Too soon? Interested? Fuck. We were going to address it. “You discussed me with your partner?”
“I may have mentioned I had a slight crush on the city’s new pathologist. I didn’t know if you… were interested in men at first, but I think that’s been cleared up.” He applied pressure to mythigh, reminding me that I’d initiated contact that time. “Rue encouraged me to go for it, but that was before I knew about your wife, and…”
“My wife. Right.” The word felt funny on my tongue, but I hated it more hearing it from Kobe’s mouth.
“I’ll back off if you aren’t interested or ready, but… Can you give me a sign? I’m getting mixed messages. I’m not good at this traditional way of going about getting a date.” He laughed nervously. “I mean… I normally stick to apps where people state their intentions quite boldly and there’s no mystery.”
A thousand thoughts swarmed my brain. I pressed my clammy hands to the table’s surface for stability. “I’ll be honest. I haven’t dated in a long time.”
“I assumed as much. I guess the question is, do you want to? We don’t have to dive into dating territory immediately. We barely know each other, but… If you were interested, I would like to get to know you, Dominique.”
I found Kobe’s eyes in the dark. Fathomless pits of flaming amber and honey. Hope and a healthy dose of wariness sat on the surface. Thirty-two, despite how his nervous energy made him seem younger.
“I can’t make promises. I’m… not myself all the time.”
He shifted and seemed to consider his words. “Can I ask something personal?”
I closed my eyes and braced for impact.
He took that as permission. “How long ago did she die? You implied it was not long after your daughter was born.”
I saw her again, her pale beauty trapped on the inside of my eyelids. The stillness of death had transformed her into someone I barely recognized. “She died on the day Cosette was born. Within hours.”
Silence. I feared opening my eyes and seeing the look on Kobe’s face. It took everything in me to keep my emotions behind a locked door.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered.
A warm hand curled around mine. I opened my eyes and stared at the connection. Kobe’s heat sent a shiver up my spine. He loosened my clenched fists and soothed the angry crescent-shaped grooves left behind by my fingernails. The entire time, his gaze remained fixed on me.
“I should probably go.” My voice was barely audible.
Kobe didn’t argue. He waved down a server and asked for the bill. “Together,” he said.
When I protested, he squeezed my hand. “My treat.”
“I’ll get it next time.”
A faint smile touched his lips. “Will there be a next time, Doc?”
I place my other hand on top of our joined ones, ignoring the tremble radiating through my entire body. “I hear jazz night is a good time. Plus, I haven’t tried the dinner menu. I’m told it’s spectacular.”
“Sounds like a date.”
I found the bravery to meet Kobe’s gaze. “I can’t make promises.”
“I know. I’m okay with that.”
Kobe paid the tab, and we headed out into the brisk winter night. Low cloud cover threatened snow. In the parking lot, Kobe stopped and faced me, thumbing over his shoulder. “I’m this way.”
“All right. Thanks for tonight. I haven’t gotten out in a long time. It was nice.”
“Is it okay if I text you?”
“I think so.”
Kobe gnawed his bottom lip as his smile grew wide enough to display his dimples. “Good night, Doc.”
“Good night, Detective.”
