Dating for Keeps by Rachel Hogan Page A

smile. "There's a guy sitting in the booth across the room who has been staring at you this whole time. I'm willing to bet that he might be interested. He looks alone, and he's super hot."
    Tessa looked up from their corner table in the bar. Trying not to be obvious, she discreetly glanced in the direction Becky indicated.
    She had to do a double take. "Forget hot, he's drop-dead gorgeous ," she whispered to Becky . He had a model's face with a strong cheekbones and jaw line, topped with perfect dark hair. Even though he was sitting down Tessa could tell he was tall, and his broad shoulders indicated that he definitely worked out, which was always a bonus.
    In taking him in Tessa ended up staring a little too long. He noticed her looking and flashed a brilliant smile. She immediately felt her cheeks flush and she looked away. "That guy? Are you kidding? Never in a million years would he be interested in me. On a scale of one to ten he's an eleven. At least."
    "Don't be so ridiculous Tessa. You know you are beautiful. He certainly hasn't been staring at me this whole time now has he?" Becky looked at her friend. Tessa's long brown hair had a slight wave, just enough to give it volume but not enough that she needed to worry about wrangling the curly mass of hair like Becky did. With her near-perfect complexion and her big green eyes, men were always attracted to Tessa. Sometimes Becky hated being out with her because of that.
    "You know you never have trouble getting dates."
    "I guess that's true," Tessa conceded. "But how do I get a date with him? He doesn't look like he plans on coming over here." Stealing another glance in his direction, she saw that he was busy playing with his phone and was no longer looking their way.
    "Well then, I guess you'll have to do the asking won't you?" Becky laughed because she knew the thought horrified Tessa. "Off you go then. A bet's a bet."
    Tessa's beauty and her ability to attract men came as a drawback at this particular moment. She was  used to men coming up and making conversation with her, and she was far too shy to even consider going across the room to approach a stranger. "Are you kidding? I can't just walk up to a random stranger and ask him out. Talk about looking desperate. Come on Becky, please help me out here."
    Becky looked at the despondency written across her friend's face and felt a little sympathy. She smiled. "Alright, I guess I can help you. Just this once. After all, the bet won't be any fun if you lose already."
    "I just can't go over there and ask him outright," Tessa paled. "The thought makes me want to crawl in a hole."
    "Okay then, we'll give him an excuse to come over here."
    "How?"
    Becky thought for a moment and her face brightened when an idea came to her. "All you have to do is go up to the bar and order a drink. Carry your wallet in your hand, but when you come back I want you to 'accidentally' leave your wallet behind. He's been eyeing you so much he's bound to notice, and that will give him the chance to bring it over here to us."
    "I don't know," Tessa frowned. "What if someone else takes it?"
    "Well, I'll be watching, silly. If anyone tries to steal it, I'll intervene. Come on, a bet's a bet."
    Tessa sighed, "Okay, you're right. Here goes."
    She grabbed her clutch and headed over to buy a drink. Upon returning to the table, she left her clutch behind, just as Becky had suggested. She didn't dare look behind her to see if the man had noticed, but the delight on Becky's face indicated to Tessa that they were about to have an encounter with the handsome stranger.
    "Excuse me miss," a deep voice with a brilliant British accent sounded behind her. "I believe you left this at the bar."
    Tessa turned to face the dark-haired stranger. He was even more handsome up close than he was from afar, and at well over 6 feet tall, he towered over Tessa's petite 5 foot 3 inch frame. She liked that.
    "Oh, how clumsy of me," Tessa chuckled, reaching out her hand for the