“What do you do?” I asked.
“Nothing. Well, I used to own a company, but I recently sold it. So, I’m between jobs right now. I’m basically unemployed.”
“That sounds rough, and I’m really looking for a guy with a job, but I guess I could make an exception for you.”
“Yeah, the unemployed thing is a bad sign, I know. Life’s a little boring, but I sold my company for a great deal of money. So, it’s not rough in the traditional sense. By the way, why do you think women cream themselves when they see me at clubs?” he asked and leaned in, eager to hear my response.
“Oh, well, um. I…” My brain went totally blank. “I don’t know.”
“I think you do. I do have to say; I don’t think I’ve ever witnessed this phenomenon in a woman. It seems like something I’d like to be part of, though.”
He laughed and leaned back in his seat as he took another bite of his bagel. His confidence just oozed off of him and his smile had me realizing that he was teasing me. I really liked to be kept on my toes around a guy; it made a date so much more fun.
“You’re purposely torturing me,” I laughed. “I didn’t mean to say that. I was thinking it, but I didn’t mean to say it out loud. I’m sorry.”
“Oh, hell, don’t be sorry. I love a good bit of honesty in a woman. Better than the prim and proper talk I normally get. I was around a lot of boring people when I used to have my company. You’re really refreshing.”
“What do you do all day long? I mean, if you don’t have a job, do you just go surfing all day or something? I saw this show about this guy who sold his company and then took up all sorts of weird hobbies. Do you have weird hobbies? I’m sorry, I’m babbling. You make me nervous.”
“Sometimes I go surfing, but usually, I have other meetings and appointments to take care of,” he said. “I’ve actually only just finished transitioning my company. I’m learning how to invest in the stock market from a friend of mine. I do charity work. I’m also always looking for my next business opportunity. I’m sorry I make you nervous,” he said with a grin that told me he wasn’t sorry at all. “How about you? What do you do when you’re not working?”
“I go to the theater and art shows. I used to want to be an artist, but life got in the way a bit and I never ended up going that route.”
“What got in the way?” he asked.
My heart quickened. This was the question that could ruin a date for me and often did. Why exactly didn’t I go after my dreams? How did I let life get away from me when I’m only in my twenties?
Sometimes I lied, if I knew I didn’t like the guy or wasn’t planning on seeing him again. I thought about lying to Brandon; it wasn’t like I planned on going out with him again. But something in the way he looked at me gave me the strength to tell him the truth.
“My husband passed away in a car accident, and I had a little boy to take care of,” I said. “I know it’s a horrible thing to tell you on a first date. I’m sorry, I just can’t help letting it out. It’s all part of who I am and I sometimes talk about him. I think it would be weirder if you didn’t know who he was. His name was Spencer.”
The color in Brandon’s face drained quickly as he reached out to grab my hand. The empathy in his eyes was amazing, and I instantly knew he understood what pain I had been through. I didn’t know who it was in his life that he had lost, but it was clear he understood what real loss was.
“I’m so sorry. That must have been really hard on you.”
And just like that, our flirting and fun date had turned incredibly serious. I had the ability to ruin any chance I had with any guy. There I was with a decent guy who actually laughed at my jokes and seemed like a pretty cool guy. But what did I do? I totally ruined it by bringing up my dead husband.
“Yeah, my son Connor is five. He’s my world. I’m not sure if I had that in my profile. I should also tell you that I work at Dating the Rich. My profile was supposed to be private; I had it public while I was fixing an error in the coding. I’m sorry if I misled you. I understand if you feel that way.”
“You look way too young to be a mom and a widow. I’m truly sorry for your loss. But I can tell you’re a strong woman and probably a fantastic mother,” he said as he totally ignored the rest of the information I had just told him.
“Did you hear what I said about working at the website?” I asked as I winced and waited for his reaction. “It’s probably against the rules to even be talking to you. Well, I don’t know if there is a rule about it or not. But I’m sorry if there is, and I understand if you are totally not into me.”
“Yep, I heard you, and I’m glad I caught you online, then,” he said.
“You don’t care that I work there?”
“Should I? Is it against the rules for me to date you? Wait, don’t tell me because if I don’t know, then I can’t break the rules,” he laughed.
“You just sent me the instant message, and I was sitting with my friend and responded. I don’t know if it’s technically against the rules. I just wanted to be honest.”
“If we are being honest, then I should tell you something about me, too,” he said as he looked seriously at me.
I took in a deep breath and prepared myself for whatever horrible piece of information he was about to give me. This was it: he was going to lay it all out on the table and tell me why a rich, handsome guy like himself was actually single.
“I’m divorced.”
I breathed a sigh of relief. That wasn’t so bad. There were a lot of guys in their mid-thirties who were divorced. If that was all that was wrong with this guy, then I really did want to keep him around.