Page 19 of 28 Dates

My look is effective because she rolls her eyes and rattles off her drink list. I make it quickly, and I’m sliding a raspberry cosmo, a dry martini, and a local Portland IPA onto her drink tray right as the door opens, the wind from outside pushing a burst of cool air in with it.

Caitlin whips in, pulling the door shut behind her, unwrapping a light scarf from around her neck as she does it.

Damn. Like every time I see her, my pulse kicks up. She’s beautiful. Tiny in an unassuming way that belies the fire of her personality. It’s one of the reasons that she’s so fun to spend time with. I never know what’s going to come out of her mouth: the girl lacks any inhibitions whatsoever. Which is only one of the reasons that while I was falling in love with her, I was willing to push that to the side to be able to keep sleeping with her. She’s incredible in bed. A woman who is confident and independent and knows what she wants but is also able to try any new random thing we could think of blows my mind.

It also makes my dick hard while I remember the various activities.

“Hey.” I clear my throat. Thank God I’m behind the bar where she can’t see below my waist. “You made it.”

“Hi. Told you I would.” Her eyes do a quick sweep of the bar before coming back to me. She’s chewing on the side of her lip, which means she’s nervous. I rarely see her nervous. At least she’s not pissed. “So—”

I toss a menu onto the counter, not that she’ll need it. She’s had it memorized for a year. “Lunch first. Place your order, and I’ll go get it started.”

The fact that she takes the menu and reads it like she’s never been here shoots alarm bells to my ears. Why is she so damn nervous? I wasn’tthatbig of a dick to her.

“I’ll take the shrimp satay and a mini cheese board, please.”

“You got it. Drink?”

“Thanks. And, oh, maybe just a water, please?” Her lips are pressed to one side. I’m not sure she’s made eye contact with me yet.

Something is up. I force myself to brush it off. I pour her a water and set it on the bar on top of a coaster. “Go have a seat at the gray table, and I’ll have this started quickly, okay? I have to grab Paul from his break, and I’ll meet you there.”

“Sure.” Her eyes slide to mine then. They’re timid. Wariness creeps down my skin as she turns away.

I haul off to the kitchen and have Manuel, our main lunch cook, place Caitlin’s order next in line. A cheese board and satay should only take a few minutes. Then I head down the hallway. Unsurprisingly, Paul’s out back, smoking something without nicotine in it. I wave my hand in the air. “Cut that shit out, Paul, and your break is over. I need you behind the bar.”

He presses his joint against the brick wall and tucks it into his pocket. “Sure thing, boss man.”

Paul is about a thousand times less useful than Tucker, and I’d write him up for being stoned at work and smoking in public even if possession is legal in Oregon now, but frankly, the guy actually performs better when he’s high.

I sigh, following him back inside. I’m still trying to shake off my unease at Caitlin’s timidity when I grab a drink from the bar and meet her at the table. It’s a high-back circular booth. Plush gray velvet covers the couch, and while there are plenty of other comfortable seating options, this table provides more privacy than any other seat.

Thank goodness it’s open because based on the way Caitlin startles as I slide in across from her, blanking out her phone and setting her screen facedown, I’m glad we’ll have the privacy.

Is she checking the app? And messaging other guys as easily as she did me? Of course she is, but the mere thought of another guy getting under her skin sets me on edge.

“So. You wanted to talk.” Might as well get the reason for her visit over with. “But before you do, I want to apologize to you. I was a jerk last time you were here, about the whole—” I wave my hand out toward her phone. She’s already smiling, though, which means we’ll be just fine. “Dating app thing.”

“Apology accepted. I get it, I was surprised because of what you said about Ashley, but whatever. And anyway, I’m only playing along to help out Trey. Work-related hazard, I guess.”

She shrugs, but there’s a blush tinting her cheeks. She might be telling the truth, but not the whole truth.

Sara walks up to our table, carrying Caitlin’s order. “Hey, Caitlin. Anything else you need, boss?”

“I’m good. Caitlin?”

She shakes her head, already chewing a chunk of Gouda. “I’m good,” she mumbles behind her hand. “Thanks, Sara. It looks great like always.”

“Sounds good. Enjoy and holler if you need me.”

She heads off to another table, and I take a drink of my soda.

“So, how’s the app going then?” The question fizzles down my throat more harshly than the soda just did.

“Actually, that’s what I wanted to talk to you about.”

“The dating app?”

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