Page 47 of No Match Found
“If the circumstances had been different, maybe.” He paused. “Hold on. Don’t leave.” He walked to a parking stall two spaces away, and the headlights flashed just before he opened theback door.
He pulled out a brown bag, shut the door, and walked back over.
“What’s that?” I asked.
“Donuts,” he said, showcasing the Dawson’s logo. “For Donuts and Debrief.”
I couldn’t stop a smile. It was unexpectedly thoughtful of him, and they smelled divine.
We rested our backs against my car trunk as we ate our maple bars. The fact that he’d liked Dawson’s enough to go back felt like a victory to me.
“So,” he said, “how did the date go before I joined?”
“It was good,” I said. “I like Tanner.”
His maple bar hovered halfway to his mouth. “Like him? Orlikelike him?”
I met Grant’s eyes, which watched me intently. His curiosity over the question took me by surprise. Why did he care how much I liked Tanner? Or was he surprised given the way the date had gone?
I was tempted to say Ilikeliked him just to see Grant’s reaction. But that would mean I cared about his reaction, and I didn’t want to care.
“Like him,” I clarified. “He’s easy to talk to.”
“You mean he talks a lot.”
I laughed. “When he’s babbling nervously to his hero, maybe. But before that, it was pretty equal.”
“Will you go out with him again?”
I shifted to face Grant more. “You jealous?”
His eyes narrowed for a split second, and he angled toward me so we were facing each other. “ShouldI be?”
Wait, what?
I was suddenly confused. I’d been teasing him about being jealous thatIgot a second shot with Tanner. They’d spent most of the date together, after all. But the way Grant responded, it sounded like he thought I was asking if he should be jealous ofTanner.
That wasn’t what I’d meant. At least, I didn’t think so. Now I wasn’t sure.
“I can back off if you want,” I said, trying to shove the train of my thoughts back onto the tracks. “He’s all yours.”
Grant snickered and faced away from me again. “Generous of you. But I’m good.” He reapplied himself to his maple bar. “So, how would you say this date compares to the one with Jeff?”
I considered that for a minute as I chewed. The date with Jeff had felt…familiar. Not because he was familiar but because the vibe had been like a business dinner. It had been different with Tanner. More like friends catching up. Or potential friends, anyway.
The thing both dates shared was that I hadn’t felt any real interest in either of them.
“It was different,” I said. “Part of that was the setting, I imagine, but obviously Tanner was a lot looser.”
“And you liked that?”
“I think so. I get enough of the formal vibe at work. It’s nice to experience a change.”
Grant watched me, and I thought of what he’d said to Tanner:You’ve got to look at things in a way no one else does and notice details no one else does.
I definitely felt that Grant looked at me in a way no one else did. He noticed things too. Things I wished he wouldn’t.
It made sense. I was the article he was investigating. He was looking for the big story.
