* * *
ObiWan: She might as well be a man. Honestly, there is no spark whatsoever. Besides, even if there were, she’s an ASTROLOGER.
* * *
Alec: So what? She’s hot.
ObiWan: You date her then. That is if you don’t mind betraying everything you believe in for a chance at sex.
* * *
Alec: Dude, I’d betray my own grandmother for a chance at sex.
* * *
ObiWan: Well, that’s where you and I differ. Gotta go. I don’t want to be late for my non-date.
This is ridiculous. Possibly even more so than my accidental modeling gig. I’m currently on my way to some stupid restaurant to meet a woman I can’t stand because she refuses to answer my texts. I hurry down the busy Broadway sidewalk as the sky grows darker, my sense of dread growing with each step.
The Cove is trendy and loud — the kind of place I avoid like the plague. I walk in and glance around, spotting Serafina at a table for two in the corner. She waves at me in a way that says I won, which she most certainly has not. Just because I didn’t feel like acting like an adolescent, doesn’t mean I lost. It just means I’m an adult. She should take notes on how it’s done.
I weave my way through the tables, taking measured breaths and telling my heart rate to slow down, but it’s really no use. Alec was right. Serafina Lopez is gorgeous. And strong. And, as much as I hate to admit it, she’s smart. Completely wrong-headed, but intelligent, nonetheless. When I get to the table, she smiles. “Hi there, thanks for coming.”
I sit down across from her. “What can I say? I’m a gentleman.” I decide to leave the burden of conversation on her shoulders. After all, she’s the one who insisted we meet in person.
“The seafood paella is supposed to be incredible here,” she says with a small smile. She looks almost unsure of herself, which throws me off a little. I need her to stay in full battle mode so I can do the same.
“I’m just having an appetizer, then I have to run.”
The waiter walks up to our table with two glasses of water. “Hi, I’m Nathan. I’ll be your server this evening. Can I bring you something to start?”
He glances back and forth between us to see who’s going first. I gesture to Serafina to go ahead. “I’ll have a glass of Viognier, the house salad, and the paella for my main.”
“I’ll have a pint of Stella and the crab-stuffed mushrooms,” I tell him, handing him my menu.
“And for your main?”
“Nothing, thanks,” I say.
Nathan’s smile fades and he grumbles, “Not again.”
“Excuse me?”
“This is the third time this week that I end up serving the couple that’s about to break up. Of course, that always results in a huge argument and no tip.”
“Why on earth would you think we’re about to break up?” Serafina asks with curiosity etched across her brow.
He shakes his head as though he’s breaking bad news to her. “I’ve seen it a hundred times. Whenever a guy only orders an appetizer after his date orders a full meal, it means he’s breaking up with her but is doing it in a public place so she won’t freak out at him. If I were you, I’d walk out right now.”
Then he looks at me and adds, “Spoiler alert: she’s going to freak out. Sorry to ruin your great plan, but I just can’t have another food fight, broken dishes kind of evening, okay, buddy? It’s not fair to me, it’s not fair to her, and it’s not fair to the other people trying to have a nice evening out. Do it somewhere else.”
“This is a business meeting,” I tell him, while looking over the top of my glasses. It’s a power move that I learned from my multivariable calculus professor.
A look of embarrassment crosses our waiter’s face. “I’ll be right back with your drinks.”
As soon as he leaves, Serafina and I exchange amused glances. She says, “How much do you want to bet he’s a Leo? Leo men have a tendency to jump to conclusions.”
“I don’t know anything about Leos, but he did go from A to Z without any stops in between.” We both laugh, before I remember we hate each other, and that I want to get out of here as soon as humanly possible.
I pull a pen and a small notepad out of my jacket pocket and flip it open. “Okay, so we should get started.”
Serafina nods as she takes a laptop out of her bag. Then she sets her cutlery aside and puts it down in front of her. Without realizing it, I let out a “Huh.”
“What?” she asks, raising one eyebrow.
“Nothing.”
“No, it’s something,” she says. “Are you surprised I brought a laptop with me? I bet you thought I’d pull out some tarot cards and do a reading to determine what we should talk about on air.”
I let a grin escape my lips. “I was thinking a Ouija board. Maybe summon Dick Clark for advice.”
Glaring at me, Serafina opens her computer. “Let’s get one thing straight. I am a businesswoman — an extremely successful one at that. I probably make more in one month than you make all year.”
I stare at her for a moment, quickly multiplying my annual salary by twelve months. I suppose it’s possible. There are a lot of desperate people out there, and desperate people are easily parted from their hard-earned cash. Rather than getting into a pissing match over money (especially since I may lose), I tilt my head and ask, “Before or after taxes?”
She snort laughs. Not particularly attractive, but oddly cute in its own way. Not that I should be noticing.
Nathan comes by with our drinks. “This round is on me for accusing you of planning a cowardly break up.”
“Thanks,” Serafina and I both say at the same time.
“Your appetizers will be right out.” He walks away, leaving us to our awkward conversation.
Serafina lifts hers in a toast. “To our blossoming television career.”
I pick up my glass and lightly tap it against hers. “May it be over as quickly as it started.”
We each take a sip, then find ourselves staring at each other for seconds too long. Boy, she is really pretty. I force myself out of whatever weird hypnosis has taken over by giving my head a sharp shake.
She turns her gaze back to her computer screen and says, “Radial velocity would pair well with a talk about my dating app. I’m going to come up with a whole thing about gravitational pull so when you talk about the tug of war between a planet and the star it orbits, I’ll come in with my stuff about opposites …”— she glances up at me and pauses, then quickly looks back down before finishing her sentence — “attracting.”
Eleven
Serafina
“You have salad dressing on your nose,” Ben tells me rather rudely.
“I like the smell of ranch so I like to leave a little bit on the tip of my nose to enhance my enjoyment.” I wipe it off, totally negating the veracity of my claim.