Page 34 of Love Rescheduled

I rolled my eyes. “Does that sound like me?”

“You came home with me.” He wagged his brows.

I cleared my throat. I still can’t believe I had. But in my defense, we’d been flirting via DMs for a month before we ever went out, and Jolene and Tara thought he was a good guy. Not to mention we had spent all night together talking at a dive of a restaurant. “We only watched a movie.”

“Liar. Your lips were all over mine.”

“We are not having this conversation. I’m leaving.”

“Don’t be embarrassed. I totally dug it.”

I wasn’t embarrassed. I just couldn’t think about the … Best. First. Date. Ever. Longest, too. Now I was thinking about it all. I stared at his lips and thought about our first kiss. He’d asked me if I wanted a mint. When I replied yes, he popped one into his mouth and said, “Come and get it.” We shared that mint back and forth until there was nothing left of it. I really had to stop thinking about it.

“Goodbye.” I waved and rushed toward the door before I went and found my stash of mints and asked Josh if he wanted to play.

“Have fun,” he sang in an abnormally cheerful tone.

I closed the door and wondered why Josh hadn’t tried to talk me out of going. I’d thought for sure he would. Maybe he was finally getting the picture. I was going to title the work of art A Lost Cause. How depressing.

In the dark, I headed for my high-safety-rated Toyota Highlander under the carport. Sadly, the cottage didn’t have a garage. I did my best not to look at Josh’s truck in front of the house. A lot of beautiful things had occurred in its cab. Not thinking about it. Not thinking about it.

I hustled to the car, the damp cold seeping through me. I had forgotten to grab my coat, but no way was I going back into the house. There was no turning back now.

I sat in the parking lot of the restaurant, gawking at the stone building. Not shockingly, my confidence was waning. This was way, way, way out of my comfort zone. Alec would say nothing amazing ever happened in the comfort zone. He had never made out with Josh in his pj’s; it was oh, so comfortable and amazing. So that theory was a lie.

Okay. Okay. I could do this. I’d set the wedding date, and I needed a groom. For all I knew, the Henry Cavill look-alike was going to blow Josh out of the water. All I had to do was walk in there and find out. I thought about the viral video of me and opened the door. Not to worry: if anyone in the restaurant recognized me, I had plans to turn right around and flee to Paris.

Thankfully, or sadly, depending on how you looked at it, there was a fresh scandal making its rounds in the comedian world. Chase Olson, the despicable human being whom Jolene had filled in for as headliner, apparently didn’t have laryngitis. He had an acute case of jerk-itis. He was caught in a compromising position with another comic’s wife in a Waffle House bathroom. Ew. That video was doing circles around mine. And everyone was buzzing about the war of words online between Chase and the jilted husband. I was hoping this meant I was old news. Don’t get me wrong, I felt terrible for the husband. I even had a little sympathy for Tara. It bummed her out that she didn’t need to release her list of names.

To calm my nerves, I mentally counted every step I took to get into the restaurant. I hadn’t been on a first date in five years. Not thinking of Josh or that perfect date.

I finally made it to the entrance under a cute striped awning when I heard, “Hello, are you Natalie?” I turned to find the handsome doctor walking my way carrying a single white rose. He was wearing an impressive pair of jeans paired with a button-up and suit coat. Oh, wow. Move over, Clark Kent. Dr. Kristoff is in town. Josh only wore suit coats if he had to attend a funeral. Even then, he still wore a T-shirt under it. All not ironed, I might add. Why was I thinking about that? I needed to focus on how attractively the well-dressed man was smiling at me, presumably pleased with what he saw.

“I am Natalie,” I responded nervously.

“It’s so nice to meet you.” His ice-blue eyes grabbed hold of me. It wasn’t bad. No shivers or even a butterfly in my stomach, but I didn’t detest it. That was something, right?

I clasped my hands together. This was getting all too real. “It’s nice to meet you as well.” I tried my best to sound natural.

He held out the rose to me. “I’m Seth, by the way, but you can call me Dr. Kristoff.”

I wasn’t sure how to respond. I was pretty sure he was joking. If he wasn’t, this was going to be a quick night. No way was I calling him that.

“Just a little doctor’s humor,” he added.

“Oh, ha ha,” I responded awkwardly. I was such a dolt. So much of one that I forgot to take the rose and he had to practically push it on me. I grabbed it and let out a huge breath. “I’m nervous,” I blurted the cringeworthy truth. Why couldn’t I just act fun and flirty?

Seth flashed me a smile. “I am too.”

“Oh, good.” Did I really just say that? Was I going to think that after everything I said tonight? Probably. I was remembering why I didn’t date. Sure, being heartbroken was a big part of it, but dating made me a self-conscious ball of nerves. Except once. Somehow, Josh instinctively knew how to ease me through it all. You know, unless he was thoroughly embarrassing me. Or when his public life made me want to vomit.

Seth laughed, making me feel better. “Shall we do this?”

I breathed in the scent of the lovely rose, staring at the truly handsome man who had told Stu he came home every night around the same time and had most weekends off. And according to the background check, he had never been arrested. It was a good start.

“Yes, we shall.”

“SO, YOU’RE AN EDITOR. WHAT kind of books do you edit?” Seth was good at keeping the small talk going while we waited for our food. We sat in one of the handful of booths offered in the quaint restaurant with brick walls and colorful umbrellas hanging from the ceiling. I had ordered the boeuf bourguignon. It was the ultimate comfort food, and I needed as much comfort as I could get.

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