A Pinch of Ooh La La by Renee Swindle Page A

floating back from whence she came.
    Samuel sat down across from me and stared as if he’d just received good news from a friend.
    â€œWhat?” I asked.
    â€œNothing,” he said.
    â€œTell me.” Now I was smiling, too.
    â€œIt’s nothing. I just . . . I’m happy you look like your picture—better, even. I’ve been looking forward to this, but you know, you just never know if a person, if, well—”
    He started to stumble over himself. But knowing that he was relieved that I looked like my picture meant that he’d been nervous about meeting me, which helped me relax a little. “You don’t have to explain,” I told him. “I feel the same. You never know with online dating, right?”
    â€œRight.”
    He smiled his smile and I felt myself grow warm around myneck and chest. I watched as he evened out his knife and fork so that the ends were aligned. It struck me that he hadn’t a clue about how handsome he was. Erase that. Surely he knew; how could he not? But at least he didn’t carry himself with an
I am the man
;
I am all that and then some
vibe, which, as we all know, can be a total turnoff. I wondered how it came to be that he still had some self-conscious humility intact, if he was raised not to focus on looks, or if maybe he’d been hurt in a relationship, or both. I knew I couldn’t ask about either after we’d barely said hello, but I was determined to say something about the hot, sexy elephant in the room: Why did a man like him need to meet people through online dating?
    I waited as we discussed the weather and asked, “How was your day?” We’d chatted on the phone, after all, so it wasn’t like we were complete strangers. I folded my hands on the table. “So I’m curious,” I said. “Why does someone like you need online dating? Seems to me all you have to do is walk out the door.”
    He chuckled. “I could ask the same about you.”
    â€œThanks. But you’re avoiding the question.”
    â€œIt’s nothing you haven’t heard before. I don’t like the bar scene, stopped going to clubs years ago, and I put in long hours at the office. It’s as simple as that. Why are you doing the online thing?”
    â€œMy best friend sabotaged me. Although right about now, I’m really glad he did.”
    â€œSame. In my opinion, it’s not how a couple meets; it’s whether they stay together or not. I have to tell you, Abbey, I’m looking for something that lasts, and if I have to find her through online dating, that’s fine with me. I just want to find her. Dating gets old.” Embarrassed, he smiled and centered his already centered plate between his aligned knife and fork. “I’m sorry. Way too much information.”
    I imagined little hearts fluttering from my chest and floating toward him.
    â€œNo need to apologize. I feel the same.”
    He took out his phone and laid it on the edge of the table. “Sorry about this, but my father is out of town and I’m looking after my mother. She tends to worry if I don’t pick up. Do you mind?”
    â€œNot at all.”
    The waitress came with the wine list and they began talking Wine. I couldn’t speak that language so let them have at it. When he saw a wine he liked listed on the menu, Samuel asked if I would mind if he ordered a bottle for the table. I realized how much I was starting to like him. Not because he knew wines, but from the way he spoke with the waitress and carried himself. He reminded me of Bendrix in that he was smart and handsome and had a smattering of pretention around the edges. Although, goodness knew, with Bendrix there could be much more than a smattering.
    The waitress returned with the wine and poured a touch in Samuel’s glass to see if it was to his liking. It was. After pouring, she clasped her hands in front of her long white apron and