Operation Date Escape

his jeans next to his t-shirt and then grabbed the empty bag from his bed and tossed it onto the closet floor. “Kelsie doesn’t want to see me again,” he said, closing the closet door.
    His friend nodded in understanding. “The commitment thing.”
    “Apparently. She tells me she’s not ready to get involved in a real relationship yet.” He couldn’t help but wonder if Kelsie would ever be ready for one. Not with the way she ran every time things started getting a little too deep emotionally.
    “Then forget the relationship part,” his friend suggested. “Just give her sex and send her home. You’d both make out in the deal.”
    Was he kidding?
    The expression on Joe’s face told Cole he wasn’t. “I want more than sex from her, Joe. I want to be a part of Kelsie’s life. Someone she can confide in, laugh with, spend time with.”
    “Hell, Cole, you’ve got it bad.”
    “Tell me about it.” He sighed again. “It’s all I thought about last night.”
    “This calls for a good strong cup of java.” Slapping Cole on the shoulder, he said, “Come on, Stud Muffin. Let’s go figure out a way to get Kelsie to go out with you again.”
    * * *
    Cole had just stood up from the lunch table when the overhead speaker came on. “Cole, you have a visitor heading up to the rec room to see you.”
    A visitor. His heart slammed against his chest.
    Kelsie.
    She must have thought things over and realized how good they were together. For the first time that day, he smiled.
    His department buddies wasted no time in razzing him, just as they had earlier that morning when they tried to get the goods on his date with Kelsie. He’d given them very little. Only Joe knew what had really happened. Not that he didn’t trust his crew, he did. With his life. It was just that Joe was his closest friend and the person he confided in most when it came to personal matters.
    His smile widened. He couldn’t believe she had come there – to his station. “Let’s get this place cleaned up,” he told the others, referring to the table full of dirty lunch plates and empty glasses that hadn’t been cleared way yet.
    The men muttered a few ‘yes, mothers’, but hurried to take their dishes into the kitchen all the same.
    Joe exchanged grins with Cole. “Looks like we won’t have to come up with a plan after all.
    “Looks that way.”
    The rest of the crew retired to their recliners, but not before turning them around just enough to be able to watch the arrival of his visitor.
    Telling them to mind their own damn business was a waste of time. So he settled for, “Not one word from you guys when Kelsie gets up here. Got it?”
    A lot of promises of good behavior were flung his way, but he wasn’t buying it. He knew these guys too well. They lived to torture. But at that moment all that mattered was that Kelsie had come to see him.
    “Cole?” a decidedly feminine voice called out from the entryway.
    Definitely not Kelsie’s.
    He turned to find a tall, attractive, very well dressed woman, probably in her late forties, standing there smiling at him. There was something familiar about her, but he was almost certain he’d never seen her before.
    His gaze slid down to the silver tray in her hand s. It was filled with what appeared to be assorted slices of cake.
    “ Uh, I’m Cole. Can I help you with something?”
    Her face lit up at that. “You sure can !” She moved toward him in a determined stride. Smiling, she held up a plastic fork. “I need you to try these and let me know which kind you like the best.”
    “The one I like the best?”
    She nodded. “Yes. I’m particularly fond of the cappuccino truffle torte myself, but I think my daughter’s more the French vanilla with cream cheese icing kind of girl.”
    He looked toward his crew; certain this had to be some sort of joke. Only they weren’t laughing. Their slightly agape expressions told him they were as confused as he was at that moment.
    “I’m sure they’re all good,” he said, trying to placate the plastic fork-wielding woman.
    “Oh, will you just look at that dimple!” she exclaimed. “And that smile. You probably had her hooked right there.”
    Her who?
    The woman’s gaze moved over him in an appraising manner that had him shifting uncomfortably where he stood. “It looks like you take very good care of yourself. I can certainly see why she’s crazy about you.”
    No, crazy would be this cake lady and her true cake of choice should be