Page 24 of New Girl in Town
“I’m not,” I replied, smoothing my hands over my skirt and trying to catch sight of Ben. Anything but think of how Grant made me feel. If I did that then I’d deep dive into a side-by-side comparison of the two men, and that was not something I could survive.
“You are, which means you’re thinking about Grant. Knock it off.”
I stuck my tongue out at her. “I’m trying over here.”
“You’ve got one of the most handsome men in here staring at you with hearts in his eyes, and we haven’t even had a single date. I’d say you can do it if you let yourself relax.”
“Except when I relax, Grant is all I see.”
“Heart-eyes, Aurora. Look up and see for yourself. And Ben is making them at you. Not Grant.”
I looked up and saw what Mel was talking about. Ben stared at me, and there was more than passing interest in his eyes. He raised his hand in a half-wave when he saw me looking.
Heart-eyes confirmed.
“Told you.” Melinda jabbed me in the ribs, and I had only a moment to spare in collecting myself before the telltale chime of the bell kicked off the first date.
A shot of excitement hit me as I introduced myself to the man with salt-and-pepper hair sitting across from me. I was meeting new people, settling into my life, and hanging out with my best friend on a Saturday night. And even if Melinda had called my bluff to get me here, I was glad. If I did decide to go on another date with Grant, it would feel more like a choice and less like something that got away from me.
My eyes drifted across the table, meeting Ben’s, and I smiled at him. Meeting new people was good. Ben was nice. This was all going well.
And all that was great news. Becauseniceandspecialwere the same thing—weren't they?
