Finding Forever by Michele Shriver

the other hand, if the day at the movie set counted as a date, then taco Saturday would have been the third. And Jordan had been willing, then, before Jake put a halt to things. Maybe the movie set didn’t count, though, in which case this was the third date. If it was a real rule, was she obligated to deliver? Yes, dating was way too stressful.
    She jumped when the doorbell rang. Great. He’s here and I don’t have any answers.
    “You mean he knows the access code already? Yep. It’s serious.” Beth grinned. “I’ll get it. Finish your makeup. I know you don’t leave home without lipstick.”
    Since Beth was right about the lipstick, Jordan took a few more minutes with her hair and makeup. When she emerged from her room, she found Jake alone, leaning against the wall, sporting a light gray suit with a dark blue open-collar shirt. She’d always liked the dark shirt contrasting with light suit look, and on him, it was especially gorgeous. “Hi,” she said, hoping her voice reflected a steadiness her legs didn’t feel. “Sorry to keep you waiting.”
    Jake let out a soft whistle. “It was worth the wait. You’re stunning.” He held out his arm and Jordan linked hers through it. “I hope you don’t show me up too much.”
    ***
    Since its grand opening two years before, Siempre had earned a reputation as the place to go in Grande Valley for anniversary dinners or falling in love. Since the date of her last drink was the only anniversary Jordan marked, and she never allowed herself to believe falling in love was an option for her, she’d all but dismissed the idea of ever dining there. Now she found herself being escorted to a private table while the host explained the Argentinean motifs that decorated the restaurants, including the painting of the Buenos Aires Obelisk that adorned the wall behind their table.
    “It reminds me of the Washington monument,” Jordan observed as Jake pulled her chair out.
    “I thought the same when I saw it this morning.”
    Jordan looked at him with surprise. “You were here this morning?”
    “Guilty.” A mischievous grin spread across his face. “How else would I know what table would be perfect?”
    “You did good.” She cast her gaze to the dining room below and noticed they even had a view of the grilling area of the kitchen. Real good.
    A uniformed waiter appeared and explained the open-flamed gaucho-style grilling to them before asking what they wanted to drink. “Sparkling water with a twist of lemon,” Jordan said, surprised not to hear an elaborate sell of the restaurant wine list.
    “Same for me,” Jake said.
    The waiter nodded. “Excellent. I’ll give you a few minutes to study the menu. Tonight’s special is the Loma al vino tinto , which is a seven-ounce tenderloin in a red wine sauce. I highly recommend it,” he added before leaving them alone.
    “The best- laid plans,” Jake muttered, chuckling a little.
    “What do you mean?”
    “I specifically asked them not to launch into a whole spiel about the wine list,” he explained. “I never thought about the special.”
    “You aren’t expected to think of everything.” Jordan smiled, touched he’d thought of this much.
    “Still, it must be difficult…”
    “It’s a drinking culture, for sure. Starting in college when it was cool to see how drunk we could get.” In treatment, she’d been forced to take a hard look at her life, recognizing the earliest roots of her problem. “Followed by law school, where I studied hard for six days a week, then got totally plastered on the seventh.” Jordan shook her head the memory. “Real healthy lifestyle, that,” she said dryly.
    Jake leaned forward in his seat. “The Hollywood scene sure couldn’t have helped.”
    “No.” It was what finally sent Jordan over the edge. She looked at Jake sitting across the table from her, a handsome man in his thirties, but her mind saw a fresh-faced, eager guy in his twenties sitting in her office, enthusiastic