Paris Is Always a Good Idea - Jenn McKinlay Page 0,36
morning. As impossible as it seemed, Colin was even more attractive now than he’d been in our youth, and that was saying something, ’cause he’d been smokin’ hot then, too.
I offered to drive the Parks back to the cottages, and to my relief, Jerry was happy to let me, which was good because I didn’t fancy the idea of wrestling an octogenarian to the ground and forcibly taking the keys, but I would have. As we climbed into the car, my gaze met Colin’s. He mouthed the word six and I nodded, feeling a thrill course through me. The tingle started at the top of my head and ran all the way to my toes. Had he had that much of an impact on me seven years ago? Or was it years of pent-up emotion just looking for an outlet? Hard to say.
On the drive back, Mary and Jerry talked about the dogs, particularly the one called Seamus, wondering if they could have a dog like that running around their cottage in Nova Scotia or if it would get into too much trouble with the local farms. I listened, but my mind was elsewhere, wondering what Colin’s life was like outside the farm. Well, I supposed I’d get my chance to ask him at the pub tonight. I felt my heart race in anticipation as I contemplated all my body parts that needed some landscaping. Finn’s Hollow did not boast a beauty salon. This was going to be a DIY project of major proportions.
* * *
• • • •
JET LAG AND nerves overwhelmed me, so I took a nap until midafternoon and then began to prep for my date. It was a date, I reasoned. I’d asked and he’d said yes. Two consenting adults meeting for dinner in a public place was a date. Absolutely.
Because I had packed so minimally, I chose to go bold and wore my clingy red tunic sweater over black jeans and half boots. I styled my hair in big loose waves and decided to put on a little extra makeup. Was the cat eye thing with eyeliner still happening? I frowned at my reflection. Could I even manage it?
I opened up YouTube on my phone and watched a quick tutorial. It didn’t seem that hard. I’d just finished one eye, which came out okay, and was working on the other when my phone chimed. The noise startled me, and I stabbed myself in the eye, because of course I did. I closed my eye as the tears started, and slid my thumb across the display, unable to see the number through my tears.
“Hello,” I answered. I tried to sound chipper while I grabbed a tissue out of the holder on the top of the toilet and attempted to wipe my eye without smudging the liner and ruining the rest of my face. That was a fail. My eye was watering so much I looked as if I were bleeding black out of my eyeball. “Damn it.”
“Well, hello to you, too.”
I glanced at my phone. Jason’s annoying face smiled at me through the display, and then his eyes went wide. “What happened, Martin? Did you piss someone off with an overzealous itinerary and they popped you in the eye?”
“Ha ha, you’re hilarious. It’s a makeup malfunction,” I said. “Can I call you back?”
“No can do, I have a conference call with the community-outreach team at Severin Robotics in ten minutes, so it’s now or never,” he said.
“Fine,” I growled. Leave it to Knightley to catch me at my worst. I propped the phone up on a nearby shelf while I tried to wipe the thick black trails off my cheek.
“Makeup, huh?” he asked. “I’ve never seen you wear that much makeup.”
“Well, you’ve never seen me on a date,” I pointed out. I finished cleaning off the mess that was formerly my eyeliner and frowned.
“Oh, someone’s got a hot date tonight?” he asked. “Do tell. Did you bag yourself a leprechaun at the end of the rainbow?”
I frowned at the phone and said, “Shut up.” He smirked.
I turned back to my reflection and wondered if I should wash my other eye and just go with mascara or if another attempt at a cat eye with the eyeliner would be worth it.
“Martin, the clock is ticking here,” he said.
“Yeah, yeah, give me a second,” I said.
He sighed and propped his chin on his hand while he watched me. I decided to go for the cat eye.