matter. I figured with the empty barstool as a buffer I would barely talk to him, anyway.
Chapter 4
It was a good thing my trip to the diner didn't work out as planned. I talked to that older gentleman at the bar for what must have been an hour. He was about to leave when I came in, but we hit it off, and one topic led to another, so he wound up sitting there to talk to me.
Mitchell was his name, and we had just finished our conversation and decided to say goodbye. I was also ready to leave, but I let him head out before me so we didn't have to walk out together. I was all smiles because of our conversation, though.
I thought back to it as I sat there looking into my purse to waste some time. I had already left a tip, but I dug in my wallet to get an extra dollar to add to it. Mitchell had told me quite a bit about Elliot's restaurant. He was really familiar with it and said it was a Galveston tradition. We talked about other things, too, but the restaurant was a big part of our conversation. I smiled at myself when I thought back to how much I wanted to talk about that restaurant. Mitchell must've thought I was really hungry for seafood.
He had been gone for a minute now, so I began to get situated to leave.
"You must be thinking about something funny," I heard a man say from behind me.
I turned. It was the guy from the boxing gym. Will. Or so I thought it was. He had dark brown hair and eyes. I could see the resemblance to Jennifer's boss, Tara, now that he was close to me. It was either her brother or her husband, but I assumed it was her brother.
"Why would you say that?" I asked. "Did you ask if I thought something was funny?"
I wondered if he had even been the one to say it. I assumed he had. He was standing right beside me. He was situated higher than me since I was still seated, and I stared at him, trying not to notice his stature or his face, which was too handsome for words. I was taken aback by how nice-looking he was. He had big brown eyes with straight masculine features, and his face had perfect symmetry. It was no wonder Candice had seemed so desperate about him. I really hoped this wasn't Tara's husband I was swooning over, but I knew it couldn't be. He looked too much like her. I had been impressed through the window, but this guy was even better up close. He was big and athletic, and he wore an easy, approachable grin. I could see why Jennifer's friends were crazy about him.
"Because you were smiling," the guy said.
"Yeah, but you came up from behind me."
"There's a mirror," he said, pointing behind the counter. "And you were smiling a minute ago, too. I could see you from the sidewalk."
"Oh, uh, I was just thinking. I met a nice person and we had a good conversation just now, so I was just smiling."
"Who'd you meet?" he asked, sitting right next to me as if I had asked him to. He didn't know that I knew his sister, so I wasn't expecting him to sit by me. Even Mitchell had been a stool away. I shifted, feeling surprised that he was now so close.
"What?"
"Who was the person you had a conversation with? Who made you smile?"
"His name was Mitchell. He was just a random man—a nice man."
"My name is Will," he said, smiling and extending his hand for me to shake. "I'm a random nice man, too."
He was charming. He was nice and he was confident and humble in equal portions. I honestly hated to leave
"I was just leaving," I said, since I had my purse in my hand and was about to stand up.
He looked injured. "Did I say something wrong?"
"No, but you just got here, and I was leaving, so I was just saying… I didn't want you to take it personal when I got up."
"So, I guess it's out of the question for you to stay."
"I wouldn't say it's out of the question, but I was about to stand up when you walked up."
"Well, that's okay. It doesn't mean you can't stay and talk for another minute."
I smiled. He was so irresistible that it actually made me happy that he