“That’s a weird nickname.”
“Why? You light me up every which way when we’re together. Sparky’s the best way to describe it.”
“The only nickname I’ve ever had is Cat,” she says, licking her thick bottom lip and unraveling me with excruciating slowness. God, I need a first taste of her like I need air.
I ask, “And what’s your middle name?”
“Cynthia. ”
“Catalina Cynthia Dupont. It has a nice ring to it.” I’d say it every damn day like a prayer…if she were mine.
“How about yours?”
“Lincoln.”
“Ambrose Lincoln Dutch.” My body hums at her pronunciation. This damn woman was made for me. Question is, how do I convince her of it? “Sounds like a cowboy name.”
“A cowboy name? Is that even a thing?”
“Yeah, specific names are more evocative of the West. Like John Wayne, for example. You don’t hear that and think of businessmen and billionaires.”
“Honestly? I think of Genghis Khan.”
Catalina snorts. “Did you really have to go there?”
“Somebody had to.”
“You’re a funny guy, Ambrose,”
“Then, give me that ten-thousand-dollar date your Grandma so kindly bid on. I promise to make it a gift you’ll never forget.”
“That’s what worries me,” she says, looking at her hands.
“That you’ll like hanging out with me?”
“That I’llloveit. You know, a man is the last thing I need right now. Between work, caretaking for Gran, volunteering, and keeping up on my reading, I’ve got my hands full.”
“That’s because you’re thinking about men like babies you have to take care of. An added responsibility. But what if the right man is everything you need? To lend an extra hand with your Grandma and other familial obligations? To take some of the pressure off having to be a solely sufficient career woman? To be there for you day in and day out …”
She stares at me for a long moment. It’s not a scrutinizing gaze like she’s dissecting or judging me. It goes so much deeper. A look of knowing that makes me feel seen for the first time in years.
“Everything you just said sounds great. In a book or a movie. But real life? I know too much to think things work that way. Men and women fall in and out of love all the time. But apart from my grandparents, who I’ve decided were an anomaly, I have trouble believing in the fairytale of relationships.”
“Says the woman who immerses herself in romance reads.”
“Real life could never compare.”
I grumble, “Oh, I know it could.”
“And how do you know that?”
“Because if you were mine, Sparky, I’d spoil the hell out of you. Every. Damn. Day.”
Catalina jumps to her feet, pacing away from me towards the water.Have I said too much?
Glancing at her watch, her shoulders tense. “It’s already past ten. I better get back home to relieve Tilly and Tom.”
I rub my hand over my face, regretting the way I just shared myself. I thought she’d appreciate my vulnerability. Not slam the door hard in my face.
