Page 63 of The Singles Club

“No. It was perfect.”

Her mouth opened slightly, and she paused. She looked down at her wine before taking a sip. “Then think of it as a pretend date, like practice for the real thing. If it works out, great, if not, then nothing is lost.”

Huh. Maybe Vivian was onto something here.

“That I can do.”

“Have you been practicing the time steps Katerina taught you?”

“Every chance I get. Isabella caught me in the office and accused me of sneaking a drink at lunch.”

Vivian giggled. “I’m going to get drilled tomorrow at our Singles Club meetup.”

“I’m never going to live this down, that’s for sure.”

Her fingers touched the top of my hand. “You should be proud. You’re coming along really great these last three lessons.”

I turned my hand around and gently squeezed hers. “I have a great partner.”

She slipped her fingers from mine and rubbed the back of her neck before grabbing her wine. “So, if we want to learn that dance, we should start practicing on our own. The parts we can’t do yet we can skip until we meet with Katerina again on Sunday. But I think it would be good to get a feel for where we are.”

“Good idea. How about Saturday at my place. I’m willing to make a day of it if you are.”

She tugged at her necklace, and I instantly knew what that meant. She was unsure about something.

“What’s bothering you?” I asked.

“I do want to do this Saturday, but I was hoping to meet with Leonard.”

My chest caved at his name. “Oh. A date?”

She laughed. “No, part of my project. I think he’s going to stand up Penny. I’ve been trying to reach out to him, but he won’t return my emails.”

The server brought our appetizers and a couple of side plates. I waited until Vivian took what she wanted before putting calamari on my plate. The smell of caramelized onion and Gruyère cheese from the tarte flambée made my mouth water. I cut a piece of it for both of us. “Did they exchange pictures? Leonard and Penny?”

“No, they wanted it to be a surprise.”

“Huh.”

“What?”

I cut into the calamari. “Maybe he’s bald or gained weight and insecure about it. Thirty years is a long time. He could be thinking that Penny will want to see the boy she remembered and not the man he’s become.”

She took a bite of the flambée, thinking a moment while she chewed. “I think you’re right. Penny is positive that he really wanted to do this before, but as it’s getting closer, she senses him pushing away.”

I sipped my water. “Sounds like a classic case of cold feet.”

“So, how do I fix it?”

“Do you mind if I see what you already wrote to him?”

Vivian wiped her mouth with the cloth napkin in her lap. “Not at all.” She reached into her purse and unlocked her phone before handing it to me.

They were basically a call-to-action type of emails. Pressing and urgent. Too much pressure for him. Leonard obviously wasn’t ready to close the deal.

“After we eat, I think I can help you with an email that may just get him to respond.”

“Pleasedo. I’m getting desperate. I really don’t want Penny standing there alone next weekend. She’s so sweet and doesn’t deserve that.”