Flirting with Fifty

“She’s not a stylish car. Valet always looks askance when I pull up.”

“Most valet is worked by young men who are easily impressed by an expensive sports car. I’m not.” Her lips curved and her blue eyes warmed, creasing at the corners. “I’m too frugal to see the value of an expensive car.”

“You approve of Gertie.”

“I do.”

He smiled back at her. “Did you have a good day?”

“I did. I felt very spoiled by everyone.”

“I’m glad.” Jack studied her, thinking she looked truly stunning in the candlelight, and finding her far more attractive now than she’d been thirty years ago. She was a smart woman. Poised. Passionate about her work. But there were also walls around her. She was always so careful, always rather guarded, which just made him more curious about her. “Have you heard from your daughters today?

She nodded. “I had calls this morning from all three. They were disappointed that we weren’t able to get together, but I’m sure we’ll celebrate later, probably around Christmas. It’s hard for them to work out their schedules so we can all meet up.”

“Especially when you’re early in your career.”

“Exactly.”

“You are very much a family person,” he said, taking the menu from the waiter.

“It’s true. Love my girls. I love being a family with them. It’s sometimes hard being so far apart.” She smiled ruefully. “I think I did too good of a job getting them out of the nest. They’re happy on their own, doing their own thing.”

“But isn’t that what we’re supposed to do? Make them self-sufficient, independent? I imagine you miss them, as I miss Oliver, but I feel a lot of pride in who he’s become, and what he’s been able to do. I look forward to seeing what comes next.”

“Do you think he’ll get married one day?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t been a great example, but I do think he’ll have kids, and if he does, he’ll have at least two. He didn’t like being an only child. He thought it was lonely.”

“My middle one, Nichole, used to wish, quite loudly, that she was an only child.”

Jack felt a tug in his chest. Paige’s wry delivery amused him. She had a great sense of humor. “I’m sure that went over well with the others.”

“Yeah, no.”

He laughed, intrigued, thinking this Paige was more open and relaxed. He wasn’t sure why, but he liked it. Liked her. The waiter returned to tell them the specials and Paige thanked him and watched the waiter walk away before turning her attention back to Jack.

Her lips pursed, and a furrow formed between her brows. “Why didn’t you remarry? Especially since Oliver was so young when his mother died?”

“After Mara died, romance was the last thing on my mind. We were just trying to get by. I was in no shape to be dating or trying to find Oliver another mom.”

“Did he want a new mom?”

“He never said he did.”

“Did he want you to remarry?”

“Not when he was younger, but later, in high school, I think it was his senior year, he talked to me about a girlfriend of mine and said maybe I should settle down. He said I wasn’t too old to get married again.” Jack gave his head a shake. “I think he was just worried about going away to school and leaving me alone.”

“He sounds like a wonderful person.”

“He is. I don’t know what I did to deserve him. He has a big heart.”

“So, why didn’t you marry the girlfriend?”

This wasn’t what Jack had thought they’d talk about tonight, not during Paige’s birthday dinner, but he didn’t mind answering her questions. There were plenty of things he wanted to know about her. “I came close to proposing to her, but in the end, I’m glad I didn’t. I can be gone for long stretches of time. When in the field, I get immersed in my work, and the rest of the world falls away. I’d make a lousy husband.”

“The girlfriend said it? Or you just think that?”

He smiled crookedly. “We had enough conversations for me to know she wasn’t always happy with me. She got lonely, and I hated how guilty I felt every time I packed to go on another trip. Or every time I headed in a different direction from where she was. I knew it bothered her. But I’ve always found it hard to turn down opportunities. I love teaching, speaking, research. But it’s not a lifestyle that’s conducive for relationships.”

“I can see how too much time apart would be hard on the relationship. But at the same time, too much time together can be equally challenging. People need space.”

“Some space,” he said. “Too much creates resentment, and frustration. I hate angering someone I care about. It’s never my intention.”

“So, you’re not Peter Pan, you’re more of The Absent-Minded Professor.”

Jack made a face. “I don’t think I like either comparison. I like to think of myself as Harrison Ford in Indiana Jones. Dedicated to teaching, enthralled with the world.”

“Addicted to adventure,” she added, smiling. “Yes, I can see that. You certainly embrace danger, at least on your show.”

“There have been some unsettling moments. I’m never truly afraid for myself—what will happen will happen—but I never want to put the crew in danger.”

“Animal attacks? Storms? Flooded rivers?”

“Corrupt border guards, unstable governments, encounters with heavily armed rebels. I’d rather deal with a snake or a charging rhino than unpredictable humans.”

Her blue gaze lifted, her expression warm, admiring. “You’ve led the most interesting life,” she said.

But there were negatives to it, he thought. He had no real home. He found it hard to relax when he wasn’t traveling. And he did spend a lot of his life alone. There were times it was too much solitude. Times he wished he had someone to visit with in the evening or have coffee with before work in the morning. But it was impossible to have everything, and he couldn’t imagine a woman like Paige would ever be good with a man who was rarely present. Camille certainly hadn’t been happy with it.

The waiter returned to take their order, and Jack glanced at Paige. “Would you like a glass of wine with dinner? A cocktail? It is your birthday.”

“Wine would be lovely.”

He asked her preference and then ordered a bottle. Since it was late, they also ordered their entrées.