“What happened? One date and she got bored with you?” Ryder asked. “Or couldn’t you even pay attention to her long enough?”

  “What the hell?” Bryce said. “What did I do to you? No, someone set me up at work. She was more your type. Couldn’t stop talking about how much she loved to dress up her Pomeranian and how hard it was to find holiday-themed clothing that fit the dog.”

  Sam burst out laughing. “Dude, I’ll even give you a pass on that one. And yeah, sounds like someone Ryder would end up with. Do you still have her number to give him?”

  Ryder grinned. “I’ve dated a girl or two that was close to her dog like that.”

  “Care to tell us how that worked out?” Bryce asked.

  “Nope. So yeah, I’m with Sam, you get a pass on that.”

  “Maybe I can have Dani set you up with one of the girls in the salon,” Sam said.

  “No,” Bryce said. “Drop it. I can get my own date if I want one. And right now I don’t.”

  “Whatever,” Ryder said. “But if Sam is setting anyone up, I’m game. Bryce, you need a change of pace. You need to find someone you don’t normally date to get you out of your rut.”

  “I’m not in a rut,” he said slightly outraged.

  “Sure you are,” Sam said. “You always date brainy girls like you. Go outside your comfort zone and let loose.”

  “I bet you can’t do it,” Ryder said. “You don’t have it in you to put a hot girl on your arm. It’s like you think it lowers your standards or IQ or something like that.”

  “Where did you get that idea?” Bryce said, even if he did stay away from the high-maintenance girls and always had. He’d leave that headache to his brothers.

  “I don’t think he can do it,” Ryder said to Sam. “I know he can’t. Thinks he’s too good for them.”

  “Cut the shit,” Bryce said. “You know damn well I don’t think that way. I never think I’m better than someone else. Well, maybe you two, but not when it comes to women.”

  “Whatever you say,” Sam said.

  Bryce let the two of them go back and forth while he zoned out.

  Did his brothers really think he was that boring? That judgmental? Well, yeah they did. He’d heard it enough in life.

  Then there was the fact that he’d been told he was too picky. That he only was interested in brunettes. That wasn’t true. It’s just he’d never had much luck with blondes.

  That old saying blondes have more fun always seemed to hold true with the few he’d dated. That was all they wanted. Fun. Nothing more. Nothing of substance. He’d had his fill of that in high school and college.

  He was a man of substance. He wanted more than just going out for a good time.

  He wanted someone that took things in life a bit more seriously. That wasn’t afraid of hard work. That didn’t want a handout.

  Yeah, he’d been down that road a lot too. Women wanting something from him or just being by his side to get his name.

  Yet as much as he had a type, he really couldn’t get Payton out of his head. She was the total opposite of the women he usually dated. The type men stopped and stared at on the street. Not him. He normally turned his head away. But he wasn’t this time.

  Maybe it was time to shut his brothers up. Or time to listen to them. What could it hurt to give it a try?

  He’d stop into Millie’s again this week and see if maybe he could feel her out for a date. Dinner maybe?

  Or maybe he’d chicken out because, the truth was, it’d been way too long since he’d actually asked someone out, though he’d never admit that to anyone.

  Predictable and Boring

  The next day he decided to stop into Millie’s for lunch. Breakfast seemed over the top to keep showing up there at the same time. He was trying to change it up, to not be so predictable as he’d always been accused of.

  Predictable and boring went hand in hand when people described him.

  So by eleven thirty he was walking into Millie’s. There were five people ahead of him in line. Payton was behind the grill in the back and the girl that was working the day before at the register.

  There were also three people sitting at the counter and one table was full. Busier than he’d thought it would be for before noon. Maybe this wasn’t that great of an idea.

  While he stood there he watched the fast flow of the worker behind the counter and Payton moving around in the back. Then noticed all the salads in the case in front of him that weren’t there in the mornings. Potato salad, pasta salad, macaroni salad, and coleslaw. Hot damn there were two kinds of cookies too. The simple things in life made him happy. After all, he was probably the most laid back one in his family. The one that didn’t stress as much, smiled the most, and avoided conflict the easiest.

  The line moved up one while someone walked out with their order.

  “What can I get you?” the cashier said to the next customer.

  “Can I get a hot Italian sub combo, with a medium soda?”

  “Everything on it?” she asked.

  “Yes.”

  “How about a cookie to go with it?”

  “Yeah, I can’t resist. I’ll take the chocolate white chunk.”

  Bryce watched as the worker rang the order up, then moved to another counter to the side, pulled out a piece of white paper, put some gloves on and started to assemble the sub like a pro. It was barely a minute before it was being wrapped up and set on the counter. Then she asked, “What kind of salad do you want?”

  “I’ll take the potato today.”

  She grabbed a small brown container, filled it to the brim, smashed the top on and then put the sub, salad, and the cookie that was put in a smaller pouch into a bag and placed it down with an empty cup for the soda.

  “Have a great day. What can I get you?” she asked the next person in line.

  He thought for sure he’d be waiting a bit, but no way, not with as fast as they were going.

  “I’m picking up an order for Rogers.”

  “Cold or hot?” the worker asked.

  “Hot.”

  “I just put it on the counter,” Payton said as if she was listening to all the action while she worked.

  There were two brown boxes there that were quickly grabbed with the order read off and verified.

  By the time they got to him, there were six more people behind him.

  “How can I help you?” he was asked.

  “Can I get a steak sandwich and fries with a large ice tea?”

  “For here or to go?”

  “Here,” he said. “And one of each of those cookies,” he added. He pulled out his gift card and paid, then moved over to the seat on the end he’d sat at for breakfast the past two times while he watched the action around him.

  The place was hopping and he was impressed that these two were able to manage it so well. The phone was ringing, orders were being placed, people were walking in and no one was really waiting more than two minutes from when they placed the order, if even that.

  He felt a pair of eyes on him, looked up and made contact with Payton, gave her a little smile, got one in return, then the phone rang and she reached over and got it quickly while moving her other hand around behind the counter.

  The minute she hung up, she walked out with his plate of food, wiped down the counter from the seat that was just vacated and wiped down the clean spot in front of him.

  “Decided to try lunch out today?” she asked.

  “I thought I’d change it up,” he said.

  She hesitated for just a moment, as if she wanted to talk, but then said, “Enjoy.”

  If he watched her slim rear end as she walked to the back, he was acting like he wasn’t. Not with the way he picked up his sandwich and took a huge bite, his eyes just lifting under his lashes for the quick peek.

  Damn, this was good. He’d have to thank his mom again for the card.

  And he’d have to figure out another game plan to talk with Payton. Maybe morning was the way to go.

  ***

  Payton was enjoying the lunch rush like she always did. It made the days go by fast.

  Mornings were great. By ten she slowed down enough that she could get her cookies in the oven and the salads ready to go that needed to be refilled for the day. She never let the salads go more than two days in the case, and honestly, they were pretty much gone by the end of the day or within an hour of the next shift.

  Kelly could normally handle just about anything and it gave Payton the time to just cook hot orders and plan on everything else for the rest of that day or the next.

  But while she was working today, she’d felt a tingling on her face. Something she’d never felt before with people walking in and out.

  She lifted her head to look out and made eye contact with Bryce. She’d wondered when she’d see him again since he’d come in two mornings in a row and then it’d been about a week.

  Not that she wanted him to spend his gift card all at once and then maybe she wouldn’t see him again. But it was a pretty big gift card his mother got him.

  She liked that he ordered hot stuff. It gave her an excuse to go out and deliver it to him. To just say hi when she didn’t normally care one way or another.

  She said hi to everyone. She waved to everyone. She talked to most. It was her business and her job and she wanted to be friendly and give good customer service.

  But Bryce was something different.

  With him, she wanted to talk. Carry on a conversation. Which was funny because he was so smart and she wasn’t. It’s not like she’d have a lot to say to him. Or they had anything in common.

  Yet she liked being around him.

  She finished up two burgers and fries and walked them out to the table, stopped and cleaned up the table that had just left, then passed by Bryce on the way back. He looked up at her, grinned and said, “This is probably the best steak sandwich I’ve ever had.”

  She laughed. “Good to know. You didn’t even leave a crumb.”

  “I never leave crumbs when it’s this good.”

  A giggle escaped her lips and she wanted to slap her hand in front of her face. Being blonde haired and blue eyed, she tried to never giggle as it was always assumed she was some airhead and here she was sounding like it. Talk about mortification and fitting an image she fought to not be labeled as.

  He didn’t seem to notice, or if he did, he didn’t mind, but she made her escape back to the grill to finish up the orders that were coming in.

  A few minutes later she’d felt that tingling again and glanced up to see Bryce standing and throwing some bills on the counter with his eyes on her. He nodded his head to her and she gave him a little wave, then watched him walk out, staring at his stride the whole way. How had she not noticed what a great butt he had on him?

  Make Sacrifices

  Another two days went by and Bryce decided to try his hand at getting dinner on the way home before he lost his nerve to ask Payton out.

  He wasn’t sure what it was about her that was his driving force. When he thought about it, she was friendly when they talked. She ran her own business, so she was ambitious. He knew she worked hard, he’d seen that.

  But he didn’t know what they could have in common. Her career and his were as far apart as the Sun and Pluto.

  That didn’t stop him from walking in at three thirty on Thursday though, hoping to pick up a sandwich and some salad to have at home later. And maybe a bit of conversation.

  As luck would have it, Payton was the only one working. He hadn’t figured that when he was trying to think of a way he could talk to her and now didn’t have to worry. Talk about luck.

  “Hey, Bryce,” she said when he walked in.

  He liked how she remembered his name when she probably talked to hundreds of people a week. “Hi. I thought I’d grab some dinner to eat later at home.”

  “Sounds like a good idea. What can I get you?”

  “I think I’ll try the Italian mix and a large container of pasta salad.”

  She rang him up, then pulled on some gloves and moved to the side to make his sandwich. “Are you done working for the day?” she asked.

  “Thursday is an early day for me.” Normally he’d stay on campus and get some other work done, but today he decided to leave early like half the other professors did.

  “That’s nice. It’s a beautiful day out too. Might as well enjoy it.”

  He’d planned on going home and doing some laundry, then watching TV. Not that he’d admit that to her. “I probably don’t spend as much time outside as I should.”

  “Same here. I’m normally out of here a little after six, no later than six thirty. But by the time I get home I’m pretty beat.”

  He hadn’t realized she was here over twelve hours a day. “Wow. You open and close?”

  “I do,” she said, putting his sandwich in a bag and moving over to the case to fill up his pasta salad. “When it’s your business you make sacrifices.”

  He could understand that, as he felt the same way about his job and his education. Not many really got that though. Guess that was something else they had in common and he was thrilled to realize it.

  “It’s good that you are closed on the weekend then, huh?”

  “I’ve considered opening for a few hours on Saturday, but I just don’t have it in me. Business is great so there is no need. Plus, I don’t want to burn myself out.”

  “That’s smart,” he said. She put his order together faster than he’d have hoped, but since it was still just the two of them in the place, he decided to take a chance.

  “Since you are off on the weekends, would you like to get dinner sometime? I mean it seems to me you keep making my food, the least I can do is take you out for a meal. I don’t cook really well, if you haven’t noticed since I’m in here so much.”

  “You’re asking me on a date?” she asked quickly.

  “I am,” he said, trying to act more confident than he was feeling. Now he knew why he never asked women out. Too much pressure if they said no. He’d rather be the one on the other end making the final decision like he’d done most of his life. Those Fierce genes of his were major perks doing most of this hard work.

  “I’d love to. Can I ask why you are asking me though?”

  Okay, that wasn’t what he was expecting her to say. “You’re nice. You’re friendly to me and everyone else. You work hard and it shows, yet you seem determined to keep it up.”

  “Those are good reasons. I don’t know how much we have in common though,” she said.

  “I work hard too. Though I don’t produce a sweat while I’m doing it. Not unless I’ve got ten students in my office all at once demanding my attention on why they failed a test.”

  She burst out laughing. He wasn’t kidding though. “I’m sure the girls find a way into your office a lot, whether it’s because they failed a test or just want help. Or maybe want to say hi.”

  He felt the heat fill his face. “It happens, which is why I’ve got an open door policy.”

  “Talk about smart.”

  “So is that a yes, that you want to get dinner sometime?” he asked to just make sure he heard her correctly.

  “I think I do.”

  “Can I ask why you wanted to know why I asked you?”

  “Because most people say it’s because of the way I look. I just wanted to know if it was more than that.”

  “There is nothing wrong with the way you look,” he said, smiling. “But that isn’t the first thing that pulls me toward someone.”

  Sure, she was stunning with eyes so clear there was almost a reflection in them. Skin so light and flawless. Cheekbones sharp enough to not make her seem either soft or harsh…just perfect.

  “Even better. I’m the same way. But I’ve got to say the way you look is a nice side benefit.”

  He laughed this time, giving her credit for being bold. He wasn’t often bold with anyone other than family. “Would you look at that. Another thing we think alike on.”

  Someone walked in the door before they could say anything else. He picked up his food and was going to leave but then stopped. He needed to get her number at least. If he didn’t he’d feel awkward the next time he came in. Besides, he kind of wanted to take her out this weekend and wanted to firm that up.

  “How can I help you?” she asked the woman that walked to the counter.

  “Can I just get a large container each of pasta and potato salad?”

  “You sure can,” Payton said.

  “This saves me from making any sides for dinner tonight,” the woman said.

  “That’s a great idea. Glad I could help you.”

  “I’ll take four cookies too. Two of each. I’ll be the hero for dessert.”

  Payton laughed and Bryce couldn’t help but let a grin go too. The minute the woman was out the door, he seized the opportunity to ask, “So what do you think about sometime this weekend for dinner? Saturday night?”

  “Saturday sounds great,” she said.

  “Do you want to meet somewhere or can I pick you up?”

  “You can pick me up. How about I give you my number and then I can text you my address later tonight when I’m home?”

  “Sure.” He pulled his phone out and programmed her number in, then he hit a few buttons, heard a beep and knew it was her phone going off. “That was me sending you a text to make sure I entered it right.”

  She pulled her phone out. “Something tells me you do very few things wrong in your life.”

  “We all do things wrong in life,” he said. If he didn’t he wouldn’t still be single at his age. Not that he thought he did a lot wrong as much as he didn’t do enough right. Or maybe he didn’t try enough on all things in his life.

  “Truer words have never been spoken.”

  Another customer came in and he decided he probably overstayed his welcome now. He got her number and he could talk to her tonight.

  “Have a good night. Talk to you later,” he said.

  “Same to you. I’ll touch base around seven,” she said, then turned to her customer.

  He walked out to his car feeling pretty good about things.