“Well, I’ll take some of those stuffed mushrooms,” Tess joked.
Angela shot her “the look”—the one that said something needed to be stuffed, and it wasn’t the mushrooms.
Graham looked like a man who had swallowed a lemon. Okay, maybe not that uncomfortable or sour, but Tess could tell he didn’t want to go with Angela and couldn’t say so without being rude.
Aw...he was a sweet guy. Tess should help him.
“Actually Graham and I have been catching up,” Tess said.
A few seconds tripped by and finally her handsome stranger nodded. “Yeah, it’s crazy and such a coincidence, but Tess was my blind date to Sadie Hawkins back in ’97.”
Tess rolled her eyes. She had been eleven years old in ’97, but she wouldn’t correct him. If Graham said they went to Sadie Hawkins together, they went to Sadie’s together. “Small world, huh? All because he asked Ron to turn to the Rangers’ game.”
Graham gave Angela a small regretful shrug and then gave his attention to Tess. “You know, stuffed mushrooms would be good before we go to dinner.”
Dinner?
Well, all righty then.
“Perfect,” Tess said, with a sunny smile.
Angela stood there for a moment, looking unconvinced. Graham turned back to her. “Thanks for the offer, Angela, but I don’t want to crash your girls’ night out. Go celebrate, and I’ll send a round of drinks for you and your friends.”
Angela gave a shrug and fake smile. “That’s sweet of you.”
“The least I can do after that nice invite.”
“Send the waitress. She’s been on break for fifteen minutes and we’re empty,” she said to Ron before sashaying to her friends.
“You’re the nice guy my mom’s been begging me to find,” Tess cracked, admiring the way Graham’s dark hair brushed the collar of his white dress shirt. The tugging at his throat had loosened the striped power tie and he’d unbuttoned the top button showing gorgeous tanned skin at his throat. His five o’clock shadow gave him a rakish air. “But you don’t have to feel obliged to take me to dinner.”
“Of course I don’t. But come to think of it, you do remind me of Ainsley Braddock, my Sadie’s date.”
Huh. What did that mean? He wasn’t taking her to dinner?
Disappointment stung her. Which was crazy. She didn’t know this man from Adam. Which she always thought a stupid saying because she didn’t know Adam. Okay, she had a cousin named Adam, but—
“I would love to take you to dinner. That is, if you’re free.”
Tess nodded, wondering if it was a mistake to look so eager. Her stomach growled and she decided dinner was dinner. And if it were with a handsome stranger, she’d have news to share with Gigi when she called her later. There was something appealing about being spontaneous, something exciting about having dinner with Graham of the power tie and wing tips. “A friend was supposed to meet me after work but couldn’t get off. I haven’t eaten yet so...that sounds fun.”
Graham lifted his glass and clinked it against the one she held in her hand. “Then it’s a date.”
They both drank and Ron shook his head. “How do you do it? Any time I go to a bar, I go home with a tab and that’s it.”
Tess laughed. “Joanne would be pissed if you came home with anything other than a bar tab.”
“Pregnant women are such downers. She used to be fun,” Ron grumbled.
A perplexed expression gathered on Graham’s face.
Tess helped him out. “Ron isn’t gay. He’s just an indiscriminate flirt. Always chasing that tip.”
Ron lifted a shoulder. “I never said I was gay.”
“You implied it,” Graham said.
“No, you made an assumption based on my comment regarding men in baseball pants.” Ron’s eyes danced with laughter. He loved flipping stereotypes.
“Ron has a twisted sense of humor,” Tess said, finishing off her gimlet. The crisp taste and slight buzz made her feel invincible. Or maybe that was due to the fact she’d picked up a hot guy in a bar. Okay, only for dinner, but even so, she felt better about her crap day with Granny B who had ended it by declaring Tess would never see a single piece of jewelry in her will. “Do you want to order stuffed mushrooms? If so, we better put in an order. Daryl’s slow.”
“Hey, good food requires patience,” Ron said.
Graham centered his attention on her. “Let’s roll. I’m hungry for more than an appetizer.”
“Meow,” Ron purred, before moseying toward a customer at the other end of the bar.
Tess’s cheeks blistered even though she knew it was a joke.
Graham’s gaze slid over her, lingering particularly on her mouth. Tess licked her lips before she could catch herself—and he definitely noted the movement. “I’m not familiar with the Marigny area so I don’t know any restaurants close by.”
“I’m not dressed overly nice, so we better stick to casual.” Tess glanced outside. “Looks like the rain is gone and the stars are out. Why don’t we walk toward the Quarter? It’s not far and you know there’s something there to tickle the fancy.”
Tess hopped off the stool, tossing a ten and five on the bar to cover her drink and give Ron a decent tip. Joanne had only a month to go until she delivered their first child, and money was tight for the couple.
“I’ll defer to the local.” Graham withdrew a credit card and drummed his fingers on the bar while Ron slid the card through the machine. Then he stood, lifting an attaché case. “Let me lock this in my rental and we’ll head out.”
“Have fun, you two,” Ron called holding up his bar towel and giving it a wave.
And so Tess walked out of Two-Legged Pete’s with a good-looking man and the expectation for good food, good wine...and maybe something more.
Or maybe she wanted it to be more than what it was.
Either way, it was better than watching The Bachelor.
CHAPTER TWO
GRAHAM NAQUIN POPPED the trunk of the Chevy Malibu and placed his briefcase inside, slamming the lid with finality.
So...he’d picked up a random chick in a bar.
Outside his current comfort zone in a huge way. In fact, it was something he’d vowed not to do for a while. His focus was on getting his crap together.
In the past couple of months, he’d abandoned the impulsive, carefree Graham, electing to play everything safe. Hadn’t worked all that well for him so far, but he liked thinking he was a man who considered every decision thoroughly before moving forward. But tonight he hadn’t even tried to apply the brakes. Nope. He’d tossed out that white lie about Sadie Hawkins and backed it up with re-extending the offer for dinner.
He almost felt like himself again...like lady luck winked at him and dealt him a winning hand. Like things were going his way finally.
Smiling at Tess, trying like hell to convince himself an impulsive dinner date was a good idea, he waved an arm in the direction of the French Quarter. “Lead on.”
In the damp air, Tess’s beach-streaked hair had curled around cheeks scattered with freckles. Her eyes were the color of wet moss, and not much about her implied overt sexiness.