d gone out on exactly two dates since my divorce was finalized. One was some guy that Wendy had fixed me up with, who turned out to be about sixty and mega-boring. The other was a guy I’d met at an art supply seminar. He was teaching the seminar and demonstrating acrylic mediums. We’d gone for coffee afterwards and had a nice time, but there wasn’t really a spark. I got some free acrylic mediumthough.

Leo, on the other hand, was giving off more sparks than a sparking sparkler thing. When he had asked me out, I’d felt hypnotized. Like I would say yes to whatever he wanted. He was more persuasive than pushy though. And he had a degree in psychology, right? So maybe he knew exactly what I wanted and all the right buttons to press. That must be why he was a good coach. Or maybe I had given myself away with all the drooling at the sight of his body. Was that why I was putting on nice underwear? Because even in my most partying days, I had never slept with anyone on thefirstdate.

There was a knock at the front door, and I ran downstairs. I took one deep breath, tried to relax, and opened the door. Leo was standing there in a black down jacket, jeans, and a grey turtleneck. Even with clothes on, he lookedgorgeous.

He moved confidently inside, held my shoulders and did that French cheek-kissing thing.Um, you missed my mouth!I had a whiff of cedar and spice cologne. His hands lingered onmyarms.

“Hello, Jacqueline. Nice to see you again.” He took in Outfit Number Eight. “You look great, perfect fortonight.”

I blushed. How long was it since an attractive man had complimented me? Unless you counted my art instructor saying my painting wasn’t a complete loss, it had been years. “You look good too. How did yourgamego?”

Leo shrugged. “We lost. But there are signs of improvement. However, tonight is my reward for all thehardwork.”

I pulled my down jacket from the closet, and Leo took it and held it for me. I managed to find the left armhole after only threetries.

“You should bring gloves and a toque too,” hesuggested.

“Really? Most men want women to wear less, but you want more?” Look at me, flirting.Woohoo.

Leo chuckled. “Later, you’re welcome to wear as little asyouwant.”

Well, my pretty underwear had just gone up in flames, so that was going to save time undressinglater.

“Okay, I’ll have to dig out my hat. Have a seat, and I’ll berightback.”

I held my breath as he looked at my colourful flower painting on the livingroomwall.

“Nice place,” he said. “So, where areyourkids?”

“Oh, it’s their weekend with Brent. Their dad,” I added unnecessarily. Leo was the only person in my life who didn’t know who Brent was. A faint shadow passed over his face—maybe he was thinking that he never got weekends with hisdaughter?

I found my toque, which Minx had apparently slept on, brushed off the cat hair, and off we went. His car turned out to be a classy sedan instead of a sports car. And unlike my van, the interior was free of granola bar wrappers and lone magic gloves, so that was a big plus. To my surprise, he didn’t head back towards Vancouver, but instead stayed on the NorthShore.

“Where are wegoing?”

He turned towards me and grinned. “It’s a surprise. You like surprises,don’tyou?”

I smiled back. “Sure. Whodoesn’t?”

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