Page 2 of The Last Date

“Cecilia has told me so much about Jason. You’re just going to adore him. I swear.”

“I’m going to swear if I have to get through another freaking date,” I mumbled.

“What was that, dear?”

“I said, I think I hear his car in the driveway.”

“Go hide in the kitchen,” she said, “Let me invite him in.”

“No, please,” I said, holding up my hands. “Just let me get this over with.”

“Bright smile, Sasha,” she said, waving her hand like a supermodel showing off her freshly polished teeth. “The happier you look, the happier he will be to see you.”

“Thank you, Mom,” I said, managing to hold myself together long enough to get to the hall closet and grab my wrap.

I opened the door just as someone was starting to tap the knocker. He stepped back as soon as it was pulled from his hand.

“Hello,” he said, thankfully looking me in the eyes instead of the breasts. We were off to a good start. “Jason McNiece here to see Sasha.”

“That’s me,” I said, holding out my hand to shake his.

I did appreciate that he shook my hand like a real person, not a delicate little girl. I also appreciated that he was sort of handsome, with light brown eyes and dark brown hair, and just enough of a tan that said he went outside on weekends, not to a spray booth. His suit pants paired with a more casual button-down shirt was date-appropriate without trying too hard.

So far, he was off to a surprisingly promising start.

“Am I expected to meet your mother before we leave?” he asked in a low voice.

“No, let’s go. As fast as possible.”

“Gotcha,” he grinned, lightly taking my elbow as he guided me to his car. It was obviously very expensive, but not nearly as flashy as some that I’d been subjected to.

After he held my door and got in himself, he pulled away quickly. “My mom wanted me to take the Jag to impress you, but I didn’t know if you were into cars, and this one drives better.”

I actually laughed, surprising both of us. “I appre

ciate your honesty,” I said. “Listen, can we just be totally upfront about this?”

“How do you mean?”

He drove around a corner at a reasonable speed, and stopped to allow a neighbor to back out of their driveway without having a fit. More good points.

“Well,” I began, “We’re going out so that our mothers can feel like they’re being good parents, right?”

“Yes,” he said, rolling his eyes. “Thank you for saying it out loud.”

“So let’s have dinner, and we’ll click or we won’t, but can we relax about it?”

“Absolutely.” Jason chuckled, his shoulders shaking slightly. “You won’t believe how many of these things I’ve been forced to go on.”

“Try me.”

“At least twenty-five.”

“This is date number sixty-six that has been set up by my dear mother.”

Thankfully we were at a red light as he turned to stare at me. “Sweet Jesus. You poor thing.”

As soon as we got to the restaurant and were seated with a bottle of wine, Jason shifted to face me directly. “Listen, I’m a programmer. With computers, information is reduced to ones and zeros. Positives and negatives. Why don’t we just go over the basics, and if we don’t click, we’ll know immediately.”

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