The restaurant was crowded for a Thursday night in Princeton. It was fall and the majority of the university students returned a month ago. Most of the restaurant’s patrons were around the bar cheering on some sports team’s efforts to statistically capture a spot in the history books. Teddy had long since stopped hearing the triumphs and groans of their participation in the televised game. She’d relegated the sound to white noise. Her attention was on the restaurant’s entrance. From her solitary perch on the second-floor dining area, where private parties were usually held, maybe she’d be able to spot her date when and if he arrived. Maybe he hated blind dates, too. And Teddy would feel no disappointment at being stood up. If she didn’t have to gently explain to her mother yet again why she didn’t want to be set up, she wouldn’t be here, either.
Frowning, she watched a short guy with round-rimmed glasses enter. Her fingers went to the phone in her pocket. Diana, her friend and business partner, was only a call away. The two had worked out a signal if Teddy wanted or needed to be rescued.
Again, she glanced at the man below, taking in his height or lack of it. One of Teddy’s requirements in a man was height. At five feet nine inches, she didn’t want to stand with a man whose head only reached her breasts. Thankfully, Mr. Glasses lifted his hand, acknowledging his party, and joined a group at the end of the bar. She breathed a sigh of relief that he wasn’t her blind date.
Three other singles and two couples came in before the seven o’clock appointed hour. Then he walked in right as the clock struck the hour. Teddy did a double take when she saw him. Shaking her head, she immediately rejected him as someone who’d never need a blind date. He couldn’t be the one. Her mother didn’t have taste that good. Except for her father, who was still a handsome man in his fifties, the men her mother usually chose looked like the round-rimmed-glasses guy.
For a moment Teddy wished her date was the man at the door. Leaning over the banister, she watched the stranger move toward the receptionist. The two had a short conversation and she checked her seating chart. Then she shook her head. As she gathered a couple of menus and led him toward a table, the room was momentarily quiet, allowing Teddy to overhear her own name.
“I’ll bring Ms. Granville over as soon as she arrives, sir,” the woman said.
Teddy gasped. Her stomach lurched and her heart jumped into her throat. This couldn’t be Adam Sullivan. He was gorgeous. Where did her mother find him? He was tall, at least six foot two. His shoulders were broad enough to rest any available head and for a moment she thought of hers resting there. Why would this guy need to be set up on a date? It took her a moment to gather herself. This was still a blind date and, as far as she knew, the two of them had nothing in common. Meeting him could be a disaster despite his looks. In fact, she expected it was. A man this good-looking could stand on his own. Yes, she decided, there had to be something wrong with him.
Rising, Teddy tucked her handbag under her arm and left her solitary seat in the upper balcony. She took the back stairs that led to the main floor. Entering through the bar, she was assaulted by the noise. The crowd was wall-to-wall and a whoop of pleasure went up as she wove her way toward the crowd. She smiled here and there, gently warding off interested men. At the entrance to the restaurant section, she peered through the vertical columns separating the dining area from the den of sports enthusiasts.
Adam Sullivan had no smile. He looked comfortably about, taking in the other diners as if he’d need to recall their exact positions at some later date. He wore an open-neck shirt and dark jacket. Masculinity exuded from him. Even sitting alone, he appeared in command. He was clean-shaven with dark tanned skin, hair cut close and neat, no mustache. Other than the I’m-in-command aura he wore, there was something else about him. Something that said “Sex!”
That’s what it was. Sex appeal. Tons of it. More than any one person should be allotted. From across the room, he had her breathing hard and all she’d done was look at him. She wondered again what was wrong with him that he’d even consider meeting a stranger for dinner. He didn’t look as if he needed help in finding companionship. From the stares of the other women in the room, they’d gladly leave their own parties to join his.
The receptionist was away. Teddy passed the receptionist’s station and walked with measured steps toward his table. He looked up as she approached. His face remained serious, no smile, no outward sign of approval. She was slightly disappointed and a little bit insulted.
“Theresa Granville?” he asked as he stood.
She nodded, looking him straight in the eye. He passed the height test. Teddy wore five-inch spiked heels and if she took them off, she’d only reach his chin.
“Adam Sullivan,” he identified himself.
Teddy extended her hand. He took it in his larger one. It was warm and strong. She’d never been one to use clichés to describe people, but there was no other way to think of him.
Adam Sullivan was sexy as hell.
* * *
Conversations clashed with plates and silverware, bringing the sound in the room to a wealth of indistinct noise. Occasionally there was a burst of laughter from the bar area that drew everyone’s attention for a few seconds.
Adam pulled out a chair next to his and Teddy took a seat. She waited for him to say something, but the moment stretched into awkwardness. She thumbed the edge of the menu but did not pick it up.
“Why did you agree to this?” she finally asked.
“To what?” His eyebrows rose as if he hadn’t understood her question.
“Going on a blind date.”
“Are you blind?”
She rolled her eyes. So that was his problem. His humor sucked. What else was wrong with him?
Then she saw a slight smile lift the corners of his mouth. Not a full smile, but it made her wonder what one would look like.
“Sorry, I had to say that. I hoped it would break the ice.”
“So blind dates aren’t your thing, either?” Teddy said.
“I’d rather be boiled in oil.”
“Well,” Teddy said, “I guess that sums it up.” She felt slightly put out, even though she felt the same. She’d never been turned down for a date and frankly she didn’t really like this guy. And even though she didn’t want a blind date, she wanted to be the one to make the decision to end the night. “I suppose we should just shake hands and return to our lives.”
She waited again for him to do something, but he seemed to be waiting for her. She stood up and extended her hand. He stood and took it.
“It was nice meeting you,” he said.
His voice was perfunctory. There was nothing nice about the meeting, but Teddy was relieved she wasn’t going to have to sit through an awkward getting-to-know-you discussion.
“Sorry it didn’t work out.” She wasn’t really sorry, but the words seemed appropriate. And she wouldn’t have to call Diana for rescue. As she picked up her purse, her stomach growled.
“It wouldn’t have worked anyway,” he said. “You’re not my usual type.”
“What type is that?” For some reason Teddy’s back went up. She’d never been dismissed before she even got a chance to prove herself.
“You’re too tall, too intelligent.”
Teddy