Not Quite Dating (Not Quite #1)(31)
Author: Catherine Bybee

Jessie sighed in relief. “You can seat me.”

Several couples talked quietly in their intimate booths, drinking wine and eating breadsticks. At the table, Jessie removed her light jacket and placed it beside her.

“Would you like something from the bar while you wait?”

“Water for now.”

The blonde left and Jessie went ahead and opened her menu to glance at the selections.

A busboy brought water and a basketful of breadsticks and then left her alone to watch the time pass.

Every minute that ticked by while Jessie waited felt like an hour.

Ten minutes past seven, Brad walked up to the table.

“I’m sorry I’m late,” he said as he undid a button on his jacket and slid into the booth beside her. “I had a heck of a time getting through traffic, and the parking out there is a mess.”

Jessie smiled and waved away Brad’s concerns. “I’m glad you made it.” And she was, she realized, despite her reservations about the date. Brad wore a well-pressed suit, his jaw was clean shaven, and he even smelled good. More because of the froufrou cologne he wore than his natural scent.

Jack always carried a little spice and pine wherever he went. More masculine.

“I hope you haven’t been waiting long.”

Fifteen minutes, thirty seconds. But who is counting? “I was only ahead of you by a few minutes,” she lied, hoping she didn’t appear too anxious.

Brad signaled the waiter as he walked by and ordered a bottle of wine and two glasses.

Strike two, Jessie found herself thinking. First, he was late for the date, and although traffic was a factor, she had still managed to get there on time, and it wasn’t exactly rush hour out there. Second, Brad didn’t even ask her if she drank wine. Then again, maybe that’s what people with money did to impress their dates.

“The food here is excellent,” Brad said as he pushed his menu aside. “You said you’ve never eaten here before, isn’t that right?”

“I’ve passed here many times but never stopped.” Jessie went ahead and reopened her menu and then pretended to look over what the restaurant offered.

“I can select the perfect dish for you, if you like.”

“Ah…” She wasn’t sure what to say.

Brad gently removed the menu from her fingers and folded it on top of his. “You have to have the lasagna. I don’t think I’ve tasted better outside of New York.”

“Ah, OK.” Looks like it was lasagna, whether she wanted it or not. What was wrong with her? Brad was trying to be thoughtful, and here she was taking offense at nearly everything he was saying or doing.

The wine arrived and saved her the trouble of coming up with small talk. Jessie watched Brad’s profile while he went through the process of tasting the wine and approving it. His features were just as she remembered: nice but not overly strong. His face was a little narrower than she remembered. There were no dimples when he smiled, and the smile did seem to lack something.

Jessie sipped her wine and watched him over the rim of the glass. The wine tickled the back of her throat, then slid down easily.

“What do you do at the hotel?” Brad asked.

“I’m sorry?” She didn’t understand his question.

“You do work at the hotel, don’t you? I thought for sure you were a waitress there.” He cocked his head to the side when he spoke.

“No, I don’t work at the hotel, but I do wait tables.” She couldn’t for the life of her figure out how he knew what she did for a living.

“You must know someone at the hotel who managed to get you a ticket to the party, then.”

Jessie couldn’t help but feel as if she were under interrogation. She thought of Jack and the risks he’d taken to get her in the door.

“Is being an investigator part of a lawyer’s job?” she asked with a little laugh.

Brad let a sly smile pass his lips before he abruptly steered his words in a different direction. “You seemed a bit lost that night.”

“A friend of mine forfeited his ticket for me,” she explained.

Brad tipped his glass back again. “A friend who is a man?”

“Yes.”

“I don’t think I can call any woman in my life a friend. An ex–romantic engagement, a sister, a family member, a colleague, maybe, but never simply a friend.”

“What about the wives or girlfriends of your male friends?”

“I don’t consider them personal friends, more like how you just explained them…the wife of a friend of mine. Is this friend of yours married?”

Strange how this date had a third person at the table the entire time. Jack may not have been there in person, but he certainly was in spirit. “No.”

The waiter arrived, and Jessie wanted to kiss him for his timing.

“Have you decided?” Their waiter was a man around forty-five, maybe older. His waistline looked as if he enjoyed the food at Antonio’s, and his Italian accent kept her guessing if he was any relation to Antonio himself.

“I think so,” Jessie said.

He smiled at her and poised his pen over his order slip.

“The lady would like the lasagna,” Brad said before Jessie could open her mouth. “With the antipasto salad, and I’ll have the same.”

Jessie had the strong urge to glance at her watch, but squelched it.

Jack looked at his watch for the third time in fifteen minutes. Jessie was out with that lawyer. Brad Leland, to be exact. Jack had checked out the guest list of the benefit party and found only one Brad in the invites. A quick online search resulted in a name, the name of his practice, and a few hits on cases he’d tried recently. Jack had hoped to find a little dirt on the guy, but he didn’t see any. Not married, his romantic entanglements were private at the current time. Jack did find an old girlfriend, one whom Brad had been engaged to. There was a write-up in an archived paper about the engagement, but it had been nearly two years ago. All the current information on Brad pointed toward a single status. As a corporate lawyer, Brad had a full plate of clients, and from the look of the pictures of his office, he wasn’t hurting for cash.

There was even a picture of the guy on the website for the law firm he worked with.

Dull and boring. Jack couldn’t imagine Jessie finding him remotely attractive.

Still, Brad the Boring was out on a date with Jessie, and Jack was in the penthouse, stewing. He would have to wait until Tuesday, the next time Jessie worked, to find out how the date went. Unless Jack wanted to come off as a jealous, jilted lover.