I turned them so she could see as I flipped through them one by one.
“A hot air balloon ride,” I said, reading the first aloud so everyone could hear.
A few impressed sounds followed.
“Dinner for two at The Serpent and Apple,” I added. It was the new upscale restaurant downtown that everyone had been talking about since it opened.
Then I reached the last certificate.
“And a ninety-minute couple’s massage.”
My pulse kicked hard, heat creeping up my neck as the full picture clicked into place. This wasn’t just a fun night out. It was a romantic one.
Perfect for a long-term couple.
Slightly less perfect for four people who were very much not that.
“Well, those sound nice,” Amanda said, smiling up at me. “I haven’t been wined and dined in a long time.”
“Yeah…” I chuckled, a little stiffly. “Me neither.”
Which was definitely putting it mildly. For a guy who hadn’t even kissed a woman once since Alisha passed, this felt like a lot. The balloon ride and dinner, sure. I could wrap my head around that.
But a couple’s massage? With a woman I’d just met?
That was justslightlyout of my comfort zone.
I glanced toward Miles and Nora. “You guys get the same thing?”
“Sure did,” Miles said, showing us his certificates.
There was a brief pause, as we all seemed to be thinking about our particular group’s dynamics and the romantic nature of the date.
“I wonder if Lia had certain couples in mind when she set all this up,” Nora said, glancing down at the gift certificates again.
I nodded. “She probably wasn’t expecting to hand these to a group of singles.”
“Probably not,” Miles agreed with a laugh.
“So…” Nora looked around at the four of us. “Do we want to divide these up somehow? Or keep it more of a united team thing? The team who wins together goes on romantic dates together?”
“Like a double date?” I asked, latching onto that possibility.
I mean, Amanda was pretty and had been easy to talk to so far. But I was definitely still adjusting to the idea of being romantic with a new woman, so having Miles and Nora there as a buffer would help take some of the pressure off.
Well, notallof the pressure, since I doubtedgroupmassages were a thing.
As if reading my thoughts, Nora added, “And maybe for the massage part, us girls can do ours together and you guys can do yours together.”
“Should I be offended that you don’t want to strip down for a massage in the same room as me?” Miles scoffed, placing a hand to his chest.
“As tempting as that sounds…” she said, her cheeks flushing. “I’d hate for the rumor mill to start talking about how everyone’s favorite quarterback was spotted at a massage parlor with another unknown girl.”
“Fair point,” Miles said, his expression sobering. “I probably don’t need any more rumors floating around. I’m still getting over the ones from last summer.”
“Oh dang.” Amanda snapped her fingers. “And here I was just thinking it would be fun to suggest you and I go in together and leak it to the press, if for no other reason than to make my ex-husband jealous.”
“I’m guessing your divorce wasn’t exactly the most amicable?” I asked, curious.