“You never told me, where did you grow up?”
“Augusta, Georgia,” he said as the waiter arrived to pour our tea.
“Really? So were you into golf?”
He smiled. “You know golf trivia too?”
“Knowing where the Masters are played every year doesn’t count as golf trivia. It’s common knowledge.”
He laughed. I loved its deep sound. “You’d be surprised. I’ve dated plenty of girls who’ve never even heard of the Masters.”
“Maybe that’s more a statement on the type of girls you date…”
“Is that your way of asking about my dating history?”
“No. It was just a statement.” Maybe I was a little curious.
“I’ve dated enough, but I’ve only really had one serious relationship.”
“Recent?” I took a sip of tea, enjoying the warmth in the overly air conditioned room.
“It’s been three years.”
I did the math. “Oh, you were together when you played.”
He nodded.
“But not after?” I bit my tongue. I was being nosy. He tensed, and I tried to back pedal. “Sorry, that’s none of my business.”
“No, it’s okay. It’s a fair question. She broke it off when she realized my career was over.”
Ouch. That was cold. In a knee jerk reaction, I reached across the table and grabbed his hand.
He looked down at my hand on his like he was surprised. I started to pull mine away, when he wrapped his around mine. He glanced up and smiled. “Tough times tend to bring out people’s true natures.”
“Yeah, that’s true. But I’m sorry. I can’t imagine how hard it would have been to have all of that happen at once.” I should have kept my mouth shut. He probably didn’t care what I had to say about it.
“It wasn’t fun. But what about you?”
“What about me?”
“I told you about my dating past. What’s your story?”
My chest tightened. I so wasn’t going there. “There’s nothing much to talk about.”
“There has to be something. You must have dated. I doubt Ronny and I were the first two men to show an interest in you.”
“I’ve been on dates, but nothing of consequence. You already know how nonexistent my sex life is—or was.” I took another sip of tea.
He rubbed his thumb over my hand and just smiled at me for a second. “All right, I’ll buy it, but I still find it hard to believe. If I find some irate ex-boyfriend chasing me down, I’m going to be mad you didn’t warn me.”
I tried to force a laugh. “No, no irate ex-boyfriends, I promise.”
“Good.”
Our food arrived, and Gavin dug in. I wasn’t positive what everything was, but I decided to be adventurous. I understood why Gavin liked the eel rolls: they were some of the best I’d had. My favorite had to be the Dragon Roll. It had enough spice to leave me reaching for my tea after each piece.
“You do eat a lot.”
“And you don’t eat enough. I hope you aren’t holding back on my account.”
“Nope, I’ve had plenty.” I’d eaten more than I usually would. Contrary to how he usually made me feel, at that moment, I was comfortable with him.
“Okay, good. I’ve figured it out.”
“What?” I asked.
“What your flaw is. You seemed too perfect. Beautiful, athletic, into watching sports, smart, funny—there had to be a catch. Now I found it.”
“And what’s the catch? Aside from my accent of course.”
He smiled. “You’re a health freak. But don’t worry. You won’t be when I’m done with you.”
When he was done with me? I knew it was a saying, but it upset me somewhere in the pit of my stomach.
“Are you okay? I was only joking.”
I guess my reaction showed. “I’m fine.”
“Okay, good.” We finished eating, and Gavin insisted on getting the check. I let him. I could tell he liked to do things traditionally. Maybe our hook up really was out of character for him.
“You ready?” He accepted his credit card back from the server.
“Sure. Thanks for lunch.”
“Anytime.” He leaned across the table a little. “And I mean anytime.”
“Thanks.” I smiled before pushing out my chair.
We drove back to town chatting about baseball mostly until we were almost back at my house.
“Are you doing anything fun tonight?” he asked.
“I’m hanging out with Molly. I kind of owe it to her. I blew her off all week.”
“You had every reason to. And that’s my fault. I really am sorry.”
He hesitated with his hand on the gear shift. “Can we hang out next weekend? We can keep it simple. Maybe just coffee?”
I had to think it over. I wasn’t sure if spending more time with him would be pushing it, but I’d survived lunch and even kind of enjoyed it. Surely I could handle coffee. “Okay.”
He drove me the rest of the way home. “Have a good week, Becca.” He leaned over and kissed me on the cheek.
“Thanks. You too.”
I was a little surprised when he didn’t try anything else, but I knew it was for the best. “See ya, thanks for lunch.”
“Oh wait, one question?” he asked as I opened the door.
“Yeah?”
“What’s your favorite kind of flower?”
“Lilies, yellow lilies. Why?”
“No reason. Bye.”
“Bye.” I didn’t know what to think as I walked back inside, but I definitely had a smile on my face.
Chapter Eighteen
Becca
My desk was completely covered in yellow lilies Monday morning. I had to move a few vases just to turn on my computer.
“Do you know who they’re all from? I didn’t find a card.”
I turned to see Matt in the doorway.
“Would you have opened the card if you’d found one?”
“No, of course not,” he said quickly.
I wasn’t so sure. “I know who they’re from.”
Matt stood waiting for me to tell him. He was out of luck. “I’m going to finish up that research you had me start last week.”
“Okay…” he stammered.
I bit back a smile before sitting down.
It was impossible to have anything but a great day with so many beautiful flowers surrounding me. My usually bleak office felt cheerful. One should never underestimate the power of flowers—especially several dozen of them.