Five First Dates (Sassy in the City 2)

“I like his Mohawk,” she said. “And I see he has temporary tattoos.” She pointed to my brother with his fists out, BAD BOI written on his knuckles.

I shook my head, laughing. “Bianca got hold of a Sharpie and did that. My mother was not thrilled.”

Savannah was watching me, no longer looking at the photo. I closed my photos and turned to meet her gaze. “What?”

“I was just thinking that Sully is probably going to have a childhood like yours. An only child for years, then suddenly siblings. It’s good to see how much you love your brother and sisters.”

I didn’t want to think about Savannah marrying some future guy. “You have no idea what is in store for you,” I told her. “You could be married in six months.”

She laughed, pushing chicken around on her plate. “That sounds ridiculous. Wonderful, but ridiculous.”

“Wonderful?” I asked, my eyebrows shooting up. That was an interesting word choice.

“I like relationships,” she said, her cheeks turning pink. Her fair complexion made it easy for her to blush. “I want to be married. I want to have inside jokes and Sunday morning snuggles and date nights. I know that’s not a popular viewpoint to have now but it’s true.”

“I think there are a lot of people who want to be married.” Me included. I’d never be the fall-on-a-different-woman-every-night guy. I wanted what my mom and Mike had, not the endless dates and lousy relationships my mother had before that. “Nothing wrong with knowing yourself.”

“But I suck at choosing men. I fall for the lines, for the pretty face, for the promises. Every time. And they’re always not very nice men.”

“Is that what happened with Sully’s father?” I asked, figuring it was as good of an opening as any.

She nodded and looked over at her son. “He said he wanted a serious relationship but I think he was just telling me what I wanted to hear. He was not happy about the pregnancy.”

Reaching across the table, I covered Savannah’s hand with my own. “His loss. Not yours.”

“Sully’s loss too.”

That pissed me off on her behalf and the kid’s and made me thread my fingers through hers to squeeze her hand. “No. Sully’s gain. Nothing good comes out of having an asshole for a father popping in and out of his life. I don’t know my biological father, and trust me, from what I’ve heard, it’s better that way. No anger, no bad memories, no waiting for a dad to show up that never did. If a man doesn’t want to be a father, good riddance.”

She gave me a soft smile. “Thanks, Maddy. I mean Maddox. Sorry. I didn’t mean to get so melancholy or tell you my sob story.”

“You’ve got a lot going on and you’re a great mom. Bottom line.”

“Maybe I need an arranged marriage,” she joked. “Let someone else pick a man for me. They couldn’t do any worse than I have.”

Interesting information. I wasn’t sure if it was going to aid my cause in any way, but I thought it couldn’t hurt it. “Maybe you just need to trust your gut more.”

Or maybe she needed me to arrange a marriage for her.

To me.

Chapter 3

I stared down at Maddox’s hand entwined with mine. It was a strong hand, callused and covered in tattoos. It looked like brambles had wrapped themselves around his fingers. It was elaborate and beautiful, though dark.

“Did that hurt?” I asked, tapping my thumb onto his hand, both curious and to change the subject. I eased my hand out from his. I’d gotten a little too revealing with Maddox. What guy wants to listen to a woman talk about her romantic failures? I’d made myself sound totally thirsty for a man and that was a little embarrassing.

Maddox gave me a slow smile. “What’s a little pain in the pursuit of pleasure? It’s clearly not intolerable or I wouldn’t keep doing it.”

That basically summed up my dating life. “I’d like to see your portfolio sometime.”

“Sure. But what ab

out you? Aside from this guy, what’s new? How’s work going?”

I glanced over at Sully, giving him a smile. “It’s good, honestly. I’m really fortunate I can work at home, though I have to admit I’m a little behind right now. It’s hard to be posting videos about looking cute for a trip to Barcelona when I’m sitting in my apartment in Brooklyn in yoga pants.”

“How does that work? Does the site give you assignments or is it more freelance?”