couldn’t do it. He couldn’t date someone as young as Dana. Hell, he couldn’t date anyone at all. He wasn’t ready, not even for something casual. Keeping to himself was easier.
He picked up his cell phone, intending to call Dana and decline her offer, but he dialed his daughter, Kaley, instead, needing to hear her voice.
She’d chosen to live in a dorm, even though her campus was fairly close to home. Eric supported her decision. He wanted his daughter to spread her wings, to find her independence, to enjoy her youth. But damn, he missed seeing her every day. Of course, she still came by on weekends sometimes. But between her studies and her social life, those weekend visits were becoming less frequent.
“Hi, Dad,” she said, by way of a phone greeting.
“Hey, what are you doing?”
“Getting ready to go out. I’m going to a Valentine-themed party with my girlfriends. There’s another one tomorrow night, too. Both of them are for singles only. How great is that?”
Valentine’s Day was on Monday. It was a holiday he no longer celebrated, but apparently Kaley and her crowd were intent on enjoying it. He feigned an upbeat tone. “Sounds fun.” It also sounded as if she wasn’t going to be home any time this weekend.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
He almost said, “Nothing,” but he didn’t want her to feel bad for him, so he replied, “I was invited to a gallery opening tomorrow.”
“Really? Are you going to go?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t decided.” That was better than admitting the truth.
Kaley didn’t ask who invited him. She probably thought it was one of his old artist friends. He wouldn’t have told her who it was, anyway, so he was glad that she hadn’t asked.
“You should see me, Dad. I’m wearing this cheesy pink gown.” She laughed. “And a tiara. The party tonight is dress-up.”
He smiled. She used to love wearing princess getups when she was a kid. “Take a picture and send it.”
“I will, as soon as I get my lipstick on.”
“Pink, I presume.”
“What else?” She made a silly kissing sound. “I love you, Daddy. Have fun at the gallery opening tomorrow.”
“I didn’t say I was going.”
“Well, you should. It’s just your sort of thing.”
He sidestepped her encouragement. “I love you, too, kissy Kaley. Be good.”
“Okay. Talk to you later.”
They said goodbye and as he ended the call, a big jolt of emptiness consumed his heart. But that didn’t stop him from dialing Dana to decline her offer.
“Hello?” She answered in an eager tone. Hoping, perhaps, that it was him on the other end?
“Hi. It’s Eric.”
“Oh, I’m so glad you called, especially now. I’ve been trying on clothes for our date, just in case you say yes. I want to look amazing and blow you away.”
Eric winced. She was too young and sweet for the likes of him. “I just talked to my daughter. She said that she was wearing a pink gown and a tiara to a Valentine-themed party. She’s supposed to send me a picture.”
“How fun. I’ll bet she’s going to have a great time. The gallery opening is Valentine art.”
“I’m not going to go, Dana.”
“Come on. Don’t bail on me. Please. I really want to have a nice evening with you.”
“I’m just not up for it.”
A smile sounded in her voice. “How about if I send you a picture of what I’m going to wear?”
In spite of himself, he laughed. “I’d rather be surprised.”
“Does that mean you’re going to go?”
Did it? He glanced at the photos on the fireplace mantel, particularly the one from his wedding. Corrine had been an incredibly beautiful bride with her traditional white dress and misty veil. They’d gotten married at the beach. She’d always loved the sand and the surf. He did, too.
“You’re confusing me,” he said.
“Confusing you into having some fun?”
Just confusing him in general. “What gallery is it?”
“It’s a new one near the beach.”
He glanced at the portrait again. “Which beach?”
“Santa Monica.”
Eric’s stomach clenched. The same one where he’d said his vows. Was this a cosmic joke? “Dana—”
“Please.” She persisted again. “Just give me a chance. One date. One kiss afterward.”
A kiss? Now that was all he was going to be thinking about. He’d already been thinking about it at the diner, too. Could she tell? Did she know? Had he been that obvious? “You don’t play fair.”
“A little romance never hurt anyone.”
Romance had hurt him plenty. In the picture, he was standing barefoot on the shore in his tux, with his pant legs rolled up past his ankles, holding his new bride in his arms. He remembered scooping her up and making her squeal.
Dana said, “I really want to kiss you.”
He wanted to kiss her, too. He wanted to put his mouth against hers and forget how lonely he was. “This is dangerous.”
“It’s a date, Eric.”
“And a kiss,” he reminded her.
“Just one at the door,” she reminded him. She wasn’t offering a night of unbridled passion.
Nor was he expecting anything like that. But maybe it was time for him to get back into the casual dating pool. Besides, Dana was about as sweet as they came. He couldn’t ask for a nicer person to spend a few hours with. “Okay.” He held his breath. One date. One good-night kiss. Plus Valentine art in Santa Monica. He prayed he could handle it. “I’ll go out with you.”
Her voice beamed. “You won’t regret it. We’re going to have a wonderful time. I’m so excited. Here, let me give you my address.”
“I have to get a pen and paper.” He went into the kitchen, away from the photo.
“Ready?”
“Sure. Go ahead.” She rattled off her address and he wrote it down.
“It’s the house in the back,”
