Page 5

5

MIA

Watching the interest wane from Michael’s gorgeous green eyes, extinguished my hope for a possible romance. I supposed it was on me for having such high hopes before I even met the man.

Disappointment rose to leave a bitter taste in my mouth, and my appetite for dessert disappeared. Pushing away my plate, I sighed heavily. Things had been going so well with Michael. He didn’t make me feel awkward or on edge. He had this relaxing presence that made me feel unusually settled. It was like being around him countered my energy… I’ve been told that I have too much. As it turned out, the whole opposites attract theory was real. It was obvious that we balanced each other.

“Twenty-one…” he murmured. “How do I know you’re not lying about that, too?”

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. “I’m not lying. I swear.” I was about to pull out my ID to reassure him, but then he’d figure out that I lied about my name too.

Michael’s scowl deepened.

Goodness, it was like he was disgusted with my age which was strange. It was just my luck to encounter the one man who wasn’t impressed with an energetic twenty-something.

I studied Michael, regretting that I had been foolish enough to lie about my age. He was so nice and handsome. He was Mr. Right. Others might say I was being foolishly optimistic (again) or even delusional, but the guy I’d been looking for was right in front of me. I felt it in my bones. He’d taken my breath away when he’d arrived and called my name in that seductively deep timbre. When I had looked into his eyes, my heart had skipped a few beats.

Michael was quite the looker, with his perfect bone structure and imposing build. He looked over six feet tall, with a toned physique that must come from a rigorous fitness regimen. But it wasn’t just his good looks that instantly had me hooked, it was his very presence. After chatting with him for a while, I was thoroughly attracted.

“I can explain…” I stopped when Michael raised a skeptical eyebrow.

Embracing my embarrassment, I continued. “I know I said I was around your age when we started communicating.”

“Yes, you conveniently left your age out of your profile.” Furrows appeared between his eyebrows. “And when you said you were around my age… Well, twenty-one isn’t really around my age, is it, Jane?”

His biting tone made me feel like scum for lying. I nibbled on my lower lip and eyed him sheepishly. If I came clean and told him I was really Mia Clarke, he’d think I was a pathological liar.

“No…” I blew out a breath. “It isn’t. We started messaging back and forth before the age thing came up, and I thought we connected so well. I lied because I didn’t want you to dismiss me based on my age.” I stared at him beseechingly, wondering if he could overlook my fib. “I didn’t want to lose the chance to get to know you better.”

Michael’s jaw tightened. I could tell he did that often. He was so intense, and I even found that attractive.

“I see,” he said slowly, and then his expression went flat.

“I’m sorry…” I said lamely as I followed his gaze to our waitress. I stifled another sigh. It was easy to guess we were done here. I couldn’t blame him. Being caught in a lie on a first date was a bad sign. “We can split the check. I feel like I owe you for wasting your time.” I couldn’t afford to splurge so much on dinner, considering that I was still unemployed, but I was desperate to show Michael that I wasn’t downright awful.

He let out a soft sigh as he held me captive with those sharp, assessing eyes. “This wasn’t a waste of time. I enjoyed the evening. I’m just not…”

“Into younger women?”

“We all have our preferences.”

I opened my mouth to ask him what the big deal was but decided against it. He seemed irritated enough, yet he was calm and tolerant. That proved that he was a decent guy, and I wanted to kick myself for ruining things already.

“Right.” I reached into my purse for my card.

“I said I’ve got the check, Jane,” Michael declared.

I almost winced at the sound of my fake moniker. “But?—”

“It’s not a problem,” he said as he signaled our waitress.

Sitting through the process of him paying for our dinner was an awkward affair. We didn’t exchange another word, and Michael kept giving me these skeptical glances that made me want to roll my eyes.

When we were finally on our way out of the restaurant, he held the door open for me. He was such a gentleman despite obviously being pissed.

When we stepped outside, the night breeze teased my hair, and it gently whipped around my face. His dark brown mane moved with the wind too, and I had this urge to thread my fingers through it. It just looked so silky.

He gave the valet his ticket and shoved his hands into his pockets. It was crazy that he dined at fancy restaurants with valet parking like this so often. Of course, I’d gathered that Michael was well off at first glance based on his clothes, accessories, and even the way he carried himself. However, I didn’t care about that. I just wanted a decent guy to ease back into the dating pool with, and he seemed to be a good option.

“I know what you’re thinking Michael,” I said

“Do you?” When the valet took off, he finally looked at me. “Did you leave your side gig as a clairvoyant out of your profile, too?”

My lips twitched with the beginning of a smile. There was the humor and sarcasm that I knew he didn’t show often. “No, but now that you mention it, I should give it a try since I’m between jobs.”

His only response was a raised eyebrow.

My amusement vanished because he didn’t laugh as I’d hoped. “You’re thinking that I’m exactly who you feared I’d be. A looney toon on the internet.”

That skeptical eyebrow stayed arched.

“I’m not,” I assured him.

His eyebrow hiked up some more.

That damn eyebrow! I huffed. “You know what? Forget it.” There was no point arguing my case. Michael No-last-name was done with me. “I’m sorry,” I said, giving him one more remorseful look. “And thanks again for dinner.”

“You’re welcome,” he bit out.

“I guess…” My eyeballs rolled around as I searched for something else to say. I finally settled on, “Goodbye Michael.”

As I took off down the sidewalk, Michael called, “Jane?”

I stopped and looked back. He stood beside a car that looked as if it could be sold to feed a small country. “Where are you going?” He frowned. “I assumed you drove here.”

“I didn’t…” I’d been forced to sell my car to cover a couple months’ rent because my ex-boyfriend was an awful human being who left me in a financial ditch. Thinking about the problems I’d valiantly been trying to keep from overwhelming me worsened the sting of my failed date.

For a moment, Michael looked conflicted as he glanced at his car and back at me. My lips twisted wryly. I could see his internal battle playing out. He was likely thinking: Should I be a gentleman and risk letting the lying, crazy person into my car or forget about her?

In the end, the gentleman that I had gathered he was won the battle. “I’ll give you a ride,” he said.

“Thanks, but that’s not necessary. I’ll be fine.”

“It’s late. Get in,” he ordered as he gestured to his fancy car.

I scoffed, yet his stern command didn’t turn me off. I cursed myself for liking it because I hated it when anyone else gave me orders. It seemed he was accustomed to getting what he wanted when he dished out commands. He stared at me with expectancy as if he knew I wouldn’t dare defy him. I eyed Michael through squinted eyes because I still didn’t know him like that . Should I get into his car?

“I don’t bite,” he said impatiently. “And you’re the liar in this scenario, remember?”

My suspicious look turned into a scathing glare. There was the slightest twitch at one corner of Michael’s lip. Despite everything, he was teasing me. Damn him for being so attractive and nice.

“Fine,” I said as I approached him. “It’s not like I have anything to worry about. You wouldn’t touch this disgusting twenty-one-year-old with a ten-foot pole.”

His eyebrows shot up. “Really? Are you always this dramatic?”

I shrugged, and he pulled in a breath that told me he was barely holding on to his patience. Even as he glanced at me with a mixture of annoyance and disbelief, he walked around to the passenger’s side to open my door.

I folded my lips to hide my smile as I slid onto the leather seat. It was strange. Since Michael and I had engaged in intimate conversations for so long, it was like we were a couple who had been together for a while, having a tiff… or maybe that was just my silly romantic imagination running wild again.

I watched Michael from my periphery as he drove off. Something told me he needed my brand of trouble because he was so damn serious. It was too bad there would be no second date… or the epic romance I’d fantasized about.

After I gave him my address, I resigned myself to never seeing him again. The silence went on for a while until I spoke. “Now that you know where I live… Do you live far from me?”

“Far enough,” he answered.

“Afraid to give too many details? Don’t worry. Lying about my age doesn’t make me a crazy stalker.”

That earned me one of those stony-faced stares I’d bet were typical for him. When he returned his attention to the road, I sighed. “You’re really uptight, aren’t you?”

He ignored my question and said, “How about we just nix all conversations and listen to some music?”

“Only if I get to choose the music.” I grinned broadly when he glanced at me with a hint of horror in his eyes. Even though he nodded, he watched me with that skeptical air of his as I fiddled with the dial on the radio.

I found a classic rock station that had Aerosmith’s Dream On playing. “This is one one of my favorites,” I murmured. I sat back and hummed along.

Michael gave me a raised eyebrow look. This time it wasn’t the skeptical eyebrow but raised eyebrows of approval . I chuckled and shook my head. “Two hours in your company, and I’m already getting good at reading your eyebrows.”

The mentioned eyebrows then dipped into a frown, and I laughed harder. “What? Were you afraid I’d make you listen to Britney or Taylor?”

A faint smile curved one corner of his mouth. “I’ll admit, I was terrified that’s what you’d subject me to.”

My laughter rang out, and to my surprise, his low chuckle blended in with it. “I’m a fan of the classics,” I shared. “That wasn’t in my profile. ”

“I’m pleasantly surprised,” he said.

“The 70s was a great time for music.”

He snorted derisively. “You weren’t even born yet.”

I sucked my teeth. “Neither were you.”

He smirked. “Good point.”

My gaze zeroed in on his thumbs hitting the steering wheel to the beat of the song. “I think you and I could work, Michael.”

I was given the skeptical eyebrow yet again and my cheeks heated up. “I don’t mean… I’m not saying you and me specifically… I mean people with our differences.” My embarrassment brought out my pride, and I huffed. “You know what? You have some nerve judging me for being younger, as if it’s a crime.”

“Maybe the bigger issue isn’t your age, Jane, but that you lied about it. I don’t like liars.”

He got me there. My indignation simmered down. “Yeah… I guess… Have I apologized for that?”

“Several times.”

“Well, I’m sorry again. Still, I’m sure you didn’t put everything in your profile.”

“That’s different. I don’t think strangers should have the privilege of learning intimate details about my life. That comes later.”

“Agreed. I’m s—” I stopped and sighed. Continuing my crusade to prove something to Michael was making me come off as desperate. “Alright, you’re not into younger women, and that’s fine. I’m not into old guys, but I still gave you a chance.”

I winced at the bitterness in my tone and immediately felt bad. Just as I was about to apologize for calling him old, his laughter filled the car. I glanced at him with surprise, and my heart melted. He was gorgeous but even more so when he let loose and really laughed . I caught a glimpse of someone else under his stern mask and I liked it. It also piqued my curiosity about Michael No-last-name.

I grinned when he glanced at me and burst out laughing again.