‘So, Jen,’ Beth asked, as she busied herself reading the menu, ‘what’s good here? You’re the one with all the recent experience,’ she added with a grin.
‘We’re not supposed to mentionthat,’ Brittany informed her, chuckling at Beth’s raised eyebrows.
Jenny eyed her best friend. ‘Can we have a nice night out without any of the other stuff, please?’
Beth nodded. ‘Okay. Sorry. You’re right. You were a good sport about it all. You gave it a shot.’
‘Although,’ Brittany said slowly, ‘I think we need to lower the age parameters a bit … widen the gene pool, so to speak.’
‘No. Absolutely not.’
‘Oh, come on, Mum. We’ve exhausted all the potential ones in your age bracket. It’s time to cast that net out wider.’
‘I’m not dating someone younger than me. That’s just—’
‘It’s fine. Literally, nobody cares.’
‘Well,Icare.’
‘Just think about it,’ Brittany suggested calmly.
‘Maybe your mum’s right,’ Beth put in. ‘I mean, why would she want to date some hot younger fella when she could have all those mature men?’
Jenny’s eyes narrowed as the other two women swapped glances. ‘Your reverse psychology thing isn’t going to work this time,’ she snapped.
‘Seriously,’ Beth continued, unfazed, ‘it’s not your fault none of them were up to scratch.’
Jenny frowned. That made her sound as though she were being extremely judgemental and picky … Well, she supposed she had been, and yet, it was only that none of them haddoneanything for her. ‘I’m sure they’ll find women they’re better suited to eventually. They were all …nice.’Except for Craig, who was a two-timing bastard, she tacked on silently.
‘Nice doesn’t cut it in the romance department.’
‘That’s not what I meant,’ Jenny corrected. ‘It wasn’t because they werenice… they just didn’t …’
‘Ring ya bell?’ Beth supplied helpfully.
‘Well …’
‘There’s nothing wrong with that,’ Beth said. ‘I mean, there has to be sparks or what’s the point, right?’
Jenny glanced over to the bar and spotted Nick before she swiftly pulled her gaze away and cleared her throat. ‘Right.’
‘What?’ Beth asked abruptly.
‘What?’ Jenny replied, confused.
‘You’re blushing.’
‘No, I’m not. It’s just warm in here.’
‘No, it’s not,’ Brittany said, watching her mother and Beth closely.
‘Who’s got you all hot and bothered?’ Beth demanded curiously, suspiciously scanning the room like a seasoned detective looking for a likely suspect. ‘I don’t see anyone under seventy,’ she said, almost disappointedly, ‘only …’ She stopped, her laser gaze zeroing in on to Jenny, ‘the bartender.’
‘The bartender!’ Brittany gasped, and Jenny shot her daughter a frantic look before shushing her quickly.
‘Oh, wow.’ Beth chortled, delightedly. ‘Jen, you have exceeded my expectations. That’s some mighty fine-lookin’ male, right there.’
‘Would you keep your voice down?’ Jenny practically growled across the table. She could feel her face heating up further. ‘Ido notlike the bartender.’
