Waiting for Fate (Dual Court Kiss Book 3)

by Samantha Britt

  The past years were not just hard on Sara.

  “Okay.”

  Uncle Frank’s head turned to her, his eyes full of surprise. “Really?”

  Sara nodded. “Do you already have someone in mind?”

  “Sort of.” Her uncle rushed to his briefcase and pulled out papers. He handed the stack to Sara. “I went to one of those hiring agencies and told them what we needed. An extremely nice woman was kind enough to send over the resumes of qualified candidates.”

  Sara smirked inwardly, loving her uncle for thinking the woman was nice for simply doing her job.

  She glanced at the first few pages. “Have you had a chance to look through them?”

  “No, I was thinking you could handle the hiring process. If you don’t mind, of course.”

  “I don’t mind.” Honestly, Sara felt relieved her uncle did not insist on being involved with hiring the new apartment manager. He was too laid back when it came to dealing with employees. She remembered a particularly bad situation involving her uncle’s receptionist when his nieces were in high school. The twenty year old was notorious for calling in sick every single Friday she worked there, and her uncle didn’t bat an eye at the inconvenience.

  “I’ll head down to the office to review some of these resumes. If I find any good ones, I’ll go ahead and call them to schedule an interview.”

  “That sounds wonderful, Sara-bug.” His use of her childhood nickname was music to Sara’s ears. It was usually reserved for happy moments.

  After grabbing a water bottle from the fridge, Sara made her way to the complex’s office. The one story building was located on the other side of the parking lot. The hot asphalt produced a light sheen across Sara’s forehead before she was safely in air-conditioning again.

  Preferring to work in natural light, Sara’s first task was to raise the wooden blinds covering the windows. Catching sight of the swimming pool, Sara found herself lost in a daydream.

  Her mind replayed the moments as she worked side by side with Ronan. The two raced against the weather to make the pool available for tenant use, all the while speaking more than they ever had before. She felt like he was really interested in getting to know her…

  Stop it, Sara scolded herself. She had too much going on to be obsessing over someone who was hot and cold on a regular basis. She willed the sudden heat to leave her cheeks.

  Sara sat down in the plush leather chair and logged into the desktop computer. She finished replying to important emails before standing up to stretch. Remembering she had yet to retrieve today’s mail, Sara stepped into the hot Texas heat to check the rectangular box.

  The bell over the door jingled with her re-entrance. Sara shuffled through the stack of mail, sorting the more important items from the rest. She reached the second to last item and paused. She re-read the sender information in the upper-left hand corner of the envelope.

  “Ronan”

  That was it. No last name. No return address.

  “What the–?” Sara muttered as she opened the envelope. It contained a card. She flipped it open and began reading the stylish handwriting.

  Sara,

  I hope this letter finds you well.

  I am writing to inquire if you would be opposed to having dinner with me this Friday evening? I made reservations at Gloria’s for 7 in the evening.

  Yours Truly,

  Ronan

  Sara lowered the card and looked towards the ceiling with her hands on her hips. She did not know what to make of the letter… the date request, she corrected.

  Who asks someone on a date through a letter in this day and age?

  Better yet, who asks someone to dinner after not speaking to them for 3 months?

  Sara remembered Ronan’s phony offer of dinner at the wedding, but that was intended to keep Kate from forcing her to participate in the bouquet toss. Or so Sara thought…

  Absentmindedly, Sara turned over the envelope and noticed the blank right corner.

  Did he hand deliver the invitation? Why wouldn’t he just ask me to dinner in person? Sara’s confusion continued to grow.

  Instead of allowing herself to create excuses for Ronan, Sara forced herself to consider this was another case of Ronan’s hot and cold game. She allowed her hopes to fall one too many times when it came to the handsome man. Sara didn’t want to be disappointed again.

  She put the invitation back into the stack of mail, out of sight.

  Sara turned to the pile of resumes for distraction. Once again, she made herself comfortable in the black office chair. The wheels squeaked when she rolled away from the desk to prop up her feet.

  In the distance, she could hear children laughing as they splashed into the pool. She forced herself to focus on the black font in front of her.

  Mitchell Hardy

  Sara proceeded to scan Mr. Hardy’s information.

  She flipped to the next resume, unimpressed.

  Ten minutes passed before Sara realized she was still on the second resume, progressing through the stack at a snail’s pace. She kept re-reading Janet Miller’s work experience, unable to truly process what she read. No matter how hard she tried, she could not focus.

  Sara leaned back and closed her eyes, urging herself to get a grip. She grew angry, not only at her lack of focus, but at the cause of it.

  Who did Ronan think he was, anyway? To come out of the blue and ask me on a date? After three months of no contact, and the four years of no contact before that!

  Ronan had to know his behavior was inconsiderate to say the least. Sara felt like a silly teenager, pining over the cute quarterback to notice her.

  Sara remembered how she pitied those who behaved that way in school. She could see how crestfallen the unpopular girls would be when their crush didn’t ask them to homecoming, even if it was obvious the crush barely acknowledged their existence.

  But this isn’t the same thing, Sara told herself.

  Ronan knew Sara existed; he even took the time to flirt with her. Ronan would go out of his way to show his attraction to Sara. At least, that’s what Kate told her repeatedly.

  In fact, Sara attributed much of the belief Ronan was interested in her to her younger sister. Kate went on and on following the group’s spontaneous meal at the Blue Elephant four summers ago. The younger woman would not stop insisting Sara needed to make her interest in Ronan known.

  “Sara, he is soooo into you,” Kate practically swooned as she recalled how intently Ronan stared at her older sister. She watched Sara in the bathroom mirror and couldn’t believe her look of indifference. “Ask Gwen to hook you up!” Kate exclaimed, eager for her sister to finally have some action in her life.

  “No way,” Sara countered, glaring at Kate’s reflection. She was busy trying to fix her hair for the day, and Kate’s refusal to drop the subject was nothing short of annoying.

  “No way he is into you? Or no way you will ask Gwen for his number?”

  “Both.”

  “UGH!” Kate stomped her foot, just as she had at the age of three. “Why not? He’s so dreamy!”

  “Exactly,” Sara emphasized the word, securing her last bobby pin. She turned to face her sister. “He is dreamy. Too dreamy for someone like me.”

  Kate’s eyes narrowed in disapproval. “You’re crazy, Sara. You’re gorgeous. Sure, you try to down play it, but people notice. What I don’t understand is why you would want to down play it with a guy like Ronan! He’s just so dre–”

  “Dreamy,” Sara interrupted, brushing past to leave the cramped space. “I know.”

  The phone rang, bringing Sara out of the memory. She took the call and was blissfully distracted for the few minutes it took to work out the tenant’s water bill payment.

  All too soon, Sara’s mind was free to continue thinking about Ronan and his unorthodox invitation.

  Suddenly, a thought hit her. Just as Sara was convincing herself she would not join him for dinner, she realized Ronan gave her no way to inform him of her a
ttendance or absence. She reached into the pile of mail and dug out the invitation. Frantically, her eyes searched all over the card and envelope, looking for a number or any way of reaching him. There was nothing.

  Unless she wanted to completely stand him up, Sara was going to have to go to Gloria’s tomorrow. She would have to see him. There was no way she couldn’t. Her inability to be rude prevented it. She had to go on the date.

  With the decision made, Sara was finally able to push thoughts of Ronan away. She diligently returned to reviewing candidates for the manager position, her heart feeling strangely lighter as she completed the work.

  Chapter 3

  Sara pulled into Gloria’s parking lot at 6:55 pm. She spared a brief thought on her excellent timing before succumbing to her nervousness. She lowered the visor and slid the cover to view herself in the mirror. Her makeup was light, but it was there. She only wore the tedious products for special occasions, and dates were special occasions.

  All dates, she told herself, there is nothing particularly special about this one…

  Even Sara couldn’t convince herself that was true.

  After a quick check to ensure her eye makeup didn’t make her look like a zombie and her teeth were clear of any foreign objects, Sara decided it was time to get out of the car. Taking a deep breath, she grabbed her clutch and stepped onto the gravel. She thanked her foresight to wear flats, knowing that unless the ground was going to be as smooth as marble, heels would be disastrous for the clumsy young woman.

  Sara straightened the cardigan and ran her hands down the sides of the summer dress, dispelling any lingering static from the fabric of her car seat.

  Growing up, Sara was never one for dresses. She preferred the freedom of movement in shorts and pants over the restrictions accompanying a skirt or dress.

  However, now that she was older, Sara’s wardrobe consisted of a decent number of summer dresses. Sara couldn’t deny the increase in male attention during times she donned the feminine ensemble, and she found she appreciated dressing up from time to time.

  Initially, Sara’s family and friends could not believe their eyes when she showed up in one of the flowing items. Thankfully, after a few interactions, seeing Sara in a dress was no longer a noteworthy occasion.

  A gentleman held open the antique door when she approached the restaurant’s main entrance. Sara gave him a polite smile and quietly expressed her thanks before moving inside.

  The lighting was dim, leaving Sara momentarily blind as she stood in the entryway. Sounds of flatware hitting porcelain dishes filled the restaurant. In the distance, Sara strained to make out the song playing over the room’s speakers. She believed it was a classic jazz record, maybe Sinatra.

  “Sara?” The name was accompanied by a light touch on her shoulder. Sara turned and saw Ronan. He must have been sitting in the small alcove to the left of the entrance.

  “Ronan.” Her eyes passed quickly over him, but it was long enough to know he looked amazing. He wore black slacks with a light green dress shirt. The sleeves rolled up below his elbows and the top button was undone, exposing a small portion of his collar bone.

  Sara made a point to focus her attention on Ronan’s face, but he wasn’t concerned with doing the same. Ronan’s gaze roamed over her, seeming to take in every detail.

  Despite the intensity of the examination, Sara realized she did not blush from embarrassment.

  Instead, Sara felt a surge of happiness as she realized Ronan was pleased with what he saw.

  “You look beautiful,” Ronan complimented, finally meeting her gaze. His smile illuminated the dim room. “I’m glad you decided to join me.”

  “Well, I really didn’t have a way to contact you if I decided not to come.” The words didn’t have the same bite as they did in her head.

  “You didn’t wish to come?” His glow flickered.

  “No,” Sara quickly assured him, holding out her hand in a placating gesture. “I did. I was just teasing. Sorry. It wasn’t funny.”

  “No need to apologize.” Ronan’s grin returned with full brightness. “Shall we?”

  Sara allowed herself to be led to a two person table located near the back of the restaurant. The table stood against a half wall, concealing it from more than half of the establishment. A single rose accented with baby’s-breath decorated the center of the intimate table. Sara noted no other table in the room had the centerpiece.

  Ronan pulled out one of the fragile looking chairs. Sara almost missed the gentlemanly gesture and quickly pivoted her feet to approach the side of the table he stood on. Once again, she patted herself on the back for her choice in footwear.

  After ensuring she was settled, Ronan moved to sit across from her. The chair looked too small for his large frame, but Ronan looked completely at ease. Both he and Kalan seemed to have a natural ease to their movements despite being two of the largest men Sara had seen in her twenty-six years. That was no small feat considering she grew up in Texas, home to some of the largest collegiate and NFL players.

  “Have you been here before?” He asked, continuing his friendly manner.

  “Once,” Sara replied.

  “With a boyfriend?”

  Sara couldn’t help it; she chuckled. “Um… no. For a rehearsal dinner.”

  It amused Sara to think of any one of her ex-boyfriends taking her to such a fancy restaurant. Not only were most of her exes too broke to afford a meal at such a nice place, they were also too self-centered to ever consider treating Sara to such a luxury. As Kate would say, Sara had a history of picking losers.

  “Good.”

  “Good?” Sara didn’t understand his word choice.

  “Yes… Good. It makes our date that much more memorable.”

  “Oh,” Sara’s heart fluttered. “I guess that’s true.”

  A finely dressed waiter chose that moment to approach their table. After asking her opinion on several choices, Ronan ordered a bottle of Chardonnay.

  “If you pick something for dinner that does not go well with white wine, we can order something else,” Ronan took the time to assure her as the waiter left to retrieve their wine.

  “I’m sure it will be fine no matter what I order.”

  “Truly?” Ronan looked confused. “Gwen always insists on changing her wine selections depending upon what she is eating.”

  Sara laughed. “Yes, well, Gwen is a little bit of a wine snob. I’m not nearly as picky.

  “Also,” she added, “Gwen can down a bottle of wine by herself. She usually needs to order more, even if her first choice goes with her food.”

  Ronan’s loud laugh filled her ears. “Yes, I suppose Gwen does drink a lot of wine.”

  Sara shook her head in amusement. “I don’t know how she does it. She never gets drunk, no matter how much she drinks.”

  Following her statement, something odd seemed to happen.

  Sara couldn’t be sure, but she thought she saw a frown flicker over Ronan’s lips. Before she could think on her observation more, the reaction was quickly concealed.

  “Indeed.” He responded with little to no emphasis just as the waiter returned.

  The waiter poured Ronan a small sample of the wine, successfully completing Sara’s distraction from her thoughts. Ronan gave the approving signal, and the server poured two glasses. Then, he left to give the two more time to make their dinner selection.

  The leather bound menu sat on Sara’s thighs, leaning against the edge of the table, as she browsed the various dinner options.

  The pair kept up polite conversation, commenting to one another what they were thinking of ordering.

  Finally, their timely waiter returned and took their order.

  Glad to have the heavy menu off her lap, Sara lightly placed her hands on her legs. Ronan leaned back in his chair, casually observing Sara. She resisted the urge to fidget.

  “So…” Sara searched for any topic to break the silence. “What brings you to town? I don’t expect you frequent
the San Antonio area much.”

  Amusement lit Ronan’s eyes. “I don’t. Or perhaps, it is more accurate to say I didn’t. I am here to help move Gwen and Kalan into their new home when they return from their honeymoon.”

  Sara nodded. Gwen and Kalan’s wedding was nearly three months ago, and the couple had spent the entire time travelling the world on the honeymoon of a lifetime. Sara and Kate received postcards from all the places the two visited, and both girls were green with envy at the luxurious vacation.

  “They come back next Wednesday, right?”

  Ronan nodded. “That is correct.”

  “Then Gwen starts her residency the following Monday?” Sara took a sip of the crisp wine. “That’s going to be hectic.”

  Ronan agreed. “Hence, I am here a week early to help set up the house.”

  “That is really nice of you,” Sara commented. “You’re a good friend.”

  Ronan shrugged. “It’s what I do.”

  His statement led Sara’s mind to another topic. “Speaking of what you do. What do you do? For a living, I mean?”

  Ronan’s shoulders stiffened slightly. “You are asking about my job?”

  Sara chuckled, nervous. “Well, yeah. If that is alright. This is a date, after all.” She tried to lighten the mood with her last line. It seemed to work.

  The tension fell from his body as he thought over his response. “I guess you could say I work in security.”

  Interesting. “Like, a police officer?” She probed, wanting to learn all she could about the mysterious man in front of her. She waited a long time to get the information.

  “Not quite.”

  “For a company?” Sara couldn’t see Ronan spending his days behind a wall of security monitors.

  “No. You could say it is independent work.”

  Their food arrived, breaking up the odd question and answer session.

  Before Sara could continue her line of questioning, Ronan spoke. “You are a teacher?”

  “That’s right.” Sara twirled her fork in the pasta.