Wrong Place, Right Time - Elle Casey Page 0,122

find me pretty irresistible in this getup. Maybe I have more options than I thought. I get out of the car with a big grin on my face. Denial can be awesomely powerful when used in moderation.

I check my phone just to be sure there are no texts from May. She’ll be getting a very special reward for being my babysitter two nights in a row, because I know my kids are driving her crazy. They drive me crazy after two nights in a row, and I gave birth to the little buttheads.

I send her a quick text, just to let her know how much I appreciate her efforts.

Me: Thank u so much. Ur my hero.

She answers right away.

May: Have fun! Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!

I smile but don’t reply. Her statement leaves the field wide open. I’ve heard the stories about her and Ozzie and their escapades. Time to get your sexy on, girl. I walk up to the entrance of the tavern, swinging my hips a little more than usual. I feel amazing. I am going to own this place.

The front door is scarred and slightly warped wood, welcoming me to a place that I’ve enjoyed hanging out in before. This used to be where Miles and I would come, before we had kids, to enjoy a beer and a game on the television above the bar. This place is where my good memories are kept, so I have a special sense of confidence glowing inside my heart when I grab the handle and pull it toward me.

Cool air and the smell of stale beer hit me first. I might be a little overdressed tonight, but my complexion is flawless for once, and for the first time in a long while I’m actually wearing nail polish and a bra-and-panty set that match. I hope this guy appreciates all my efforts, because tomorrow it’s all coming off and I’m going back to being a geek mom in jeans and sneakers, with cotton polka-dot underwear and a racer-back sports bra. Tonight, though? Watch out. I’m a vixen with all the fixin’s.

As a special treat, I decide right then and there to take the kids for a picnic in the park tomorrow. They’ve been really patient with me, and they haven’t complained one bit about not having me with them two nights in a row. That’s a big change for them, and with Miles and his new girlfriend on the scene I should keep my children’s lives as consistent as possible. This has been my selfish weekend, but tomorrow it will be all about them.

My mind is now clear of any guilt, and I am ready to partay. I scan the backs of the people sitting on stools around the bartop, hoping that the man with the blue shirt will be there so I won’t have to stand here looking all alone for too long.

At first, I don’t see him. But then, in the shadows of the tavern’s back corner, I catch a hint of blue. I think he’s there, with a mug of beer in his hand. He’s staring at me like he knows me. And he’s really tall. Freakishly so.

My heart skips one beat, and then another. I begin to tremble as my eyes take in the details of the man in the blue shirt. I whisper to myself when it becomes apparent that my night is about to go right in the terlet. Oh my god. This can’t be happening to me right now! It’s Dev, and he’s here to witness my shame.

And then an even more awful thought: Is he my date?

He can’t be. He was sitting right there next to me at the computer when I clicked on his profile. I saw his picture, and I saw the picture of the man I’m here to meet, and it was most definitely not Dev’s.

I take a moment to let the awful sink in. We’re going to have our first dates in the same place, with each other as witnesses. What a disaster! When he asked me where I was going I should’ve just told him! Why did I decide that flirting and playing hard to get were a good idea?

Destiny must really have it in for me. It’s the only explanation for what’s happening here. There’re over a thousand bars in this town, and he could’ve chosen any one of them, but he’s here! In my bar! Dammit!

I recognize the expression on his face as the