and I’m trying to impress her.”
“Your first date?” The man’s grin widened as he looked at Shanice, and then he said something to Cruz in Spanish. Cruz replied, they both laughed, and the waiter left the table.
“What was that about?” Shanice asked, spreading her napkin across her lap.
“I shouldn’t tell you.”
“You have to tell me. It would be really rude if you didn’t.”
“You’re right. He said that you’re a very beautiful woman and I’m a very lucky man.”
“Did he really say that?” Shanice asked, her cheeks heating with color.
“Yes, he did.”
“And what did you say?”
“I said, ‘I know. So make sure you make me look good tonight.’” His eyes sparkled with humor.
“I’m…flattered,” Shanice said. She ran a fingertip up and down the stem of her water glass.
Vicente stopped her movements by taking her hand.
“Tell me about you, Shanice. I want to know everything.”
“How far back do you want me to go?”
“Don’t go as far back as the womb and we should be fine.”
She laughed. “You surprise me. You have a sense of humor, which wasn’t obvious initially.”
“I try.” He smiled.
Man, those lips.
“There’s not much to tell. I don’t have a lot of family, except my mother, as I mentioned. My father, who passed away a few years ago, was a cognitive psychologist, or what some people simply call a brain scientist. He was a brilliant man, always reading and studying, constantly curious about how the brain works and how we remember things and learn. His second love was chemistry, and that occupied much of his time, too. He loved tinkering in his lab at home.”
“He had a lab at home? That sounds dangerous.”
She enjoyed his touch as he idly played with her fingers. His thick fingers were rougher than she expected for an accountant, as if he worked a lot with his hands. She didn’t mind the roughness, though. It added another intriguing dimension to the man and made her want to learn more about him.
“Oh, it was, and it drove my mother crazy. Initially the lab was a room at the back of the house, but after a small fire that resulted in charred walls and a panicked call to the fire department before we were able to put it out, she banished him to outside. He ended up building a shed in the back yard, and I used to spend a lot of time out there with him as his assistant. I learned so much, not only about science but about life. We talked about everything.” Her heart ached, and she wondered if she’d ever fully recover from no longer having him in her life.
Vicente gently squeezed her hand and brought her attention back to him. “I’m sorry for your loss.”
“Thank you.” She heaved a sigh. “Anyway, my parents had that kind of crazy love, where no one else matters in the world but that person. They met in college, fell in love, got married, and lived happily until cancer stole my dad from us. But while we had him, he blessed our lives in all kinds of ways, and I really miss him.”
The waiter arrived with a bottle of red wine. After they tasted it, he poured them each a glass and promised to return with their appetizers before too long.
Vicente took another sip of wine before setting his glass on the table. “When you talk about your parents’ relationship, you sound wistful.”
“Do I?” Shanice laughed. “Being with someone you really connect with can be absolutely amazing, when it’s right. I saw that with them.”
Folding his arms on the table, he asked, “Why are you still single?”
Shanice wrinkled her nose. “Yuck. Why do men ask that awful question?”
“I’m sorry. Do we?”
“So many times.”
“Maybe because we can’t believe it when we find an incredible woman like you who’s single, and we genuinely want to know. I know I do.”
She felt a little guilty. The truth was, she didn’t want to talk about why she wasn’t in a relationship, but sitting in the quiet ambiance of La Cocina Patagonia, with a glass of red wine and a handsome man who looked as if he genuinely cared about her answer, her resolve softened.
“I haven’t been in a relationship in a while. My last one ended abruptly, and I’ve been single ever since.”
“I see,” he said slowly. “Are you still heartbroken over him?”
She shook her head vehemently. “Hate I’d wasted my time, to be honest.”
Brown eyes met umber eyes across the table.
“Relationships aren’t easy.”
“No, they’re not,” Shanice agreed.
Marco reappeared with a