The random assortment of pictures distracted her from the ever-accumulating collection of butterflies in her stomach. It’s one date. If she could survive teaching ten and eleven year olds day in and day out, she could handle anything for a few hours. Right? Sure. No problem.
Except it was her first actual date with a man in forever, and she’d waffled between excitement and panic ever since she’d agreed to go on a blind date with a guy she didn’t know or even know anything about. At least she’d been to Gilley’s before. It had taken her forever to figure out what to wear, trying on and discarding a dozen outfit combinations before settling on jeans and a light cotton sweater in a sky blue color. She opted for matching blue Converse on her feet because, at five foot nine, she was already on the tall side and didn’t want to make a bad first impression. Over the years, she’d found that men got unreasonably defensive when she wore heels and towered over them. She should’ve asked Emily if the guy was tall. She should’ve asked a whole host of questions but hadn’t, since Emily seemed inexplicably enamored by the whole “blind” part of the date equation.
Except her blind date was late. Was that normal? It had been so long since she’d been out on a date of any kind, she couldn’t remember if being late was acceptable, or even expected. Or maybe he’d taken one look at her and walked away already, without even introducing himself. She ran a hand self-consciously through her short hair. Maybe it wasn’t only Dennis, but all men who preferred long hair. Her lips pressed into a tight line as she tried to push away the self-doubt. Screw it. If this Ed guy doesn’t show up in the next ten minutes…
“Excuse me, are you Claire?”
Her eyes lifted from her phone, connecting with the owner of that deep baritone. A shock of awareness simmered through her, despite the fact she’d never seen this guy before in her life. Dark hair, deep blue eyes, deliciously wide shoulders and just a hint of scruff along his sharp jawline. Yummy. The sleeves of his button down white shirt rolled in crisp folds at the elbows, displaying muscular forearms, with his tie ever so slightly loosened at the collar. Her eyes trailed back up his face and found him staring at her expectantly. Wait, what was the question?
“Right. Yes, that’s me. I’m Claire.” She fumbled to shove her phone back into her bag and stand. Sticking out her right hand, she cleared her throat and tried to temper her breathless reaction. “Claire Anderson.” She gave him her maiden name, even if it wasn’t her legal name quite yet… because why would she bring any part of Dennis with her on a first date with a new guy? Right? Right. “And you must be Ed?”
He looked down at her hand for a beat before grabbing it with his own. Another shock tingled through her system at his touch. “Yeah. That’s me. I’m Ed.” His mouth quirked up on one side, displaying a deep dimple that nearly undid her. “Sorry. I’m kinda new at this blind date thing. I’m not sure what the rules are.”
She laughed at his candor, and relaxed a notch or two. “Me too. And don’t worry about rules. We can make them up as we go along. The only thing I know about you is that you don’t work for the school system. Right?”
He nodded. “And I know you’re new to town and work with Emily O’Toole.”
“So you already know I’m a teacher, huh? What do you do for work?”
He smiled, his dimple reappearing. “I’m on the local police force.”
“A cop?”
“A detective,” he clarified. “I earned my shield last spring.”
“So you’re not merely a friend of Emily’s husband, you’re a coworker.” Somehow that made her feel a lot less anxious about the blind date. Ed wasn’t some random, but a guy her friend probably knew pretty well. Things just got more interesting. As she turned to climb the stairs into the bar, he caught her arm near her wrist. The heat from his touch seared a path all the way to her shoulder, and she felt her body sway toward him, drawn like a moth to a flame. Whoa. Totally not expecting that reaction. Keep your shit together, girl.
“Hey, do you mind if we take a walk instead? Talk a bit, get to know each other, without the noise of the bar crowd.”
She saw sincerity in his eyes, along with a hint of something more. Could he be as anxious about this date as she was? Did guys get anxious about stuff like this? She glanced in the window of Gilley’s and saw that it was crowded inside. In fact, the whole of Main Street seemed busy for a Monday night. More people strolled along the sidewalks and in and out of shops than she’d seen since her arrival in January. Shops that were still open despite the fact it was after 5:00 p.m.
Ed followed her gaze. “School vacation week brings a lot of the summer people down to the Cape to check on their second homes, to see how their properties survived the winter season. The shops switch to summer hours for the week and run spring sales to take advantage of the crowds.”
Her eyes connected with his again, and again she felt that same shock of recognition as her mind stumbled over her response. “Um, yeah, that makes sense.”
His grin widened, his hand sliding down from her wrist to take hold of her hand, entwining their fingers. “C’mon. I think I saw a group setting up at the Kate Gould bandstand when I was parking the car. Let’s wander over and see what’s going on.”
They crossed the street and went a little way down the sidewalk, chatting about the weather patterns and how cold and wet spring had been up until now. From the entrance to the park, Claire saw the bandstand and the gathering crowd. The large group of teenagers onstage sounded like they were warming up, various instruments belting out scales in a jarring cacophony of noise.
A line of white tables was set up nearby. Ed tugged her hand and pointed to a banner strung over the tables, between two of the park’s lampposts. “Looks like the Monomoy High School band is fundraising for their summer competition trip.”
She scanned the group onstage, thinking back to the huge marching band at Stamford’s high school. “Is the high school band actually that small?”
Ed shrugged. “No idea.” He tugged her hand again, moving down the path toward the event. “Let’s find out.”
They bought popcorn and lemonade from the teenagers manning the snack tables, who were all too happy to explain that tonight’s performers were the school’s jazz ensemble, practicing for a state competition at the end of the week. They found an empty bench right before the band settled into their first number, which turned out to be an extra jazzy version of Mack the Knife that eventually morphed into a fast rendition of In the Mood.
“They’re actually pretty good.” He’d leaned in close to her ear to be heard. His hot breath tickled and sent a shiver running down her spine, reigniting that flock of butterflies in her stomach. “Although I haven’t actually been to high school band concert since my cousin graduated.”
She drew in a breath, tamping down on those pesky flutters once more. Maybe she should ask questions, get to know something about her date before letting her libido get carried away. “Cousin, huh? Did you have a lot of family here in Chatham?”
“You could say that.”
“And you all went to Monomoy High School?”
His panty-melting grin nearly stole her breath. “Monomoy school regionalization didn’t happen until after I graduated. Before then Chatham and Harwich were rival high schools.”
“And you went to…”
“Neither, actually. My older brother choiced into Nauset because they offered a richer Advanced Placement program and I followed him. Mom said she could only deal with one high school at a time. Their football team was better anyway.”
“What do you mean, choiced?”
“School choice. Parents can send their kids to any public school district as long as there is room.”
“Connecticut has something similar. I never heard it used as a verb before.”
“You’re from Connecticut? Do you still have family there?”
“Kind of. I grew up in the suburbs of New York City.”
“Siblings?”
“Two sisters, bot
h moved to California years ago. My parents sold the big house while I was still in grad school and bought a condo in the city closer to their jobs. I was the only one left in Stamford.” She looked away from his probing stare, focusing instead on the band as they transitioned to another song that sounded vaguely familiar.
“Time for a change?”
Did she want to get into a story of her cheating ex, the nasty divorce, the drawn-out house sale? Not really, especially not on a first date. Instead she nodded and agreed. “Yeah, it was time to try something new. So you have a brother, you said?”
“One older brother, six cousins. Eight boys altogether, growing up here in Chatham. It was kinda like having seven brothers, actually. Which was good, because my real brother and I were never very close growing up.”
“I always wished for cousins,” Claire admitted, sounding wistful. “I wasn’t close with my older sisters either. We get along better now that we’re all adults.”
“Same with me and my brother Dylan. He was the math geek and I was the jock, and when we were kids that divide seemed insurmountable. Luckily, my cousin Brian and I are the same age and played football together, got in trouble together, the usual. Is it cheesy to say my cousin is my best friend?”
“Not at all. I’ll bet you have some stories to tell.”
His warm chuckle let her know she was right. “Emily told me you moved to town recently. What do you think of our town so far?”
“It’s fine I guess.” She shrugged. “I haven’t actually seen a lot of the town or the area. Between work and the rainy weather we’ve been having this spring…” She felt her cheeks heat. They’d already exhausted the talk of weather on their way from the bar to the park, scintillating topic that it was. Safe topic of conversation, she amended, giving herself a break. With those deep blue eyes trained on her, she found it hard to carry on any conversation, let alone come up with something to chat about.
He grinned. “The weather this week is supposed to be picture perfect. April can be hit or miss, but when it’s nice it can be my favorite time of year.”
“Maybe I’ll finally get a chance to see some of the beautiful scenery people keep talking about.”
His hand found hers again, fingers tangling before he gave her hand a squeeze. “I’d love to be the one to show it to you.”
Even as the super cheesy line rolled off his tongue, Ed resisted the strong urge to roll his eyes. What. The. Fuck? He was oh-so-glad none of his cousins were present to hear his babbling… but there was nothing he could do to stop the nonsense coming out of his mouth.
He needed to get a fucking grip on reality.
For some reason he couldn’t quite fathom, his mouth went bone dry the minute he’d laid eyes on Claire. The spiky dark hair and heart shaped face captured his attention immediately, but when she stood and smoothed her hands down her jeans, showcasing those curvy hips and mile-long legs, all blood and rational thought left his brain and headed south. So yeah, talking about the weather and sightseeing was his top conversational speed at the moment.
He needed to get his act together soon, otherwise this would be the last date he’d get with her, and that wouldn’t do. He already knew one blind date with this woman wouldn’t be enough. Sucking in a deep breath, he gave her hand another quick squeeze, getting her full attention. “Hey, are you hungry?”
Those plump lips quirked up at the corners and she rattled the almost-empty container of popcorn. “Obviously. Why? What did you have in mind?”
“The Beach Grille over at the Inn is open for the season. Might be a nice place to catch the sunset.” And the bonus being it was a tourist spot where he was unlikely to run into any of his cousins. “Have you already been there? Or got somewhere else in mind?”
Claire laughed, the throaty sound sending a thrill across his skin and resonating somewhere deep inside. “Were you not listening to me a minute ago? I haven’t been anywhere.”
His cheeks warmed. “Right. Yeah. I didn’t realize that meant restaurants too.”
“Unless you want to count Gilley’s and the House of Pizza, I haven’t been to any Chatham restaurants.” Claire smiled. “I’d love to check out the Beach Grille. Is it close by? Can we walk?”
“No, it’s down Shore Road a few miles, on the waterfront. But my car is right over there in the parking lot. How about yours?”
She jerked her thumb back toward the bar. “I’m parked in the lot behind Gilley’s.”
“C’mon.” He rose and pulled her to her feet. “I’ll drive, and give you a lift back to your car after dinner.” When she agreed, he threw an arm around her waist and turned her toward the parking lot. He appreciated her height, only a few inches shorter than his own six feet. At five foot two, the top of Laura’s head barely came up to his chin. He’d only been able to wrap his arm around her this way when she wore heels, which she did a lot in high school but after Kayleigh was born she only wore them on date nights. Until she got sick.
The memories punched the breath out of his lungs for a minute, his arm dropping away from Claire as they walked. She didn’t seem to notice, her eyes drawn to the band on stage as they transitioned into a complicated Dave Brubeck number.
He shouldn’t have his arm around another woman. He shouldn’t be out on a date in public. A sudden burst of panic flowed through him like ice in his veins, his breath quickening, wondering if anyone he knew was here in the park. Watching him. Watching them together.
He drew in a shaky breath and glanced around the park. Not a single familiar face in the crowd, which seemed improbable if not downright impossible. He’d grown up here. Gone to school with many of the shopkeepers and other parents. Been a cop on these streets for the last bunch of years. Withstood the gossip when Kayleigh was born, and then the overwhelming outpouring of pity after Laura passed away.
Yet… right now, no one was paying any attention to him and Claire. They were simply two more people in the crowd, supporting the local high school, enjoying the arrival of spring. He shook his head. No one was judging him, or thinking he was cheating on his wife’s memory. No one except him.
They’d reached the edge of the park. Claire faced him, hands on her hips, eyeing him with curiosity. “Everything okay?”
His back snapped straighter at her clipped words. “Yeah, why?”
“You went silent on me for a few minutes there.”
“Sorry. A lot on my mind, I guess.”
She narrowed her eyes a smidge. “Look, we don’t have to do this. I thought we had a connection, but we can end this blind date thing now, no harm, no foul.”
“You want to end our date?” The thought made Ed frown. As much as he’d been panicked a few minutes before, he wasn’t ready for the night to be over before it even got started. And he’d felt the connection between them too. Maybe that’s the reason I panicked, he realized with sudden clarity.
A blush climbed her slender neck and suffused her cheeks. Uncertainty colored her gaze. “No, I didn’t say I wanted the date to be over. I meant you. You seem distracted or… and I thought maybe…”
“Claire, I’m sorry.” He put his hands on her shoulders, looking straight into hazel eyes brimming with confusion. “I know I told you I’d never been on a blind date, but the truth is it’s been a few years since I’ve been on a date of any kind. Since my wife died.”
Her eyebrows shot high on her forehead. “Oh, I’m so sorry. How long were you married?”
“Eight years. We got married straight out of school.” He closed his eyes briefly, inhaling a deep breath. “Cancer took her three years ago.”
She planted a hand on his chest, warmth spreading from her fingers and make his heart quicken its pace. He opened his eyes to find her intense gaze searching his face. “We don’t have to go to dinner. If you’re not ready…”
He covered her hand with his own, pressing it tighter against his chest. “Like you said a minute ago, I feel like there might be a connection here. One worth exploring.”
&nb
sp; “Me too.”
“Yeah?” Both sides of his mouth tugged up in a reluctant smile. “Let’s go get some dinner and swap stories about why we’re out of practice at this dating thing.”
Her returning smile made his pulse speed up another notch. They’d get through this blind date thing. Together. And see if there was something more worth exploring.
Together.
7
The sun hovered over the surface of the ocean before starting its slow descent, disappearing below the horizon, the sky around it blazing with fiery shades of orange and red. Claire sipped her glass of wine, trying to remember the last time she’d taken the time to sit and watch the sun set. “Beautiful,” she murmured.
“Yeah, beautiful,” Ed agreed. When she shifted her gaze toward him, she realized his dark blue eyes were trained on her instead of the sunset. The butterflies in her belly started whirling, and she took another sip of her Chardonnay, hoping to calm them. Maybe if I drink enough wine, the butterflies will get drunk and fall asleep. The corners of her mouth twitched up at the silly thought… and at the out of control feelings those blue eyes inspired. Get ahold of yourself, Claire. She forced her gaze back out to the ocean.
The Beach Grille’s deck overlooked the Atlantic, a perfect sandy beach stretching out and down half a mile from the restaurant’s edge toward the small waves lapping at the shoreline. The gentle slopes of the dunes were punctuated with clumps of tall seagrass waving in the gentle breeze coming off the water. Weathered wooden posts topped with old fashioned looking lanterns lined a pathway, and Claire watched as they blinked on one by one in the gathering darkness.
The deck itself was lit with thousands of twinkle lights wrapped around the posts and beams, as well as jarred candles dotting every table, giving off a surprising amount of light now that the sun had set. And the flickering light did wonderful things to those deep blue eyes staring at her from across the table.
Ed's Blind Date Dilemma Page 5
