The vendor narrows his eyes at me. “Five dollars.”
“Four dollars.” I square my shoulders. “Four dollars or else I report you for not having prices displayed on your cart.”
The vendor looks at me like he wants to wrap his fingers around my neck and strangle me. But he knows I’m right. “Four dollars,” he says grudgingly to the man.
The man is looking at me now, a smile playing on his face. Up close, he is much more attractive than he was from across the field. There’s a dimple on his left cheek when he smiles. “And I’ll pay for whatever this young lady wants,” he adds.
My cheeks grow warm. “I don’t want anything.”
“Of course you do,” he insists. “You were in line.”
I can’t tell him that I was only in line to get a better look at him. “You don’t have to pay, I mean.”
“Well, you saved me six dollars,” he points out.
“You want something or not, lady?” the vendor snaps at me.
They’re both staring at me, so I mumble, “Just a water.”
I accept the water grudgingly. I need to get out of here before Joel sees me. I don’t want him to figure out I’ve been following him. If he does, it won’t be good. At the very least, he’ll delete the WhereAmI app from his phone.
“I’m Dean,” the guy says before I can hurry away. He’s still smiling at me with that sexy dimple. Joel used to look at me that way.
“Oh,” I say.
He’s waiting for me to tell him my name. But if I tell him my name, he’ll report back to Joel, and he’ll know it’s me. And then Joel will wonder what I happened to be doing at that exact same place in the park as him.
But before I can figure out what to tell him, the guy Dean snaps his fingers and says, “Sophia Loren.”
I blink at him. “Excuse me?”
He fumbles with his hot dog. “Sorry. I was trying to figure out who you look like. I’m a sucker for old films and Sophia Loren was this great Italian actress from… well, a long time ago.”
“I know who Sophia Loren is,” I say. I love old films too, and Marriage Italian Style is one of Nonna’s favorite movies. I bought it for her on DVD several years ago. “I don’t think I look like her.”
“I disagree,” Dean says, his dark eyes serious even though he’s still smiling. “You’re a dead ringer.”
“Well, thank you,” I say, even though it’s not true.
His smile widens. “This is the best day ever. I got to meet a girl who looks just like my favorite actress. And she saved me six dollars on a hot dog and bottle of water.”
“Yes, but then you blew two of those dollars on a bottle of water for that girl.”
“Worth it.” He raises his eyebrows. “But you know what would really make this the best day ever?”
I’m afraid to hear.
“If that girl would let me have her phone number,” he says.
I swallow hard. Dean isn’t really my type, but even if he was, I can’t consider giving my number to a guy who’s friends with Joel. I don’t even know why I’m talking to him.
Dean takes a bite of his hot dog, waiting for me to say something. He’s watching me, and I can’t help but notice he’s got long eyelashes for a man. It makes his eyes look even darker than they are. Smoldering.
“I can’t,” I finally manage.
At first, I think he’s going to argue with me, but he doesn’t. “Okay,” he says. “I understand. But how about just your name?”