You Had Me At Christmas: A Holiday Anthology(43)

John pushed back the stool and Kate watched him walk out of the bar without even realizing what was happening. Stunned, hurt, she scurried herself to leave before anyone could see what had been done to her.

This was far worse than being stood up. This was him treating her as if she were the creepy troll. At least have the good manners to pretend a fake emergency. Something other than total abandonment.

When she pushed open the doors of the restaurant, John was still standing there by the entrance. Cursing rather fluently at himself. Suddenly, it all seemed so ridiculously funny. Here they were, two grown adults acting like innocents. Teenagers dating for the first time were not as bad as they were.

Tentatively, Kate walked up to him and tapped him on the back. He turned and once again seemed flummoxed by her appearance. “If the reason you left is because you don’t like the way I look, then I’ll leave and never talk to you again. But…”

“You might be the most beautiful woman I’ve ever laid eyes on,” he stopped her.

Kate smiled. She couldn’t remember the last time a man called her beautiful. Competent, professional, intelligent, yes. Never beautiful. She liked it.

“But this isn’t going to work. You’re…you are way out of my league.”

“I don’t know about that. You’re rather handsome yourself.”

He ran a hand through his salt-and-pepper hair, and she thought she liked the way the lines around his eyes crinkled. He was taller than she was, even in her high heels, and she had this crazy urge to put her arms around his waist to see how they would fit together.

“That’s not what I mean. Look at you, you’re this high-class lady and… well, I’m not. I work down at the docks in the winter and I own my own boat and catch fish in the summer.”

Kate tilted her head. “So you’re an entrepreneur. Me too. That’s something we have in common.”

“Kate,” he said, almost as if he was frustrated with her even though this was their first meeting.

“I did cross a bridge for you. The Ben Franklin. That’s a toll and everything. Seems kind of cruel not to even buy me a drink.”

He blinked and then shook his head. Then, with a sheepish smile that made her like him even more, he nodded. “Okay. I guess you can tell I don’t do this a lot.”

“I’m happy you were more nervous than me. Kind of took the edge off. And I learned you’ve got a hell of a cursing vocabulary. I found some of your combinations rather innovative. Another thing we have in common.”

“You truly are beautiful.”

She smiled and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Then buy me drink, sailor?”

Another twist of his lips. “Actually, in the summer I’m considered the captain.”

“Should I salute?”

“She’s cheeky,” he said to no one in particular. “I like cheeky. Okay, let’s do this.”

He reached out his hand again, this time to take hers instead of to shake it. He led her back inside and asked the hostess for a table. The young woman walked them back to a cozy booth, where they sat across from each other and Kate got to order a glass of wine.

“This feels more like what I was expecting,” she said as she sipped the Chardonnay the waitress had delivered.

“I couldn’t have gotten us off to a worse start, could I?”

“Probably not.” Kate smiled. “I think you have a story to tell me, though.”

He sighed and looked away. “I told myself I wasn’t going to tell you. Not on the first date. I wanted a chance for you to get to know me. Sometimes when people find out, it’s all they see. I didn’t want to be defined by that. It’s not who I am.”

Kate could appreciate that, but it didn’t make her any less uncertain of the situation. “I don’t want to define you. But I think I need to know…”

“I hit a cop,” he told her. “I can tell you he was a bad cop. I can tell you I thought I was doing the right thing at the time. I can also tell you I was drunk. I’m not a drunk,” he said, lifting his beer. “This happened to be a bad night for me. I can tell you all of that but unless you know me, trust me, then I sound like any other ex-con who deep down thinks he’s innocent.”

Kate wasn’t sure what to say to that, because he was right. She couldn’t say she knew him, so she couldn’t say she trusted him. What she knew deep down though was that she wanted to trust him. She thought that was a good sign. A person didn’t hire hundreds of employees without being able to read people.

She took another sip of her wine. “Was it awful? Being inside?”

“It was mostly boring. I’m not someone who handles being idle very well. When you have hours to sit all day thinking about shit…sorry, stuff. It can mess with your head.”

Kate reached across the table and put her hand on top of his. “Please, I’m not some delicate creature you have to watch your language around. I think we’ve already established I’m in awe of your colorful swearing.”

John shook his head and looked away from her even as he slowly pulled his hand back from under hers.

“Kate, that’s exactly what you are. You’re elegance and class. A lady. That’s the first thought that crossed my mind when I saw you. I’m hardworking, usually dirt poor unless the summer is a boon, and crass. I don’t see how those two worlds fit. I think if we were both smart we would finish our drinks, I would walk you to your car and we would call it a night.”