License to Date by Susan Hatler

her eyes turned icy. “Kaitlin’s mother.”
    “I’m Gary Porter.” My stepdad shook Paul’s hand, seeming oblivious of the ambush his wife had clearly planned.
    Mom kept her attention on Paul. “Kaitlin tells me you’re a bartender.”
    My jaw tightened at the way she’d said bartender . Like she didn’t approve of his career choice. “Mother—”
    “Yes, I’m a bartender. Among other things.” Paul’s eyes twinkled and he seemed unfazed by my mother’s probing.
    She raised her chin a notch. “You look familiar . . . what do your parents do? If you don’t mind my asking?”
    I saw Paul’s gaze flicker and my chest ached knowing he was thinking of his dad. “Mom, I don’t—”
    “My parents have always been in the service industry.” His voice was steady but the color of his eyes deepened. “But my father passed away several months ago.”
    “I’m sorry to hear it.” Mom’s icy tone softened.
    I was relieved she actually seemed to mean that, so I cleared my throat. “Well, enjoy the show and we’ll talk later.”
    And I meant that. How dare she interrogate Paul?
    “And you enjoy your date tomorrow night at the country club with Brian.” Mom’s smile remained plastered on her face as she turned from me to Paul. “I’ve always wanted a fine life for my daughter, Paul. Don’t you agree she deserves that?”
    My face heated and I was so ready to tell my mom off—  
    “I completely agree with you, Janet.” He held her gaze as he said the words. “Kaitlin deserves the very best life has to offer. The finest of everything.”
    My brows came together, partly from how they were talking about me like I wasn’t here, but mostly because I didn’t need things . I needed to be happy, content, and secure. To be able to be myself and not pretend everything’s perfect all the time—the way I was with Paul.  
    “We’re in agreement then.” Mom gave Paul an icy smile as the overhead lights flickered. She laced her arm through my stepdad’s. “We’d better get to our seats, dear.”
    “Enjoy the show.” Dad nodded at Paul and me, appearing unaware of his wife’s attack on Paul as they walked away.
    Paul brushed his fingers over my arm. “Looks like we missed your coffee.”
    My eyes burned, and I didn’t want to chance running into my mom a second time. “I’m sorry, but I have to go.”
    “We’ll leave then.” He put a hand on my back and made a motion toward the door.
    “No.” I shook my head. “You stay and enjoy the rest of the show. I don’t want to ruin your entire night when you were excited to see the ballet.”
    The corners of his mouth turned upward. “Sweetheart, the ballet bores me out of my mind.”
    My jaw dropped open. “You said you loved it.”
    “No, I asked ‘who doesn’t love the ballet’?” He slipped his hand in mine and tugged me toward the exit. “And well, I would be one of those people.”
    “Then why would you . . . ?”
    “To spend time with you.” He rubbed his thumb over the back of my hand. “I saw the Swan Lake poster framed in your living room and figured you loved the ballet. I had no idea you’d fall asleep on me.”
      My insides glowed as I realized he hadn’t had an extra ticket to the ballet. He’d planned to take me, which must mean he was into me. Warm fuzzies fluttered in my belly.
    “Thank you.” I smiled up at him as we strode down the sidewalk to the hotel and where I’d parked. “I hung the poster up because my dad means a lot to me, not the ballet. He took me to Swan Lake right after my parents separated. It had been a week since he’d moved out and I’d missed him terribly. I spent the entire ballet dreading him leaving me again. Soon after, he took a job in Seattle and was gone.”
    He squeezed my waist as we walked. “I’m sure you were in his heart.”
    I sniffed. “I never thought of that before, but you’re probably right. He was in mine.”
    We arrived to the front of the hotel and I gestured down the