Sophia Lauron stood in front of her floor-to-ceiling windows staring at the city lights 20 stories below and seriously contemplated faking food poisoning to get out of this date. Because honestly, the last thing she needed right now was to sit across from some stranger making small talk while her entire company was three months away from completely falling apart. Her phone buzzed for the millionth time with another email from the investors. And she wanted to throw the damn thing out the window, except it cost $800 and she was about to be broke.
So, probably not the best financial decision. Her best friend, Mia, came bursting through the door without knocking because that's just what Mia did. Took one look at Sophia's face and shook her head like a disappointed mother. "Oh, no, you're not backing out. I can see it written all over your face." Sophia turned around in her designer dress that cost more than most people's rent and tried to look innocent.
"I don't know what you're talking about. I'm totally going." Mia crossed her arms. "You've been married to that company for 2 years straight. You need this. You need to remember what it feels like to be a human being instead of a CEO robot." "My company is dying, Mia," Sophia said, and hearing the words out loud made them feel way too real.
The investors want an answer by January 15. We need to expand or they're pulling every penny, and I've got 200 employees who are going to lose their jobs if I screw this up. Mia walked over and grabbed both of Sophia's shoulders. "Which is exactly why you need one night where you're not thinking about quarterly reports and market projections. One date. If he's awful, you never see him again. If he's great, maybe you get something good in your life for once." across town in a cramped apartment above an auto repair shop that smelled like motor oil and Christmas cookies.
Jake Morrison was having the exact same conversation except his sister Emma was on FaceTime and his six-year-old daughter Lily was physically blocking the door. "Daddy, you promised Aunt Emma you'd go, and Morrisons don't break promises." Lily had her hands on her hips doing her best impression of a tiny drill sergeant. And Jake had to bite back a smile because she looked exactly like her mother used to when she was being stubborn about something. "I know I promised, Pumpkin, but this really isn't a good idea." Jake adjusted his tie for the fifth time, the only tie he owned because he literally never wore ties and it felt like it was strangling him.
Emma's voice came through the phone speaker. "Jake, you haven't been on a date in four years. Lily wants you to be happy. And I already told this woman you were coming, so you're going." Lily bounced up and down.
"And I helped Aunt Emma pick her. She's really pretty, and she likes fashion just like me." Jake's head snapped toward the phone. "Wait, you let a six-year-old help pick my date?" Emma had the decency to look slightly guilty. "She saw the profile and said you'd like her, and honestly, Lily's got better instincts than you do." Jake sighed because arguing with both of them was like arguing with a brick wall.
Grabbed his jacket and headed for the door. "Fine, one date, but when this is a disaster, I'm blaming both of you." 20 minutes later, Sophia's car made a sound that no car should ever make. Kind of like a dying cat mixed with a garbage disposal and then just completely gave up on life right there on a dark road 3 miles from the cafe. She sat there in her heels and designer coat watching snow start to fall and thought about how this was clearly the universe telling her to go home except her phone showed 7:05 and she was already late and Mia would literally never let her hear the end of it if she bailed now.
She called AAA and got the wonderful news that they had a 2-hour wait because apparently everyone's car decided to break down on Christmas Eve. texted Mia that this was a sign from God and got back an all caps message that said, "No, call an Uber. Don't you dare bail." Sophia was about to do exactly that when headlights appeared behind her and an older pickup truck pulled up and her first thought was, "This is how horror movies start. Woman alone on dark road." But then a guy got out and he looked normal enough, maybe mid30s, nice face, and he was walking over with his hands visible like he was trying not to scare her.
"Ma'am, you okay? Car trouble?" His voice was kind, a little rough around the edges, and Sophia felt herself relax just slightly. "Yes, it just died. I called roadside assistance, but they said two hours." The guy nodded.
"Mind if I take a look? I'm a mechanic. Might be able to help." Sophia blinked because what were the odds? And watched him pop her hood and lean in with a little flashlight from his keychain.
And within about 30 seconds, he'd figured out what was wrong. "Your alternator shot, but I can patch it enough to get you where you're going. Where you headed?" "Evergreen Cafe on Maple Street," Sophia said, checking her watch. "710 now. So much for making a good first impression." The mechanic straightened up and laughed, and it was such a genuine sound, it caught her off guard.
No kidding. "That's where I'm going, too. Small world." Sophia felt something flutter in her chest, but ignored it because this was just a nice stranger helping her out, nothing more. And she definitely wasn't noticing that he had really nice hands or that his smile made his whole face light up.
He worked on her car while snow kept falling, and she watched him. and they talked about nothing important, just easy conversation that felt weirdly natural for two complete strangers on the side of the road. He mentioned he had a daughter. She mentioned she ran a company.
Neither of them traded names because it didn't seem important in the moment. 15 minutes later, her car was running and he was refusing payment and saying Merry Christmas like people actually did that anymore. And Sophia found herself wishing the car had taken just a little bit longer to fix. She followed his tail lights to the cafe and pulled into the parking lot right behind him and they both got out at the same time and he held the door open for her like an actual gentleman.
The cafe was warm and decorated for Christmas with lights and garland and a little tree in the corner and the owner Harper came over with menus. Jake Morrison. The mechanic raised his hand. That's me.
Harper smiled. Your date just arrived. Sophia Lauron. And Sophia heard her own name and looked up and saw the mechanic's face and watched him turn and see her.