eyes. “So nice to meet you, too, Twyla.”
Tag dove into his opportunity. “Since you two match, and Leslie and I know each other, why don’t we sit together in the restaurant?”
Otis shot a glance toward Leslie. “Are you okay with that?”
She nodded. “Absolutely. You two obviously have something in common, and Tag and I are old friends. That’ll make us all more comfortable getting to know each other.”
“My reservation was for a table for two,” Otis said.
Tag held up a hand. “I’ll take care of it when we get inside. I’m sure they have a table for four.”
“I don’t know,” Otis said, his brow wrinkling. “They book up pretty quickly. I was lucky to get a table for tonight.”
Otis held the door for Twyla and Leslie.
Tag took over and held the door for Otis. Once inside, Tag excused himself with, “I’ll see what they have.” He left the other three standing by the door and crossed to the hostess’s stand. He’d already reserved a table for four. He let the hostess know they were there, and that Otis Peebles’s reservation could be canceled.
Tag rejoined the others. “We’re in luck,” he said. “They were able to give us a table for four.”
Otis smiled. “That’s perfect.” He turned to Leslie. “Are you a fan of Dr. Who?”
“I’ve watched a few of the shows,” Leslie admitted.
Otis blinked several times. “A few?”
Leslie grimaced. “Sorry. I…uh…don’t get much of a chance to watch TV. I do like action-adventure and superhero movies, as well as science fiction stories, like Star Trek and Star Wars.”
“Oh, okay.” Otis turned toward Twyla. “I take it you’re a Dr. Who fan, too?”
Twyla laughed. “What was your first clue?”
“I really like the Tardis dress.” He smiled at Twyla. “And who was your favorite Dr. Who?”
She snorted “In my opinion, there was only one Dr. Who, and that was David Tenant.”
“That goes without saying,” Otis said. “Although, I must admit I was impressed with Peter Capaldi, who played Dr. Who from 2013 through 2017. He started out a little rough, but he got good after a while.”
Twyla nodded. “Agreed. But still, David Tenant was the man.”
“If you’ll follow me, I’ll get you seated,” the hostess said, carrying a stack of menus.
Otis returned his attention to Leslie and held out his arm.
She slipped her hand into the crook of his elbow, her gaze going to Tag.
Tag’s gut knotted just a little. He knew this was her date with Otis. Tag held out his arm for Twyla.
She hooked her arm through his. Together, they wound their way through the steakhouse and took their seats, boy-girl, boy-girl.
Though Tag wasn’t with Leslie on this date, he at least got to sit beside her, with Leslie on one side and Twyla on the other.
As they settled at the table, Leslie turned to Otis and smiled. “I noticed on your profile that you’re a physicist.”
Otis nodded. “I am.”
“What exactly does a physicist do?”
Otis smiled. “I work at the University of Texas in Austin as a research physicist. I design experiments to test theories. We use the scientific method and draw conclusions about the theories.”
“That sounds very interesting,” Leslie said. “What do you like to do when you’re not at work?”
Otis glanced toward Twyla. He hesitated for a moment, and then he launched into his after-hours activities. “I am such a fan of sci-fi movies about comic book heroes.”
“Seriously?” Twyla said. “Did you know that there’s a Comic Con here in Cedar Park this weekend?”
“As a matter of fact, I did know,” Otis said, looking back at Leslie as if he was about to say more.
The waitress chose that moment to take their orders. After she left, Twyla and Otis got into a discussion about the Comic Con and which celebrities would be in attendance. They continued with a detailed discussion of several episodes of Dr. Who.
Tag caught Leslie’s gaze, his mouth twitching at the corners.
Otis finally remembered he was on a date with Leslie. He turned to her. “And what do you like to do in your off hours? For that matter, what is it you actually do?”
She smiled. “I’m a software developer.”
Twyla perked up. “Really? I’m a programmer.”
Leslie turned to Tag. “Tag is a software developer, as well.” Thankfully she didn’t mention that his software firm was international, and that he made a lot of money at it. Leslie understood the importance of keeping her clients’ monetary status confidential. People tended to treat him differently when they knew how much he was worth.
“What kind of programming do