She laughed. “That’s okay, because I can’t throw or catch a football. We all have our talents.”
“I guess we do.”
They chatted for a while about their respective careers. He liked Skylar. She was interesting, certainly gorgeous, and she could carry on a conversation. Plus, she listened while he talked, so it wasn’t all one-sided.
So far, so good.
* * *
Amelia enjoyed meeting new people. She wasn’t an introvert, so it was easy for her to feel comfortable even among strangers.
But meeting a new guy? Now, that was intimidating. Part of her was hoping he wouldn’t show up tonight, and she could engage with Mick and Tara’s friends without any expectations.
She was talking to the team attorney and his wife when Tara tapped her on the shoulder.
“I’m sorry to interrupt, but do you mind if I borrow Amelia? There’s someone I need to introduce her to.”
“Of course,” John said.
“It was nice to meet you, Amelia,” John’s wife, Adele, said.
“Wonderful meeting both of you. I hope you’ll stop by Ninety-Two for a meal.”
“We definitely will,” Adele said.
“Aaron’s here. He’s the guy I’m setting you up with,” Tara said.
“Oh. Okay. Great.” So much for him not showing up.
Tara led her to the kitchen, where a very attractive guy was talking to a bunch of other attractive guys. If Aaron was in this group, at least she’d be spending the evening having dinner with one hot-looking man.
Tara touched one of the tall, well-built men on the shoulder. “Aaron.”
He turned, and Amelia noted that he wore a navy blue sweater over a white button-down shirt. He had on dark slacks, had sandy brown hair and very nice brown eyes. And the guy had a killer smile.
“Aaron Brooks, this is Amelia Lawrence.”
“Hi, Amelia. Tara’s told me so much about you.”
“Has she?” Amelia slanted a questioning look at Tara, since Tara hadn’t told her a thing about Aaron.
“Yeah. I heard you’re the new chef at Flynn Cassidy’s restaurant. I’m kind of a foodie myself.”
“So you cook?”
“No. But I do love to eat. It’s one of my favorite pastimes.”
She laughed. “I see.”
“Excuse me,” Tara said. “I think I heard someone at the door.”
“Would you like to go somewhere more quiet where we can talk?” He motioned with his head to the chairs over in the corner of the living area.
“That would be great.”
Aaron led her over to two comfortable chairs in the corner near the fireplace. On her way, they passed Flynn and Skylar, who were deep in conversation.
Flynn looked up at her as she walked by and smiled. She waved her fingers at him, not wanting to call attention to herself since he was with a date.
This whole thing was so odd.
Aaron had held her glass of wine as they walked, so he set it down on the small table between them.
“Tell me what you do, Aaron.”
“I’m actually Mick’s accountant. Not a very glamorous job like yours.”
“I don’t know about that. Math can be very sexy.”
He laughed. “I think that might be the first time I’ve ever heard that, so thanks.”
“You’re welcome. And I assume you’re a football fan?”
“Very much so. Though I have other interests besides sports. And math.”
“Good to know. What would those be?”
“I love to sail. I have a boat.”
Her brows rose. “Really. That must be incredible. San Francisco is amazing for sailing.”
“Yeah, it is. Have you ever been sailing?”
She nodded. “I have. I used to live in Seattle. And then Portland after that. I’m a big fan of living near the water, obviously. And my ex-husband had friends who loved to sail so we were often invited out on their boat.”
“Awesome. So you cook and you can sail. What else do you like to do, Amelia?”
She liked that he asked her questions about herself. She’d gone out with plenty of guys who only liked to talk about themselves. They spent a half hour doing a good back and forth getting to know each other. She liked Aaron. There wasn’t a buzzy chemistry between them, but he was nice, personable and certainly good-looking.
She was good with that for a first date. Especially for a fix-up.
When Tara announced it was time for dinner, they moved into the dining room, which was beautiful and spacious.
Amelia loved everything about Tara’s house here. Tara had given her a tour of the main floor when she’d first arrived. It was warm and open, with a main living area that was incredibly expansive, and floor-to-ceiling windows that looked out over an amazing terrace and golf course.
And, of course, Amelia was in love with the kitchen. Marble countertops with tons of space, a huge island, a chef’s stove and a Sub-Zero freezer. Tara had told her they entertained several members of the Sabers whenever she was in town, so she liked to have a lot of room for all of those big guys. And often the entire Riley family would come out and visit, and it was a big family, so Tara enjoyed having room for everyone. Amelia understood the need for that.
As they made their way into the dining room, she made mental notes about the oversized table, the beautiful chandelier and the elegant table settings.
Someday, she’d have a big house like this with an amazing kitchen and dining room.
She and Aaron ended up sitting next to Flynn and Skylar, though with the way the seating was arranged, Aaron sat next to Skylar and Flynn was on the far end.
Which suited her just fine, because she had a nice time talking to Aaron. And Aaron apparently also had a nice time talking to Skylar. It turned out the two of them were acquainted with each other through Tara, and they really hit it off as well. Aaron and Skylar discovered they had gone to the same high school, so while they got reacquainted and talked about common friends, Amelia ended up talking to Maggie, who she discovered managed Tara’s event planning business in San Francisco.
Maggie was fun and smart and had a great sense of humor. She’d recently gotten engaged to an amazingly hot guy who sat on her left and seemed totally devoted to her.
“We met at a concert in the park,” Maggie said. “I thought he was kind of a stalker at first.”
“Hey, I liked you,” Jack, her fiancé, said. “I mean look at you. You’re gorgeous. Can you blame me?”