“Why not?” he asked. “It works for me. When Cosette was an infant, she always woke up for a bottle at four, like clockwork. I could set a timer to her cries. She eventually grew out of it, but I didn’t. I figure spending an hour working out in the morning is a good use of time. Plus, my neighbor works midnights. She gets home at four and usually doesn’t go to bed until midday. She likes the extra money, and I like the time to myself. So, we made a deal, and there you have it.”
“Fair enough.”
“Not a gym guy?”
“Not a morning person. I could take or leave the gym. I prefer to sleep in, and work keeps me too busy to establish proper routines. I run on occasion but not with any regularity.”
“Did you sacrifice your sleep for me, Kobe Haven?”
“I did, but I don’t mind on occasion when it means spending time with you.” I held up a finger. “So long as we don’t make a habit of meeting at this ungodly hour, we should be okay. Oncein a while, fine, but I much prefer a nightcap to setting an alarm. Not gonna lie, I worried I’d be too groggy to make sentences.”
“You seem to be managing.”
“Cold showers work wonders.”
“Ah, I see.”
Dominique had found the courage to meet my gaze. His shoulders came down, and his unique, one-sided smile stuck around. Perhaps there was hope yet.
Marcella delivered our coffee and breakfast. She and Dominique chatted amicably for a while in French. When she left, I sipped my drink before carefully setting down the steaming mug. “It’s good to see you, Dominique. I’m glad you invited me.”
“It’s good to see you, too.”
“Are you sure? You seem wretchedly uncomfortable.”
Dominique hugged his mug, staring into its depths. A stitch appeared between his brows. “Truthfully? Iamuncomfortable. I guess… I have mixed feelings about thisdate.” The emphasis he put on the word spoke volumes. “I want to be here, Kobe. Please believe that. It’s not…” He sighed. “Letting go of the past is… difficult. I know it’s time. I just haven’t figured out how yet.”
“I’m not asking you to let go of anything. I know you don’t want to talk about her, but if you change your mind, I’m a good listener. I won’t judge, and it won’t hurt my feelings to hear about your wife.”
He scraped his teeth over his bottom lip and frowned at the table. “Thank you, but… I think if this date is to succeed, it would be best if Angelique was left out of the conversation.”
“For now.”
Dominique peered up warily. “What does that mean?”
“It means for now. She’s part of you. I can tell you loved her very much. Still do. I want to get to know you. All of you. There are parts of my past I’d rather not discuss on a first date, either.Parts that molded and shaped me into who I am today. Believe me, I’m far from perfect.”
“Second date.”
I arched a brow.
“You said first. It’s our second date.”
I tore a piece from my bagel, smirking. “Right. Second date.” I ate the morsel and washed it down with a sip of coffee. “How about we focus on lighter stuff. Heck, we might not have anything in common. In which case, discussing our tragic pasts would be a waste of time and emotional energy. So, tell me about Dominique Chevalier. What do I need to know?”
He opened his mouth, then closed it. Seeming perplexed, he shook his head. “I’m not sure what you’re asking.”
“Give me the Dominique Chevalier dating app profile. The full rundown. It’s mostly how I get to know guys. I’m embarrassed to admit I’m a modern age cliché.”
I earned another half-smile as he inspected his croissant. “All right. Let’s see. I’m thirty-eight, raising a strong-willed toddler on my own. I wake at an ungodly hour to go to the gym three or four days a week—for sanity more than anything. I cycle in the summer, enjoy single malt scotch in the evenings with nonfiction books I shamelessly collect in abundance, and I have a fascination with anatomy. I dissect human cadavers in my spare time.”
I laughed. I couldn’t help it. “You also have a dry sense of humor that I quite enjoy, Doc.”
“Was it a winning profile?”
“The best. I’d click that.”
Although a depth of pain I might never understand still haunted his husky-blue eyes, a spark of life surfaced with the lighter conversation. “I like your laugh,” he said.
