A Fool's Gold Wedding - Susan Mallery Page 0,13
sign that said Jo’s Bar. “It’s kind of different, so brace yourself.”
“I am fully braced.”
They went inside.
Joaquin had expected the place to be a bar, but it wasn’t. Not in the traditional sense. For one thing, the colors were all wrong. The walls were a pale lavender and there was too much light.
There was an actual bar, but there was also a play area with several small children stacking blocks together. The televisions were off and most of the clientele seemed to be female.
Nearly everyone turned to watch them walk in. Several of them called out a greeting. Joaquin had the brief thought that he should have researched Simon’s wife, so he would recognize her if he saw her. As it was, he found himself being introduced as Melissa’s future brother-in-law and a doctor.
They found a small table in the corner. Once they were seated, Abby looked at him. “Do you trust me?”
“Yes.”
“Just like that? Aren’t you going to ask me why I want to know or what I have planned?”
“I have no reason not to trust you.”
“Great. Then I’ll order.”
Their server appeared. Abby smiled. “Chicken nachos and the lemonade of the day.”
“You got it.”
Abby smiled. “You will be amazed by your lunch.”
“I’m not sure I’ve had nachos before.”
“What? Aren’t you from California? How is that possible?”
“I just never have.”
“But nachos are a football-game-watching tradition. What about Super Bowl parties or Cinco de Mayo? What about—” Her teasing voice quieted. “Oh, no. This is another ‘because you’re brilliant’ thing, isn’t it? We should make a list and work through as much of it as we can while you’re in town.”
Not an offer he thought he should turn down, he told himself, wondering how he could add a few kisses onto that list.
A pair of old ladies walked over to the table. The one wearing a bright red velour tracksuit eyed him.
“Are you really a doctor?” she asked.
Abby sighed. “Joaquin, these two are Eddie and Gladys. This is Joaquin. He’s new. Be nice.”
“I’m perfectly nice,” Eddie said, never taking her gaze off Joaquin. “So the doctor thing. It’s real?”
“Yes.”
“Married?”
Joaquin withdrew slightly. “No.”
Eddie turned to Abby. “You could do worse, missy. It’s time you had a serious boyfriend.”
Gladys’s gaze turned speculative. “She’s right. This one could qualify for our butt show.”
Joaquin had no idea what they were talking about but he knew it wasn’t good. Abby waved them away.
“Stop,” she said firmly. “You’ll scare him. It’s not nice.”
“You didn’t used to be so bossy,” Eddie told her with a sniff.
“I am now, so you’re going to have to get used to it.”
“I might have to talk to your mother.”
Abby grinned unrepentantly. “Mom will take my side and you know it.”
The two old ladies walked away. Joaquin watched them go. “Do I want to know about the butt show?”
“Probably not, but it is a compliment.” She drew in a breath. “They have a cable access show. They feature the naked butts of different men in town.” She waved her hand. “It’s kind of their thing. So it’s flattering that you were asked.”
“They’re fairly old.”
“Yes, but you might not want to mention that to them.”
He thought about what else they’d said. “Why are they concerned you don’t have a boyfriend?”
“They want to see everyone paired up and married. I want that, too. For myself, I mean, not for everyone. Eventually.”
There was a wistful quality to her voice.
“You want to get married.”
She held up both hands. “Let’s not put it like that. Getting married isn’t the goal, it’s the result. I want to meet someone special and fall in love and then get married and have kids. I probably should have done it while I was in college.”
“It?” She couldn’t mean...
“Fall in love. There were a lot of guys on campus. You’d think I could have found one or two, but I never got beyond liking someone a fair amount. Now I’m going to suffer from a lack of appropriate guys.”
“Fool’s Gold doesn’t have single men?”
“Oh, there are a few, but I know most of them. I’m not going to meet anyone through work.” She held up one finger. “No dating where you work. It’s messy if things go wrong.”
“Agreed.”
She held up a second finger. “Chances are the parent of a student is married, and even if he isn’t, it’s still wrong because his kid is in my class. I don’t know where else am I going to meet a single guy, unless there’s one in my apartment building.”
She sounded hopeful. Joaquin wasn’t sure he