He gestured to my body and sighed mournfully.
I shifted uncomfortably. “Well, aren’t there a lot of gay couples?” I said. “Those guys who own the doughnut shop, and uh, Hunter and Clark Rhodes? Oh, and the florist just started dating Damon, right?”
His eyes narrowed. “You knowDamon?”
“Well, I wouldn’t say Iknowhim, but they had this wild date at the pub where?—”
“This isn’t a prank, is it?” he cut in. “Because it’s really not funny.”
I raised my hands at his sharp tone. “No pranks. Not unless someone is playing one on me.”
Jamie deflated. “Okay, well, the joke is on both of us, then.”
“I guess so,” I said ruefully. “We did say meeting this way would be romantic or awkward.”
“Well, I was thinking awkward, as in your dog is better-looking than you, but that’s so not the case.” Jamie gave me a considering look. “You’re exactly my type. I was thinking Iola had really nailed this matchmaking thing.”
His gaze slipped from my face to my shoulders, seeming to caress the muscles of my upper arms before slipping down my body to my thighs. I was used to this kind of perusal fromwomen, but seeing a man blatantly appreciate my six-three frame was disconcerting.
I cleared my throat. “Uh, well, our messaging went so well last night that I was also thinking Iola had worked some magic. Guess we were both wrong.”
“Because my dogsarebetter-looking than me, huh?”
“No. You’re…” I paused. “Cute. You know. For a guy.”
Jamie wasn’tbadlooking at all. His dark curls slipped over eyes framed by incredibly long eyelashes, and his features were on the delicate side, with a little nose that scrunched up when he squinted into the sun.
His lips quirked as he gazed up at me. He was so short he barely came to my shoulder.
“I don’t suppose you could just pretend I was a woman?” he joked.
At least, I hoped he was joking.
“That might work until the clothes came off,” I said.
“Well, that means I’d get a whole date out of you first. It’s going to be so embarrassing to tell my friends that my date was a bust.” He groaned. “Silas will never let me hear the end of it.”
Tramp was bouncing around Bruno, bowing low and giving little yips to entice to him play. Lady was delicately sniffing his butt.
None of them looked as if they were ready to go.
“Tell you what,” I said. “The dogs seem to like each other, and I’ve got a cooler packed with snacks. And, uh…this isalreadythe most interesting date I’ve been on in months. Why don’t we just let the dogs play, and you can tell your friends whatever you want about this date.”
He brightened. “Really?”
“Just don’t make me sound too easy,” I joked.
He laughed. “You don’t care if people think you’re queer?”
I shrugged. “I’m not a ’phobe.”
“Well, that’s something. This could have gone reallybadly.” He gave me a second glance. “So this date… How does it end?”
“With a goodbye,” I said. “No kissing.”
He nodded. “Of course not. I only put my mouth on men who want me to.”
That drew up an inappropriate image of Jamie going to his knees in front of me, offering to put his mouth anywhere I wanted.
