“Sure. I mean, that sounds good to me. I’d hate to have to sit there if the date wasn’t great. I mean, he did look good in his photographs, but I know a lot of guys use old photos. And well, I’m not here to sit for a couple of hours with a guy that I’m just not into.”
“Okay, come on. Let’s go back to the front. You go and stand in that corner.” She pointed toward the tall Christmas tree. “And then when the guy comes in, I’ll nod to you and let you know. Okay?”
“Okay. Sounds good. Thanks.”
“Oh, you’re welcome. My name’s Billie Anne, by the way.”
“Oh, thanks Billie Anne. Nice to meet you.” I gave her my warmest smile and then headed toward the Christmas tree. I looked up at all the sparkling lights and ornaments and prayed that majestic star sitting atop of the tree didn’t fall and hit me in the head. The door opened suddenly and a man with dark hair suddenly swooped past me. Maybe this was Lucas. Lucas had dark hair. Though this man was slightly bigger than I’d expected, but maybe Lucas had gained a couple of pounds or fifty. It was the holidays. Then as if by magic the mystery man turned to look at me and I saw he had the biggest zit on his nose that I’d ever seen. Please God do not let this be Lucas, please. He gave me a warm smile and I turned my face to the side, my heart racing.
Oh God, he recognizes me. He’s going to come over and I’ll be stuck on this date. I looked back to the side and the man had gone up to the hostess. I looked over at her, waiting for the signal. If she nodded to say this was him I was going to run out of the store and not look back.
I let out a sigh of relief as I saw her seating him. Oh thank you dear God. I will be a good girl from here on out. “Lucas is going to be good. Lucas is going to be good,” I muttered under my breath, trying to still my nerves.
“Sorry. Can I help you?” I looked up and there in front of me stood a tall handsome man that looked even better than his photograph.
“Lucas. Hi,” I said, my words tripping out of my mouth. “I’m Gemma.”
“Yeah, I know. Nice to meet you, Gemma.” He took my hand and kissed it softly. “You’re even more beautiful than your photos led me to believe.”
“Oh wow. Thank you.” I could feel myself blushing. I never blushed. I was a confident twenty-first-century girl. “So, find the place okay?” I said nervously. Why were his eyes so dazzling? They were the lightest brown I’d ever seen. And they seemed to be twinkling as he stared at me. Be still my heart. This man was absolutely gorgeous. I didn’t need to go on any more dates. This was it. This was going to be my new boyfriend. Shit, I’d even be his fuck buddy if he wanted to. Stop it, Gemma, stop it. I talked to myself internally. You’re not looking for a fuck buddy. You’re not looking for a one-night stand. You are looking for a boyfriend. You cannot take a fuck buddy home to meet the parents. You need a boyfriend. Preferably someone that will become your husband. So chill, chill, chill.
“Would you like to go sit at a table?” Lucas gave me a little frown. “You okay there Gemma?”
“Oh sorry. Sorry,” I realized I’d been completely distracted by my inner voice. “I was just getting my thoughts together. Yeah. Let’s have a seat. Have you ever been here before?”
“No, actually I haven’t. But I have heard they have the best hot chocolate in Manhattan.”
“Well then that’s great because I love hot chocolate.”
“And the cupcakes are said to be pretty good too,” he smiled. We walked over to the hostess and she beamed at me and then gave me a little wink. Oh God Billie Anne, please don’t make this worse for me than it already is. But thankfully she just led us to the table and we sat down. I really liked the fact that Luke held out a chair for me first, let me sit and then slid it in. He took his seat. So he’s a gentleman. Another tick mark.
“Shall we order first and then get to know each other