“Yes sir.” He smiled and put a glass down in front of me.
Any man with a pulse would have been intrigued by the sight of a woman as gorgeous as the one at the end of the bar looking in his direction. I just normally didn’t have that kind of reaction—not since Caroline. Was I finally starting to see through the veil of turmoil that had been over my eyes for so long? The dates I went on were absolute disasters that were entirely my fault. I dreaded every second of them before I arrived—wanted to leave as soon as I got there—and usually found an excuse to end them as fast as possible. Maybe I should have left instead of sitting down and buying the auburn-haired beauty drink, but the bartender was on his way to her with a glass of wine in his hand before I processed that thought.
There
’s still time—but for some reason, I don’t want to go…
The bartender put the glass of wine down in front of her—then he pointed to me. She hesitated for a moment, like she was trying to decide if she should look in my direction, but she finally did—and a faint smile formed on the corner of her lips that was more intoxicating than the whiskey already coursing through my veins. She had a pair of eyes with hints of green and blue—blended together like aquamarine. They were radiant—captivating—and just when I thought they were going to look away, she glanced at the empty seat beside her. In was an open invitation and the first one in five years that I wanted to accept. I picked up my drink as I stood, and my pulse raced as I closed the distance between us.
“Hi, I’m Damien…” I slowly sank into the seat beside her.
“My name is Leigh.” She blinked a couple of times—I got the impression that she was nervous. “Thank you for the drink.”
“Your next one is on me, if you want another.” I lifted my whiskey to my lips and took a sip.
“I don’t think I can stay that long...” She looked down at her glass and reached for it. “I’ve already stayed longer than I planned.”
“Got somewhere to be?” I raised my eyebrows inquisitively.
“I’m a student at Carson Cove University.” She took a sip of her wine. “That takes up most of my time when I’m not working…”
“Ah, okay.” I pondered what she said for a moment. “You just work here part-time?”
“What?” She blinked in surprise. “How did you know I work here?”
“I’ve seen you at the front desk a couple of times.” I took a sip of my whiskey. “Unless you have a twin sister…”
“No.” She finally showed another hint of that intoxicating smile. “Not that I’m aware of. I actually take my classes online, so I’m able to work here full-time while I’m going to school—which is part of why I can’t stay much longer.”
“Understandable.” I nodded. “Are you busy tomorrow night? I’d love to take you out to dinner.”
“Um…” She took a quick sip of her wine.
“You have to eat at some point, right?” I tilted my head in the opposite direction. “What’s your favorite restaurant in Carson Cove? I’ll make reservations.”
“I don’t really have a favorite.” She blinked a couple of times. “I normally eat at home…”
“How about Moretti’s?”
I saw how you were looking at me. Don’t be nervous—I don’t really understand it either.
“Okay…” She nodded and swallowed hard.
Leigh was nervous, and if she was a student at Carson Cove University, it meant she was barely old enough to drink the wine that I bought her. I had never been on a date with anyone that much younger than me, but Leigh was just so damn captivating that I was willing to give it a shot just to see how things turned out.
We talked for a little longer while we finished our drinks. She didn’t open up to me much, so I carried the conversation, but it was mostly just small talk. I hated watching the wine disappear from her glass because it was basically an hourglass. As expected, she had to go as soon as the last sip passed across her lips. We exchanged numbers, and I offered to pick her up for our date, but she said she would just meet me at the restaurant. My eyes lingered on her beautiful curves until they disappeared out of sight.
That’s the first time I’ve been able to have a conversation with a woman without being consumed by thoughts of Caroline—or wracked with guilt…
Chapter Five
Leigh
I held it together while I was in the bar with Damien, but the fourth glass of wine had me buzzing so hard I knew I wouldn’t be able to drive myself home. I fumbled with my phone once I made it to the elevator and requested an Uber. The driver was already outside when I got to the lobby. The buzz wore off a little bit on the ride home, but I had to make a pot of coffee as soon as I walked through the door. I had too much schoolwork that needed to be done to just go to bed, which is what I really felt like doing. It also didn’t help that I hadn’t eaten anything since lunch, so once I took a few sips of coffee, I put a frozen dinner in the microwave. I ate that in front of my laptop and tried to organize the stuff I needed to work on between bites—but my thoughts were a million miles away from what I needed to be focused on.
I can’t believe Damien Sinn asked me out on a date…
I didn’t know much about the Sinn family, but I was familiar with Sinn Technology. If I had been planning to stay in Carson Cove after I graduated from college, I would have probably wanted to work there. I even did a research paper on some of their products for one of my classes during my first semester at Carson Cove University, but it didn’t touch on the hierarchy of the company. I didn’t even know if Damien was involved in the family business. If he was, then we would probably have a few things in common, even if he was older than me.