“It’s our first date,” Joel says through his teeth.
“Oh wow,” Rob says again. “Shit, Joel, you must hate me.” He flashes Cassie an apologetic look. “I was just exaggerating all that stuff about Francesca, you know. Trying to make him look good in front of his girl.”
“Thanks for that,” Joel mutters.
Rob raps his fingers on the table. “Well, I’ll leave the two of you alone then. Hope I didn’t ruin the evening.”
That remains to be seen.
Cassie sits there, her fingers clutching the hem of her dress, waiting for an explanation, not certain she wants one. She had already suspected Joel had recently come out of a long-term relationship. But it’s one thing to suspect it, and it’s another thing to have it thrown in her face.
She doubts many great love stories have started with being mistaken for the guy’s ex-girlfriend.
“I’m sorry about that,” Joel says. “I’m so… so sorry.”
She shrugs like she gets mistaken for ex-girlfriends on dates all the time. “It’s not your fault.”
“Yeah…” He rakes a hand through his dark hair. “I just… I think you should know… he was exaggerating. A lot.”
She manages a tiny smile. “So this Francesca wasn’t the most perfect human being who ever was?”
“No.” He lowers his eyes. “She wasn’t.”
A million questions pop into Cassie’s head. When did the relationship end? It must have been recent if this man assumed they were still together. Who ended it? She’s not sure why, but somehow she thinks it was Francesca who pulled the plug on their perfect relationship. Did you love her?
Well, of course he did. That much is obvious from his face.
“I don’t want to talk about Francesca,” Joel interrupts her thoughts. A muscle twitches in his jaw. “That’s the last thing I want to talk about. So… let’s change the subject. Okay?”
“Okay,” she agrees, even though it’s the only thing she wants to talk about. But he’s right. Ex-girlfriends are not an appropriate first-date conversation. Or any date conversation.
A song starts playing in the background. It’s a man’s voice, although Cassie can’t identify the singer or the name of the song. But Joel’s ears perk up and he smiles. “I used to love the song. Haven’t heard it in a long time.”
“I don’t know if I’ve ever heard it.”
His eyes widen. “Really? This is Sister Hazel. It was on the radio all the time back in…” He frowns at her. “Is it rude to ask how old you are?”
She laughs. “No, not rude. I’m twenty-six. How old are you?”
He hesitates. “Older than you.”
“Oh, that is so unfair.” She shoots him a look. “I told you how old I am and now you won’t tell me how old you are?”
“Well…”
“Okay, in that case, I’m going to guess…” She squints at him across the table, studying his face for lines and gray hairs. She detects one possible gray hair around his temple. When he smiles, there are lines around his eyes, but they mostly disappear when his face relaxes. Mid-thirties, or thereabouts. But she feels in the mood to tease him. “Fifty… seven?”
His mouth falls open. “That’s a joke, right?”
She blinks. “Older or younger?”
He grins at her. “You know, it makes you look even worse if you agreed to go out with a fifty-seven-year-old if you’re only twenty-six.”