She drove to the cigar store where I quickly picked up my order, along with a few accessories. Then it was to the party rental place to pick up more decorations for the gig. It was almost seven before the last of my errands were done.
“Let’s grab something to eat,” she said once we were back in the car.
“Sure,” I answered. I was so ready to go home and crawl into a hot bubble bath, but she was obviously not ready to call it a night.
She drove us to a restaurant that specialized in wings. “So Xander,” she started again.
I rolled my eyes. “I knew there was a reason you wanted to sit down and eat.”
“I usually sit down and eat,” she replied.
“No, you don’t. You are always on the go.”
“Anyway,” she said, steering the conversation right back to the place I didn’t want to go.
“I already told you,” I insisted. “I like him well enough, but you know how much I work. I don’t have time to date regularly. I rarely sleep as it is.”
“I bet your dad would like him,” she commented.
I rolled my eyes. “I don’t think my dad would ever like any man I brought home to meet him.”
“But this guy sounds like he’s got his shit together. He’s an engineer. He’s wealthy. He’s not wild and dumb. I think the two of you would be really good together. He would tame you and you would liven him up.”
“You haven’t even met him,” I protested.
She shrugged. “I don’t have to. You told me all about him.”
“I can’t take him to meet my dad. For one, we are not even close to being at that stage, and for two, no way. You know how critical my dad is. Xander would cut and run before we even get started. My dad would find fault with a royal prince. There will never be a right man for me in his eyes.”
She smiled, sipping on her diet soda. “That’s because he loves you. He wants the best for you.”
“He wants me to be a spinster.”
“I think he just wants to make sure you are with someone that is going to treat you right. He loves you. He raised you. He has some very high standards. It’s normal for dads to be picky about who their daughters date.”
“My dad takes that a little too seriously.”
“You won’t know until you try,” she said.
I shook my head. “Nope. I have not taken a man to him yet and I don’t plan on doing it now. Not until I am a million percent sure he is going to be the man I am going to marry. Then, I will be more willing to fight for the man.”
“Makes sense, but I think your dad is also a good judge of character,” she said. “He might be able to see something you can’t.”
“Oh, yes, you are right there. He can see all the negative in a person. He doesn’t see good in anyone. If I need to know the flaws of someone, all I have to do is ask him.”
She softly giggled. “I’m afraid to know what he thought about me.”
“You have passed his high standards but just barely. The fact you work in a bar is still one of those things he is less than thrilled about.”
She rolled her eyes. “It isn’t like my parents were overjoyed either. I simply remind them I get paid more than a lot of people with shiny college degrees. I don’t have the student loans dragging me down. I’m very content with what I do.”
“I know you are and that’s all that matters,” I told her. I hated that people looked down at her because of what she did. She was one of the smartest women I knew, and she loved what she did and was paid very, very well for it.
“Hey,” she said and pointed to a TV mounted on the wall behind me. “Isn’t that your man?”
I sighed, shaking my head. “I don’t have a man.”
“Just look.” She pointed.
I turned around to look up at the screen. There was an image of Xander and another man getting off a helicopter. I squinted to read the text. “What does that say?” I asked.
“He saved a ship or something?”
“I can’t see,” I complained. I got up and walked closer to the TV to be able to read what was running across the bottom of the screen.