Page 37 of Finding My Charming

He took a peek up at me and smiled shyly. “I was really happy you found me. I remember running into you at the party over the weekend, but you kind of surprised me, and I didn’t get a chance to talk to you or ask your name.”

“Sorry about that. I’d been looking for my friend for a while and was starting to flip out a little.”

He smiled wider. “I get it.”

“You also had headphones on. I couldn’t really talk to you.”

“Oh yeah. Sorry about that.” He suddenly looked embarrassed.

“Why did you have them on?”

“I had just switched off from DJ-ing with my friend, and I was listening to my next set.”

I suddenly felt terrible for judging him earlier. “That’s really cool.”

He nodded, seeming uncomfortable with the compliment. If this was how he reacted to cool, I probably shouldn’t tell him how I feel about his eyes — or smile.

We were saved from more awkward silence by a waitress who appeared just beside Alec. She set my cup down then did a double take when she looked at him.

“Alec?”

His eyes widened, and he slowly looked up at her. “Um…”

Um? A feeling of dread suddenly flooded my body.

“What are you doing here, and who is she?”

Wow. The way she said that one word sounds like I am a contagious disease he brought into the bakery who will soon wipe out the population. Venomous.

He blinked twice, then his brain seemed to kick into gear. “Chrissy. I thought Friday is your day off.”

It looked like my date and Ms. Chrissy had a past. An obviously uncomfortable one.

“That was before the semester ended.” She shot him a look that made me cringe, and I wasn’t even on the receiving end.

“Oh.”

That’s it? This woman is slaughtering him with her eyes, and he responds with an ‘Oh’?

I was debating making a quick escape and letting them deal with their issues, but Chrissy turned her body and blocked us both in.

“Who is this?” She tilted her head down in my direction. If I’d had a second to comprehend what was happening, I probably would have been offended.

Alec turned his puppy-dog eyes on me for a moment before looking back to her. “I met her last weekend. We’re just chatting.”

All right. That was definitely my cue. I slipped my arm through my purse strap and made a move to stand, but Chrissy took another step toward me, blocking my chance to run.

“You’re just chatting? With a girl you just met? I thought you said you didn’t have time for distractions right now. That’s why we broke up, isn’t it?”

I closed my eyes tightly and wished myself away. When I opened them, I was still stuck in one of the most awkward moments of my life. Now would be a perfect time to have some sort of magical powers. Maybe cause an earthquake or make the kitchen catch on fire so the sprinklers turned on. I’d take just about anything.

Alec cleared his throat and began manically rubbing the back of his neck.

Huh. Found his nervous tick on the first date.

“Chrissy, I’m sorry, but things weren’t working between us. You deserve more than I can give you right now.”

Even I was offended by the phoniness of that lame apology. The girl was obviously a little off her rocker, but she deserved better than that.