invitation. ‘My kids eventually got to the point where they demanded that we stop going to the circus every summer, because they’d gotten far too old for it. I was heartbroken.’
She smiled at him. ‘Oh no! You poor thing. You have my sympathies.’
He gave a nod of thanks, then held out his hand. ‘I’m Daniel, by the way.’
‘Suzy.’
‘I’m actually just on my way to get a bite to eat –’
‘Oh, don’t let me keep you!’ she said, feeling guilty all over again. This poor guy, getting dragged into the stupidest piece of public drama ever when he had somewhere else to be.
‘No, no, what I meant was … It’s late for having dinner, I know. I keep terrible hours sometimes. But I was wondering if you’d like to join me for a drink?’
Her alcohol tolerance had gone down dramatically since her wilder years, and so, on top of the one she’d had earlier – during her fruitless attempt to regain her enthusiasm for life – Suzy knew she’d probably end up at least a little tipsy. But she was tired of being responsible all the damn time, and the kids were at their dad’s for the night anyway. Why not take Daniel up on his invitation?
She gave him a broad smile and nodded. ‘That sounds like fun.’
When Daniel grinned there were delicate lines at the corners of his eyes, lovely little crow’s feet. They made him not just handsome but truly beautiful, in the most masculine way Suzy had seen.
There was a small Italian place just a couple of blocks away, smelling invitingly of garlic and tomato and fresh delicious cooking. Instead of heading to one of the numerous empty tables, Daniel headed for the bar and pulled out Suzy’s stool for her so she could sit down.
‘This way we don’t have a barrier between us. I always feel like I’m being interrogated when I try to have a conversation across a table,’ Daniel explained.
‘I guess you’d prefer it if I didn’t start asking you questions about yourself, then,’ Suzy teased. That made him laugh.
‘I’ll survive somehow.’
‘All right. What do you do with yourself, when you’re not rescuing crying women?’
Another grin, giving her another look at his lovely crow’s feet. ‘I’m an economist. I want to claim it’s more interesting than it sounds, but I suspect that’s only true in the case of people who think economics is interesting to begin with. And they don’t need convincing anyway.’ He gave a self-deprecating grin. ‘But it keeps me interested, and it pays my bills. If the worst I can say about it is that my children think I’m a fuddy-duddy, then I probably shouldn’t complain at all.’
Suzy smiled. ‘My kids are why I have my job. I’ve always been interested in medicine and science, but they were pre-term births and had a lot of health problems as a result. They’re mostly OK now, and science is to thank for that. The whole experience just made me really want to do something that helps, you know? But I … Well, I grew up very quiet. I’m kind of a loner, for the most part. Except for a few really wild teenage years of going out a lot, I guess I’ve never liked big groups, or even ordinary sized groups, of people. So being a doctor wasn’t ever gonna be an option, not with hospital rounds and waiting rooms and all. So I’m a researcher in a university lab.’
‘I grew up very isolated too,’ Daniel replied, touching her hand across the table top. ‘Isn’t it funny, that it left you wanting to be alone, and left me loving crowds? I always wanted to be an actor or performer, when I was a child. But it just wasn’t meant to be.’
That made her smile broadly. ‘You wanted to run away and join the circus, huh?’
He laughed. ‘Yes, I suppose I did. Never really grew out of that one, did I?’
‘OK, favourite movie,’ Suzy prompted.
‘ Singing in the Rain ,’ Daniel answered immediately. ‘No question. And you?’
‘Does it count if I say “the Harry Potter series”?’ she
She smiled at him. ‘Oh no! You poor thing. You have my sympathies.’
He gave a nod of thanks, then held out his hand. ‘I’m Daniel, by the way.’
‘Suzy.’
‘I’m actually just on my way to get a bite to eat –’
‘Oh, don’t let me keep you!’ she said, feeling guilty all over again. This poor guy, getting dragged into the stupidest piece of public drama ever when he had somewhere else to be.
‘No, no, what I meant was … It’s late for having dinner, I know. I keep terrible hours sometimes. But I was wondering if you’d like to join me for a drink?’
Her alcohol tolerance had gone down dramatically since her wilder years, and so, on top of the one she’d had earlier – during her fruitless attempt to regain her enthusiasm for life – Suzy knew she’d probably end up at least a little tipsy. But she was tired of being responsible all the damn time, and the kids were at their dad’s for the night anyway. Why not take Daniel up on his invitation?
She gave him a broad smile and nodded. ‘That sounds like fun.’
When Daniel grinned there were delicate lines at the corners of his eyes, lovely little crow’s feet. They made him not just handsome but truly beautiful, in the most masculine way Suzy had seen.
There was a small Italian place just a couple of blocks away, smelling invitingly of garlic and tomato and fresh delicious cooking. Instead of heading to one of the numerous empty tables, Daniel headed for the bar and pulled out Suzy’s stool for her so she could sit down.
‘This way we don’t have a barrier between us. I always feel like I’m being interrogated when I try to have a conversation across a table,’ Daniel explained.
‘I guess you’d prefer it if I didn’t start asking you questions about yourself, then,’ Suzy teased. That made him laugh.
‘I’ll survive somehow.’
‘All right. What do you do with yourself, when you’re not rescuing crying women?’
Another grin, giving her another look at his lovely crow’s feet. ‘I’m an economist. I want to claim it’s more interesting than it sounds, but I suspect that’s only true in the case of people who think economics is interesting to begin with. And they don’t need convincing anyway.’ He gave a self-deprecating grin. ‘But it keeps me interested, and it pays my bills. If the worst I can say about it is that my children think I’m a fuddy-duddy, then I probably shouldn’t complain at all.’
Suzy smiled. ‘My kids are why I have my job. I’ve always been interested in medicine and science, but they were pre-term births and had a lot of health problems as a result. They’re mostly OK now, and science is to thank for that. The whole experience just made me really want to do something that helps, you know? But I … Well, I grew up very quiet. I’m kind of a loner, for the most part. Except for a few really wild teenage years of going out a lot, I guess I’ve never liked big groups, or even ordinary sized groups, of people. So being a doctor wasn’t ever gonna be an option, not with hospital rounds and waiting rooms and all. So I’m a researcher in a university lab.’
‘I grew up very isolated too,’ Daniel replied, touching her hand across the table top. ‘Isn’t it funny, that it left you wanting to be alone, and left me loving crowds? I always wanted to be an actor or performer, when I was a child. But it just wasn’t meant to be.’
That made her smile broadly. ‘You wanted to run away and join the circus, huh?’
He laughed. ‘Yes, I suppose I did. Never really grew out of that one, did I?’
‘OK, favourite movie,’ Suzy prompted.
‘ Singing in the Rain ,’ Daniel answered immediately. ‘No question. And you?’
‘Does it count if I say “the Harry Potter series”?’ she
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