She appreciated he didn’t assume. “The wine is perfect for now, thanks.”
They lapsed into uncomfortable silence again. She’d almost forgotten how much she hated this part of dating. What questions could she pose that wouldn’t seem trite, cliché, or boring? He saved her from launching the opening salvo. Ryan leaned forward, his attention focused on her in a way that made her think of the interview she’d gone through to be hired for her current job. He folded his hands on the table, in the same manner Victor often had when they discussed touchy subjects, like moving to Denver.
“Tell me about yourself.” His tone struck the Victor chord, too. The humdrum ordinariness of it all, as though bored with the world. As though it was her job to amuse him.
Elissa folded her arms across her chest and leaned back in her chair, as far as she could in the limited space. Irritation fought with disappointment. How dare he approach this like some sort of work, like she was a candidate for him to accept or reject.
“This is a date, not a job interview.”
“You think dating me would be a job?” The corners of his lips twitched before he could hide his amusement.
“Possibly.” Most guys were a job of one sort or another. Victor had needed constant reassurance he was important to her, and still he’d left. The rest of her pre-Victor boyfriends had wanted her to play dumb. She’d refused, and here she was. “How would I know with a question like that?”
“How about, if you don’t want to be here, why didn’t you call the whole thing off?”
“Even if I had, wasn’t your phone dead? Then I would have been the girl who stood up the guy at the bar.”
“Touché.” His eyes were still focused on her face and caught the light in a way that belied the overall impression he was bored or couldn’t care less. They glinted with…something. Humor? More likely irritation. This was not off to a strong start if they were already irritating the hell out of each other. “But why are you here, Elissa?”
Elissa uncrossed her arms and forced herself to relax. She’d promised her mother she’d give this a chance. It wasn’t his fault his opening reminded her of Victor. There were only so many ways a first date could go. Instead of being willfully annoying, she answered his question.
“Likely the same reason as you, I guess. I love my mother.”
He chuckled and turned his beer on the little napkin. “So not exactly the same reason. I just want mine off my back.”
“I wouldn’t mind that either, but when your mom has cancer, you don’t say no.”
He paled and the amusement left his voice. “Oh shit, seriously? I’m sorry.”
Elissa winced. She hadn’t meant to play the cancer card. She didn’t need his pity, but something about him had her filters off. For some reason, he brought out the self she kept buried under her perfectionism and optimism. The one who was a little cynical, a little bitter at the hand fate had dealt her.
“No, my bad. I didn’t mean to… doesn’t matter. She finished her treatments a little while ago and we’re waiting for test results. Her doctors have been optimistic, so I guess so am I.”
“It does matter. I hope the results are what you want.”
And those words made him different from Victor. She let go of the bitterness of her last relationship and leaned into the possibility before her.
“Thanks. I do too, but…”
“But what?”
“You’ll think I’m a conspiracy theorist.”
His smile returned, softening his eyes. “I promise I won’t think you’re a conspiracy theorist. Unless you go off about the moon landing being a hoax.”
“No, that was absolutely real. At least, that’s what JFK and Elvis told me at the last Conspiracies Anonymous meeting.”
He laughed outright, a full-throated, panty-melting laugh. Heat spread through her body and settled between her thighs. Holy sh—shirt.
“I think we’re going to get along just fine, Elissa.” He raised his beer and toasted her.
She smiled over the rim of her glass and returned the gesture before taking another sip of the slightly sweet wine. Maybe he was right. A rocky start was no reason to bail early. And it would be a fun story, someday.
“So what is your conspiracy theory?” he asked after a moment.
“Whenever something good happens, bad luck seems to find me. I’m always waiting for the other shoe to drop, because it always does.”
“Hmm, I wouldn’t say that’s a conspiracy theory. More like…Elissa’s Law.”
