Read What the Lightning Sees: Part Two for Free Online Page B

than Gerald and I had been. I wondered how long he’d known her.
    It was good to go into the restaurant for dinner. A bit of distance between Jake and I was what I needed.
    “Can I ask why you joined the agency?”
    Gerald nodded. “I have a small circle of friends who I’ve known for years. Some are married. I don’t really meet anyone apart from at work and I don’t like mixing business with pleasure. I’d like to find someone, and the agency seemed like the way to do it.”
    It was a logical answer. He seemed like a genuine guy. “That makes sense,” I said.
    “And you’re single?” he asked.
    “Yeah but . . . ”
    “I get it. I know this is for an article.”
    I squeezed a smile from my lips.
    “I just thought you seemed interesting. When I saw your headshot and your profile, I thought, hey, she’s not seeing anyone. I might just win her over, even if she is working.” He smiled and I thought how nice it would be if it were possible for Gerald to win me over. For life to be that simple.
    Thankfully, we were seated at the other end of the dining room to Jake and his date. But I could still see them. Effortlessly beautiful, she sat facing me. At least I couldn’t hear what was being said. Not that I was interested. I needed to concentrate on my date, on the article.
    “Have you ever been married?” I asked Gerald.
    “I’ve come close a couple of times, but no. No kids either.” He looked a bit sad and I wondered why he’d not found a wife. Wasn’t he the type of guy that Millie would have had her claws in in a minute?
    “You’re a rich, handsome man. How come it hasn’t worked out for you?”
    “Well, I’d like to think I’ve not lost hope,” he said, his eyes twinkling at me. I could feel the heat in my cheeks.
    “Sorry. I just meant—”
    “It’s a fair question. I spent my twenties and early thirties working really hard and didn’t have much time for anything else. When I came up for air, the music had stopped and there were no seats left. That’s how it felt anyway.”
    Wow, the idea that the time to find our soul mate had run out was depressing . . . but not unrealistic. There was an age by which people tended to have paired off.
    “All your friends were married off?”
    “Most of them by the time I noticed.”
    “There’s definitely a window for women,” I said.
    “A window?” he asked.
    “Yeah, I mean, with the girls at work? I feel like they’re on a countdown to get a ring before the clock gets to zero. I’m not sure it matters who the guy is.”
    He chuckled. “Yeah, now that you say that I think women can be a bit like that. My first proper girlfriend really wanted to get married before she hit thirty. She had a complete obsession about it.”
    “You didn’t want to marry her?”
    He took a beat, clearly thinking before he replied. “I think I did for a while there, but . . . ”
    “Sorry, you don’t have to tell me.”
    “I’m just trying to remember what it was, but I think it was that she didn’t want to marry me, she just wanted to get married. It soured it for me.”
    “I get that. I’m not sure I believe in ‘the one.’ I just know I don’t want to settle for someone who isn’t right for me,” I said.
    “I could tell you were a romantic.”
    His comment caught me off guard. Deep down I considered myself a romantic but I didn’t expect anyone, not even Ash or Luke to see that in me. “I’m not sure I’d describe myself like that,” I said, grinning at him. He was nice, and kind and subtly flirtatious. He was good company. I rarely talked to people about how I saw the world, but it felt easy to talk to him.
    “Of course you are. It’s one of the reasons I know we’ll get along,” he said. I smiled at him. “What wine would you like?” he asked, indicating the list.
    “Surprise me,” I said.
    “I intend to,” he replied.
    For about twenty minutes, I forgot about Jake and his impossibly beautiful date. I felt