Eric winced. She was too young and sweet for the likes of him. “I just talked to my daughter. She said that she was wearing a pink gown and a tiara to a Valentine-themed party. She’s supposed to send me a picture.”
“How fun. I’ll bet she’s going to have a great time. The gallery opening is Valentine art.”
“I’m not going to go, Dana.”
“Come on. Don’t bail on me. Please. I really want to have a nice evening with you.”
“I’m just not up for it.”
A smile sounded in her voice. “How about if I send you a picture of what I’m going to wear?”
In spite of himself, he laughed. “I’d rather be surprised.”
“Does that mean you’re going to go?”
Did it? He glanced at the photos on the fireplace mantel, particularly the one from his wedding. Corrine had been an incredibly beautiful bride with her traditional white dress and misty veil. They’d gotten married at the beach. She’d always loved the sand and the surf. He did, too.
“You’re confusing me,” he said.
“Confusing you into having some fun?”
Just confusing him in general. “What gallery is it?”
“It’s a new one near the beach.”
He glanced at the portrait again. “Which beach?”
“Santa Monica.”
Eric’s stomach clenched. The same one where he’d said his vows. Was this a cosmic joke? “Dana—”
“Please.” She persisted again. “Just give me a chance. One date. One kiss afterward.”
A kiss? Now that was all he was going to be thinking about. He’d already been thinking about it at the diner, too. Could she tell? Did she know? Had he been that obvious? “You don’t play fair.”
“A little romance never hurt anyone.”
Romance had hurt him plenty. In the picture, he was standing barefoot on the shore in his tux, with his pant legs rolled up past his ankles, holding his new bride in his arms. He remembered scooping her up and making her squeal.
Dana said, “I really want to kiss you.”
He wanted to kiss her, too. He wanted to put his mouth against hers and forget how lonely he was. “This is dangerous.”
“It’s a date, Eric.”
“And a kiss,” he reminded her.
“Just one at the door,” she reminded him. She wasn’t offering a night of unbridled passion.
Nor was he expecting anything like that. But maybe it was time for him to get back into the casual dating pool. Besides, Dana was about as sweet as they came. He couldn’t ask for a nicer person to spend a few hours with. “Okay.” He held his breath. One date. One good-night kiss. Plus Valentine art in Santa Monica. He prayed he could handle it. “I’ll go out with you.”
Her voice beamed. “You won’t regret it. We’re going to have a wonderful time. I’m so excited. Here, let me give you my address.”
“I have to get a pen and paper.” He went into the kitchen, away from the photo.
“Ready?”
“Sure. Go ahead.” She rattled off her address and he wrote it down.
“It’s the house in the back,” she said. “You have to go through a side gate to get to it. But you’ll see it when you get there.”
“What time should I pick you up?”
“How about seven-thirty? The reception is from eight to ten.”
“Okay.” He was already nervous.
“My landlord will probably peer out her window to get a look at you.”
“Is she a nosy old lady?”
“No.” Dana laughed her lilting laugh. “She’s young and beautiful, and I told her all about how yummy you are.”
“Gee, thanks.” More nerves. More of everything. “Nothing like putting a guy on the spot.”
“You’ll do fine. By the way, did you mention me to your daughter when you spoke to her earlier?”
“I told her that someone invited me to a gallery opening, but I didn’t let on that it was a woman.”
“Much less a twenty-six-year-old? Would you have told her about me if I was your age?”
“Probably not. I’m not comfortable talking about my personal life to my child, even if she sometimes pesters me about it.”
“Pesters you how?”
“She wants me to start dating.”
“What a bright kid. What’s her name?”
“Kaley.”
“Really? Did you know that Kaley means ‘party animal’ in the Urban Dictionary? Kaley is the name to have these days. It depicts the coolest girl ever.”
“Then I guess we did her proud. Because she is the coolest girl ever.”
“You’re cool, too.”
He shook his head. “Are you kidding? I feel like I’m in high school all over again.”
“Because of me?”
“Yes. Because of you.”
“So I make you feel young? That’s good, isn’t it?”
“I was a dork in high school.”
She laughed. “Somehow I don’t see you as ever being a dork.”
“Believe me, I was.”
“I’m surprised you can remember back that far.”
He cracked a smile. “Smarty.”
“I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Yeah, you, too.”
“I’m going to wow you with my outfit.”
He would probably be predictable, in jeans and a sports coat. “Bye, Dana.”
“Bye, handsome.”
They hung up, and he marveled at how easily she flirted. He’d never met anyone like her.
He checked his emails on his phone to see if his cool kid had sent the picture. She had, and the image was funny and cute, with his daughter making a duck face. Her sparkly pink gown was atrocious. The tiara was tacky, too. But that was the point, he supposed.
He thought about Dana, wondering just how she planned to wow him. Tomorrow night was going to be a long wait.
Especially with that kiss looming in his mind.
Chapter Two
Eric drove to Dana’s place and parked at the curb. She lived in a cozy, tree-lined neighborhood. The bungalow house in front boasted 1930s appeal with a sloping roof, a stucco exterior and a stone walkway. He assumed that was where her landlord lived. He didn’t see anyone peering out from behind the lacy curtains, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t being watched.
He picked up her gift from the passenger’s seat and got out of the car. He’d stopped by the florist and gotten Dana an orchid because of her obvious love of flowers. But suddenly he’d realized he’d made a mistake. Not necessarily for Dana, but for himself. Corrine’s wedding bouquet had been made up of the same