Operation Valentine by Loretta Hill Read Free Book Online Page B

other side of the counter in front of them.
    â€˜Hi, Sarah,’ he said, making it impossible for her to ignore him.
    â€˜Hi, Owen.’ She gave him a loaded look, which he totally ignored. ‘And you must be Tom.’
    â€˜Yes.’ Tom seemed surprised as he looked from one to the other. ‘Do you two know each other?’
    She jumped in quickly before Owen could. ‘Yes, we do. I love this bar.’ She gestured around the room. ‘I’m in here all the time. That’s how we met.’
    â€˜Makes sense,’ Tom nodded and then said to Owen, ‘May we order some drinks?’
    â€˜Sure. What would you like?’
    â€˜I’ll just have a Hahn Premium, thanks,’ Tom responded. ‘Sarah?’
    â€˜Cranberry and lime sparkler?’ Owen murmured without looking up.
    She blushed, oddly flattered that Owen remembered what she had ordered the first time they’d met. ‘Yes please.’
    â€˜No worries.’ He stepped back from the counter to fix their drinks but Sarah was still conscious of the fact that he could probably hear most of their conversation from where he was standing. First dates were always a little uncomfortable. The last thing she wanted was someone listening in and judging –especially someone who could be counted on to make fun of her afterwards. She wished he would hurry up, serve their drinks and move on.
    There’s no need to be mean. He’s just doing his job.
    She tried to rein in her annoyance by focusing on Tom. Unfortunately, her date didn’t seem to be faring much better than her. She could now see beads of sweat forming on his brow. Apparently he was getting hotter rather than cooler with time.
    â€˜Are you okay?’ she asked.
    â€˜Fine, fine,’ he said, taking out a hanky and wiping his face. ‘I just … when you ordered that cocktail, I had a flashback.’
    She raised her eyebrows. ‘Really? What sort of flashback?’
    â€˜My ex, Julia, used to drink cranberry and lime sparklers too.’
    â€˜Oh.’
    Awkward.
    â€˜I actually haven’t dated anyone since her. For a while there I didn’t think I was ready, but I am now.’
    â€˜Well, that’s a positive step,’ she brightened.
    A heavy silence fell. She played nervously with the hem of her skirt, glancing at Owen, who seemed to be taking forever to make those drinks. He turned around withthe cocktail shaker in hand. He shook it casually, watching her with a secret smile that made her insides burn.
    â€˜So,’ she choked out, fixing her gaze firmly on Tom’s sweaty face. ‘Tell me about yourself.’
    â€˜Well,’ he scratched his head, ‘I think in my profile I said I like to hike, which is true. But I haven’t done it much lately.’
    â€˜Why not?’
    â€˜Because I used to do a lot of it with Julia.’
    â€˜Oh.’
    â€˜She was a big hiker. Really loved it. Actually, she was the one who got me into it in the first place.’
    â€˜Oh.’
    Change the subject. Change the subject. Change the subject.
    â€˜So you’re an accountant?’
    â€˜Yeah.’
    He nodded dejectedly so she immediately tried to boost his confidence. ‘You must be good at maths then. I really admire that.’ She batted her eyelashes. ‘I’m absolutely terrible at maths.’
    â€˜Seriously?’ he brightened. ‘So was Julia. I used to handle all our bills when we lived together because she had no head for numbers. Which was a bit of a worry, considering she was so spendy. I lost count of the number of times she maxed out our credit card. You’re not a big shopper, are you?’
    A slight cough interrupted them. ‘One Hahn Premium. One cranberry and lime sparkler.’ Sarah looked up in relief as Owen placed both their drinks on coasters infront of them. In fact, this time it took all her willpower not to grab his hand and say, ‘Please