Misha folded his arms and rested them on the dining table, meeting his unhappy blind date’s scowl opposite him on the booth. “I apologize for not reaching out to you. My mother literally sent me your name and photo twenty minutes ago without your number. You would’ve been halfway here, anyway.”

The blonde across from him copied his crossed arms but remained slouched in her seat. “Yeah she also didn’t give me any way of contacting you…which is strange.”

Before Misha could respond further, a presence with a familiarly soothing voice chimed in from beside him. “Hi there, how are you two this evening?”

His heart leapt so hard it almost winded him. Eyes widening involuntarily, he whipped his head sideways and up to see Kayden in an all-black uniform and waist apron smiling down at him. Her hair was clipped up high on the back of her head with some loose spiral curls on either side of her face.

He fought to contain his excitement. “Kayden! Hi.”

She dealt him a brutal blow as she waved, “Hi, Dr. Kaiser.”

Didn’t he tell her not to do that?

More importantly, why was she here at all? He sat upright in his seat, arms still folded. “I didn’t realize you have a second job…” His features hardened as he narrowed scolding eyes at her. “How long have you been working here?”

She gave him a sheepish grin, or maybe a wince, as she fidgeted her fingers in front of her. “Since last summer.”

A year ago? So, the entire time he’d known her? Even during that one time that he lectured her about being a workaholic?

His heart sank a little. She wouldn’t even tell him about having two jobs. He must have scared her.

Too many seconds passed as he stared up at her, though hopefully he wasn’t scowling anymore. He blinked and harrumphed, turning his head and gestured to his date. “This is Isabelle. Kayden is one of my students.”

“Nice to meet you,” smiled the waitress.

Isabelle barely glanced at her before glowering at the menu and responding flatly, “You too.”

His politeness melted from his face as he stared daggers at his date. Was she the type to take out her frustrations on the wait staff?

“Can I get you two anything to drink?”

He returned a warm smile to Kayden. “I’d love a stout, if you have one.”

She reciprocated. “We have an Irish.”

“Perfect.”

Isabelle grumbled, “Just water for me,” before Kayden sauntered off to her next table.

Misha sighed quietly, already missing Kayden and dreading this conversation. He reluctantly turned his focus back to the blue eyes across from him.

She unconsciously adjusted the menu in front of her to straighten it out. “So. Care to explain your mother’s weird blind date restrictions?”

The tension returned as he hunched over and rested his crossed arms on the table again. “Unfortunately, when she tries to play coy like this, it means she has given you misleading information.”

Isabelle pressed her back firmly into the seat and folded her arms back under her ample bosom. “So, she lied to me?”

He glanced out the window to his left. “Likely. I can probably guess about what, too, so let’s get this out of the way before we waste more of your time.” Finally his eyes met hers in a stern, piercing stare. “I do not want to have any children.”

The annoyance on her face was erased by incredulous rage. “What?” She tightened her grip on her own arms trying to keep herself calm. “She specifically said that you’re ready to settle down!” Her voice lowered through gritted teeth. “That’s the whole damn reason I came all the way up here. With your looks, intellect, background and family history—my odds were really looking good.”

“Settling down doesn’t require procreation. Regardless, I’m sorry for my mother’s behavior.” He freed only one hand to hold it out to her in a charitable gesture, referencing the menu in front of her. “Let me at least buy you dinner before your long drive home.”

She inhaled deeply before letting out a long, exasperated sigh as she also rested her elbows on the table. One hand left its crossed-arm position to meet his open palm. “Look, why don’t we order to-go and take it back to your place.” It was more of a statement than a question. His gaze fell to her fingers as they stroked his palm in circular motions. “We can just have a good time, not make a big deal of it. I won’t even ask for child support.”

Appalled, Misha aggressively yanked his hand out from under hers, balling it into a fist. Though his eyebrows were tightly pinched over his nose, his anger was controlled with a level tone as he said, “What sort of mental gymnastics did you have to master in order to jump to the conclusion that ‘I’m not having children’ somehow translates to ‘I’m cool with being an absent father’?” He pressed his back into the seat to increase the distance between them. “Get your DNA elsewhere.”

Not that his DNA was accessible, anyway.

“Tch.” She snatched her bag and slid out of the booth. “Fine, whatever.” Her boots clacked loudly on the tile as she stormed to the exit in her pencil skirt and button-up.

He knew most people in the Network were zealous, but this was a whole new level of preposterous.

Kayden appeared beside him again. Tray in hand, she mused, “Didn’t work out, huh?”

Heart still pounding in anger, Misha relaxed his posture with a sigh, unfolding his arms and resting his hands in his lap. “Blind dates rarely work out.”

She placed his beer on a napkin, followed by the glass of water. “You sure figured it out quickly, though.” She stood upright, holding the now-empty tray flat against her lower abdomen. “I usually wait until dinner is over, at least.”

“Well, she wanted me to… uh…” He took a sip of his beer and glanced out the window. Give a sperm donation? Impregnate her? Fuck raw? He settled on, “Father her children. Tonight.”

Kayden’s already large eyes seemed to double in size as she gaped down in shock at him. “Oh! Wow…that’s…very forward.” She scratched the back of her neck with nervous laughter.

His regret was instant as he saw her discomfort. “I’m sorry. Was that too personal? I thought we’ve had some personal conversations in the past…”

She moved her hand back to grip the tray again, but avoided eye contact. “Oh, no, it’s fine, we have…I guess I’m just not clear on how I should…treat you.” She dared a peek at him before she tucked a loose spiral behind her ear.

He smiled in an attempt to relax her. “Well, a good start would be to stop calling me Doctor Kaiser.”

She let out a single “ha!” and dipped her chin to her chest. “I was trying to be respectful.”

“You think using my first name is disrespectful?”

She pursed her lips. “Maybe as a first impression for your date. But I guess that’s moot now, anyway.”

One corner of his mouth dipped into a half-smile.

The restaurant seemed busy but not overwhelmingly so, and he really wanted to talk to her.

Gesturing to the seat across from him, his expression melted from playful to concerned. “Can you sit down and talk for a minute?”

Biting her bottom lip, she scanned the tables near them, assessing the needs of patrons, before her eyes met his again with something resembling anxiety.

“Never mind. You’re busy.”

She immediately slipped into the booth and rested her tray and arms on the table. “I’ve got a minute.”

He leaned forward again and mirrored her pose: forearms in a V shape with hands overlapping. His stare penetrated intensely into those dark brown eyes. “Does Justina know you work here?”

Her shoulders slumped as she hung her head briefly, sighing. “No. She doesn’t.”

For some reason, that made him feel a little better. “Why not?”

She glared at him with a small smirk. “Because you’d both get mad at me for it.”

Well, no sense denying it.

“Besides, you’d be surprised how infrequently I see professors here. I don’t usually work Fridays and Saturdays either, which are the normal days for dates.” Her smirk widened. “Who the hell goes on a date on a Monday, anyway?”

He fought his own smile. “Ohh, so it’s my fault you got caught?”

“Absolutely.”

“What would it take for you to quit?”

Her brows scrunched together as she gawked at him. “Uh, half a million dollars.”

That was an unexpected answer. One of his eyebrows arched high. “You like it here that much, huh?”

She scoffed. “Definitely not. Bills don’t pay themselves.”

“That’s what student loans are for.”

“I don’t like the idea of having that much debt after graduation.”

“Kayden.” This college wasn’t that expensive.

She looked off into the kitchen. “I know. You don’t like me overworking myself.”

“I don’t like that between the two of us, I seem to be the only one who gives a shit about your present well-being.”

Her eyes quickly locked back on to his, unblinking.

Did he say too much?

She opened her mouth but closed it immediately, fixating on her now-fidgeting hands.

With a sigh, he combed his fingers through his hair, breaking up some of the gel. “I guess I can’t make you see reason.”

Those narrowed eyes shot daggers at him, but she was fighting a smile. “You know you gotta order food now, right? It’s the law.”

He let his asymmetrical smile take over. “Perfect, cause I could go for some soup.”

She pushed off the table out of her seat. “Chef’s special?”

“Whatever you recommend.”

She nodded and collected the menus with the tray. “You got it.”

Once she was clear of earshot, Misha pulled out his phone from his pocket to dial his mother. He skipped any pleasantries when she answered. “You know, you’re not doing our family reputation any favors by lying about me.”

His mother’s tone dripped with agitation. “Oh, for heaven’s sake. You did not even give this one a chance. You just need the right woman to convince you to start a family. That should’ve been Cassidy, but here we are.”

He leaned his elbows on the table, free fist clenched atop the cold surface. “Daria. We have been over this. I am thirty-three years old, and I’m surfeited by your disrespect. I’m done repeating myself.”

Her tone changed from annoyed to stern. “You need to have children.”

“No, you need me to have children, and you’ve burned enough bridges trying to achieve that goal. Isabelle didn’t deserve that. You should have simply set her up with Andrei.”

“Don’t be absurd; he is younger than her.”

“So what? You had no qualms about setting me up with someone younger.”

“That’s because you’re the man in the relationship.”

Ignoring that obvious double standard, he glanced to the front desk and mini bar where Kayden was wiping down the surface. “When two people actually have a lot in common, age is nearly irrelevant.”

A long sigh graced his ear. “Misha. Why do you refuse to cooperate?”

“Take me out of the will already, and start making amends. I refuse to engage in your forced dating rituals, even as a courtesy.” Without waiting for her response, he angrily tapped the ‘end’ button on the screen. Too bad he didn’t still have his old flip phone so he could hear that satisfying clack as he hung up on her.

He stared out the window to avoid staring at his waitress. Sure, age didn’t really matter much at a certain point, but age was never the biggest hurdle between them. But why did he make the biggest hurdle even bigger by accepting Justina’s request when she moved home to take care of her mom? If Kayden wasn’t working under him, they could get to know each other better.

Then again, he might be motivated to stay here if that happened. He’d already made plans back east. It was better to not know what he could be missing.

Wasn’t it?