Page 4 of Protect My Heart
‘What can I get you?’ the bartender asks as I step up to the bar.
‘An old fashioned and a whiskey on the rocks.’
‘That’ll be 30 even,’ he says as he makes the drinks.
Thirty dollars for two drinks? It’d be half that in Haydon Falls. I forgot how expensive things are in big cities. It’s another reason I’d never want to live in one.
We take our drinks and head back through the ballroom to the table. The place is filling up as more people arrive. The cocktail hour goes on for another half hour and then dinner is served. After that, the music will start. Noah and Lacey hired a local band. I’m hoping Mia will agree to a dance or two, maybe more if the evening goes well.
‘We got some company,’ Chuck says as Mia and I get back to the table. There’s a woman sitting next to Chuck and one heading toward the empty chair next to mine. Two guys are now on the other side of Mia.
‘I’m Gary,’ one of them says to her as she sits down.
Gary better back the hell off. Mia already has a date for tonight.
‘Sorry,’ the woman next to me says as she sits down. She bumped me when she moved her chair out.
‘It’s fine,’ I say, smiling at her. She’s hot, with wavy blonde hair and wearing a tight pink dress. But as hot as she is, my attention is drawn back to Mia. There’s something about her, something I’ve never felt with anyone else.
‘This is Jason,’ Mia says, and when I turn to her, I feel her arm slip around mine as she looks at Gary.
‘Nice to meet you,’ I say, using my free arm to reach over and shake his hand.
Gary glances down at Mia’s arm around mine. ‘I thought this was the singles table.’
‘It is,’ I say.
‘Them two have been giving each other the eye since she sat down,’ Chuck says, motioning to Mia and me. ‘They’re both teachers so maybe that’s got something to do with it.’
‘I’m single,’ the woman next to Chuck says. She’s probably in her 40s, but the way Chuck’s looking at her, I don’t think he cares about their age difference.
‘Why don’t we get you a drink?’ he says, giving her the same smile he gave Mia when she sat down, the kind that says he’s hoping to sleep with her later.
The two of them get up and head to the bar.
‘I feel like I know you,’ the guy next to Gary says to me. ‘Do you work downtown?’
‘No, I’m a teacher and baseball coach in Haydon Falls, a town a couple hours north of here.’
He smiles. ‘That’s how I know you. My son wanted to go to your baseball camp. He showed me the website and I saw your photo. We live here in Chicago so I had to tell him no, but he really wanted to go. Do you run the camp yourself?’
‘Yeah, I started it a couple years ago. It’s getting to be really popular.’
‘You must be a good coach,’ Mia says, smiling at me.
The guy’s phone rings and he answers it. ‘Honey, you know I’m at that wedding tonight.’ He nods, then gets up from the table. ‘I’ll be there soon.’ He ends the call and says, ‘That was my daughter. She’s at a sleepover and got sick. I need to go get her. It was nice meeting you all.’ He takesoff.
‘Glad I don’t have kids,’ Gary says, watching the guy leave. ‘They ruin your life.’
‘I can’t wait to have kids,’ Mia says to him. ‘I want at least three, maybe more.’
‘Good luck with that,’ Gary says, getting up. ‘I’m getting a drink.’
‘Angela,’ a guy says, coming up to the girl next to me. ‘I didn’t know you’d be here.’
‘Larson!’ She jumps up from her chair. ‘Where are you sitting?’
‘Over there.’ He points to the table near the exit door. ‘There’s an open seat if you want to move.’
