“IF…” I held my finger up in the air, halting his enthusiasm. “If you’re willing to answer the same questions.”
“Fair enough,” he agreed. “Okay, let’s start with some easy ones. Last name.”
“Bishop,” I responded. “Yours?”
“Hughes.”Oliver Hughes. Why does that name sound familiar?
“Favorite food?” he asked next.
“Lasagna.”
“Mmmm. Lasagna,” he replied dreamily.
I laughed. “Is that your answer too or did it just sound good?”
“Both. I haven’t had lasagna in ages. Gotta watch this boyish figure, you know.”
“I don’t think you have anything to worry about,” I said quietly. He stared at me for a long moment, my words settling over both of us.
“Thank you,” he responded. I was sure he’d had many people tell him he was beautiful; how could they not? But he seemed almost shy hearing it from me and that made my heart do crazy things.
I cleared my throat. “Next question?”
“Oh, right. Umm. Where did you grow up?”
“A small town in Oregon. How about you?”
“Probably an even smaller town in Alabama,” he chuckled.
“I thought I detected just a hint of an accent. How long have you lived in California?”
“About four years. Moved here right after high school,” he said.
“Ahh. So, that would make you…twenty-two? Twenty-three?” I asked weakly.
He eyed me closely as he answered. “Twenty-two. I’ll be twenty-three in December. Is that a problem?”
I stared at him, this man who had tilted my world on its axis with just one look. The man who had given me my most erotic adventure thus far, without even touching me at all. The man who I’d spent the last week thinking about every day and dreaming about every night and I realized that no, no, it didn’t matter. I’d spent my entire life abiding by rules that others had set in place for me and trying to do what was right. But this was what Gayle and I had talked about. It was finally my time to find what was right for me and what would make me happy. Was it this man? I had no idea, but I certainly wasn’t going to let our age difference stop me from finding out.
“No, it’s not a problem at all. Not for me anyway. Is it a problem for you that I’m almost forty?” I was suddenly nervous that maybe he wouldn’t feel comfortable with our age gap.
“Hmmm. Let’s see. A mature older man who’s well spoken, has a great sense of humor and is sexy as fuck? Yeah, I think I can manage,” he teased. I felt blood rush to my face and he laughed a light, tinkling laugh. “Oh, yes. There’s that blush I’m so fond of.
“All teasing aside, there’s something I need to know, Samuel.” My smile drifted away when I saw the serious look in his eyes.
“What is it?”
“Are you married?” I leaned back in my seat. “I’m sorry, it’s just that I saw a ring on your finger when we met and now it’s not there and I just want to be clear about things before…”
“Before?” I asked. My mouth suddenly felt as dry as the Sahara.
“Uh-uh. Answer my question.”
“Okay. Yes, I’m still married…for now. Gayle and I got married young. We were stupid and careless, but we ended up with the most incredible daughter. We put everything else aside and raised her the best we could until recently when she went off to college. On the other side of the country, mind you,” I told him. Oliver gave me a sympathetic smile, but stayed quiet, waiting to hear the rest.
“Anyway, Gayle and I had a long and very honest talk. We agreed that even though we love each other and always will, we’re notin lovewith each other. She’s my best friend, nothing more. I took my ring off after the first party and I’m in the process of finding a place to live, but we haven’t told our daughter yet.”
Oliver opened his mouth to say something, but I held my hand up to stop him. “It’s not because we think we may change our minds, if that’s what you’re thinking. We haven’t told Brooklyn yet because we wanted her to get settled into her new school and make some friends first. She has a lot of changes going on right now and we don’t want to make things any more difficult than they have to be,” I explained.
