Iwas nervous. How the hell did I get talked into this? Actually, he didn't do that much talking. I talked myself into it. I'd broken my resolve to not date. I was blaming it on those emerald green eyes and that impossibly cocky smile. The shoulder span and taut ass might have played a part, too.
"You look so pretty. Now, who is this boy?" Mom asked as she popped her head into the bathroom.
I chuckled. "I'm not sixteen, Mom. He's just a guy who works at the construction site across the street from the diner. Is Jack already sleeping?"
"Out like a light." Mom pushed into the tiny bathroom and immediately reached up to wipe a smudge of lipstick from under my lip.
"Thank you for not licking your thumb first when you did that."
Mom waved her hand. "Please, I haven't had to do that for years, but don't think it won't still happen. Just give me the right circumstance." Her smile faded. "What do you know about this man? Are you taking your pepper spray?"
"I know his mom lives in Ireland, and he has four brothers, including a twin and he's extremely handsome." I turned toher, and this time it was me wiping a smudge off her face. It was yellow chalk from Jack's art set. "We're just having a drink. I won't be late. We've both got work in the morning." I stepped back, which wasn't easy because two people in the small bathroom didn't leave much room. "How do I look?" I'd pulled on a pair of jeans and a sweater. Ronan had only ever seen me in my diner uniform, so anything was an improvement.
"You've always been the prettiest girl in the world to me." She hugged me. "Now, if there's the slightest indication that something is amiss, you come straight home."
"Again, Mom, I'm not sixteen." We walked out of the bathroom. I poked my head into my room. Jack had a toddler-sized bed next to mine, and Mom slept in the second bedroom. He was fast asleep clutching his favorite toy, a stuffed brontosaurus.
Mom looked in past my shoulder. "Such an angel," she said.
"He is." I closed the door quietly. "I won't be late." I kissed Mom's cheek, grabbed my coat and picked up the keys.
Iwas shocked at how many butterflies were circling my stomach by the time I reached the bar. I had no idea what kind of car Ronan drove, so I couldn't tell if he'd arrived yet. What if he stood me up? That possibility tossed about in my mind as I walked into the bar and spotted him sitting at a table in the corner of the dark barroom.
He hopped to his feet. He was tall and built like an athlete. Everything about him said heartbreaker. Wasn't that just typical of me to jump back into dating with a heartbreaker? Maybe he was just what I needed to remind myself why I jumped out of dating in the first place. I'd surprised myself when, with hardly a second thought, I scribbled my number down on a piece of paperand handed it to a man, who was, technically, just as much a stranger as Evan Littleton.
I walked toward him. Something about Ronan made me feel that maybe hewasa natural born heartbreaker, but he also seemed genuine and likable and a bit sad, if I really thought about it. It felt like he was on the same trajectory as me, a life with so many ups and downs it was hard to stay on your feet.
Ronan circled the small table and pulled out a chair. The scent of soap and man and certain heartache wafted toward me. I breathed it in. "I like the smell of your soap." It was a stupid icebreaker, but I still tossed it out there.
"Thanks. I like your perfume. Way less bacon-y than usual." He sat down across from me.
"Oh god. I always hope that the bacon smell is just in my imagination. My mom is too polite to tell me the hard truth. Jack, on the other hand, often has an urge for bacon and eggs when I get home to make dinner."
"That might just be because bacon is awesome." He waved at the server, Jamie. I'd gone to school with her. I wasn't a frequent bar client, but the few times I'd come in, we'd caught up on old times. Jamie had been very popular, and she'd dated the school quarterback. In the end, he left her for a college cheerleader.
Jamie walked over and dropped napkins on the table. "Hey, Ray." She smiled broadly at Ronan. "You're a new face in here."
"Jamie, this is Ronan." I looked at Ronan. "Jamie and I went to high school together."
"Nice to meet you, Jamie." Ronan smiled up at her, and I was sure she'd melt right into a puddle. "What are you going to have?" Ronan asked me.
"White Chablis," I told Jamie.
"And I'll take a pint of whatever's on tap."
Jamie stayed overlong to gaze at her new customer. "I'll be right back with your drinks." Someone popped quarters into thejukebox, and Zach Bryan's lazy drawl floated out. The lighting was just dim enough to make for an easy-going ambience and still allow me to see the absolutely glorious man sitting across from me. One or two drinks and a nice conversation with the man would let me know whether that fabulous outer shell came with a nice interior. In my dating experience, I'd found that the really gorgeous ones tended to come with some major flaws.
Jamie returned with the drinks. Ronan and I each took a sip of our drinks. I smiled as I put my glass down.
"What's that smile about? By the way, that's a fucking amazing smile." Ronan raked his fingers through his hair, and it was a gesture that surprisingly sent a wave of heat through me.
"I was just smiling thinking about how nervous I'm feeling as if I'm sixteen and on my first date."
He sat forward, and something about the way he looked at me with his appreciative green gaze made me feel extra comfortable in my skin and at the same time alive with energy. "You didn't date until you were sixteen?" He raised a skeptical dark brow.
"My first proper date where the boy, Jake Stevens, star pitcher of the school baseball team, had to sit and answer my mom's million questions, including what did his parents do and what his own future plans were. I was so embarrassed I could hardly look at him over the plate of fries we'd ordered at the restaurant. But I suppose my first unofficial date was at fifteen when Tommy Brewer and I snuck out of the school dance for an awkward and very PG-rated make out session behind the gymnasium."
Ronan gazed at me for a second, then a crooked smile tilted his mouth. My mind went straight to contemplating a kiss from that mouth. I was sure it wouldn't disappoint. "I'm suddenly very jealous of Tommy Brewer, and I don't even know the dude."