The Blind Date Surprise

‘No time at all.’ Her mouth twisted into an apologetic smile and she pushed a wing of blonde hair back behind her ear. ‘You see, I’m not a student.’

The surprise of recognition startled him like a bolt from the blue.

Annie McKinnon.

Just in time, he stopped himself from saying her name aloud. The last thing he wanted was for her to realise that he’d seen her before—that he’d been watching her—virtually spying on her yesterday evening.

He rose slowly to his feet. ‘I’m sorry,’ he said. ‘What did you say your name was?’

‘I didn’t actually get my name out. I must be nervous.’ She gave a self-conscious roll of her eyes. ‘I’m almost ashamed to admit it, but I’m Annie McKinnon.’ She winced. ‘You answered an email I sent to your nephew, Damien.’

‘Ah, yes.’ Theo knew it was unkind, but he couldn’t resist tipping his head forward to appraise Annie with a searching look over the top of his spectacles.

Not surprisingly, she squirmed.

‘So,’ he said. ‘I have the pleasure of meeting the forthright Miss McKinnon.’

‘I’m sorry, Dr Grainger. If my friends and I had known you were going to read that email we wouldn’t have been so—so forthright.’

‘I can well believe that.’ Theo was still holding the pen he’d been using to mark the students’ assignments. Now, he replaced its lid and set it carefully back on his desk. When he looked at Annie again he felt as if she’d been staring at him intensely. He offered her a cautious smile. ‘So why did you want to see me?’

She returned his slow smile measure for cautious measure. ‘I wanted to apologise to you.’

‘I’m not sure that you need to apologise.’

‘Well, I also wanted to find out the truth.’

‘The truth?’

‘About Damien.’

Her gaze locked with his and she stopped smiling. Her eyes were clear blue—the kind of blue that made Theo think of summer sky reflected in spring water, and it occurred to him that their astonishing candour must be an Annie McKinnon trademark.

Standing straight as a soldier, she said, ‘I need to know if Damien was really called away on urgent business, or if he simply didn’t want to meet me.’

Theo cleared his throat. After observing this young woman last night, he should have known that she wouldn’t simply turn tail and give up. ‘Perhaps we should discuss this somewhere else,’ he said and he glanced at his watch. Best to get her safely away from the curious eyes and ears of his colleagues and departmental secretaries. ‘Let me buy you coffee.’

‘Thank you,’ she said warmly. ‘That would be wonderful.’

Seeing the sudden animated brightness in her face, Theo wasn’t so sure. He lifted a navy-blue blazer from the back of his chair and shrugged his shoulders into it, then he gestured for her to accompany him down the hallway. It was a warm November day and the formality of the blazer was unnecessary, but it gave Theo a sense of protection and, for some peculiar reason, a glowing, excited Annie McKinnon at his side called for protection.

Their journey took them through the Philosophy department’s reception area and Lillian looked up from her desk.

Annie smiled and waved to her. ‘I found him,’ she called gleefully.

Lillian returned Annie’s wave, and then her amused eyes met Theo’s. They glimmered with undeniable curiosity and one eyebrow rose, but Theo hurried forward, eager to get his nephew’s jilted girlfriend out of the building.

Wow.

As she walked with Theo Grainger through the Great Court of the University of Queensland, Annie was seriously impressed.

Talk about hallowed halls. With its stretch of green lawn encircled by graceful columns and arches, the courtyard was as dignified and atmospheric as any place she’d ever seen. And all the surrounding buildings were made out of beautiful sandstone, too. As she looked around at their impressive façades she felt a sense of awe.

She could almost smell knowledge in the air. How could anyone not become earnest and clever in this inspiring environment?

‘Do these people have any idea how lucky they are to be here?’ she said, casting an envious eye over the students strolling casually past.

Theo smiled. ‘Not enough of them, I’m afraid.’ He turned to her. ‘So you didn’t have the chance to go to university?’

‘I was planning to go straight after boarding school, but then my father died and things kind of fell apart at home. I live on a cattle station up in North Queensland—so I stayed home for a year, and after that it was just assumed that I would stay on indefinitely.’

‘But that wasn’t your plan?’

‘I didn’t mind at first, but in the past few years I’ve been champing at the bit.’

‘It’s never too late to start at university.’

‘That’s what I’ve been thinking. Twenty-four’s still quite young really, isn’t it?’

‘Very young,’ he said in an ambiguous tone that puzzled her.

They reached a café in a leafy garden setting and Theo collected two white coffees and carried them to a secluded table, away from chattering students.

They both opened slim paper sachets of sugar, used half, then twisted the unused halves and set them on their saucers. Annie laughed. ‘We could have shared a sugar if we’d known we only wanted half each.’

Theo looked surprised, then smiled and shook his head as if he didn’t quite know what to make of her.

Well, that made two of them. She was certainly feeling shocked and unsure about Damien’s Uncle Theo. He wasn’t anything like she’d expected.

She’d had an image in her mind of an absent-minded professor type—a badly groomed academic, aged fifty plus, carelessly dressed in a wrinkled shirt and rumpled trousers. She’d expected untidy hair, a beard perhaps, and most definitely a scowl.

But although this man had scowled at her when she first knocked on his door, he’d quickly become polite. And heck, he couldn’t be older than her brothers, who were in their mid-thirties.

As for his appearance—his grooming was impeccable. Neat, dark hair, crisp blue shirt and stone-coloured trousers. Tall, trim physique. His dark-rimmed glasses gave his hazel eyes a scholarly air, but in no way did they detract from his appearance.

But he was a philosopher, for heaven’s sake.

Somehow she hadn’t expected someone so painfully thoughtful and clever to look quite so—so worldly. He was actually very attractive. But in a way that was refreshingly different from the tough ringers and jackaroos she was used to in the outback.

Then again, perhaps Theo’s appearance shouldn’t really surprise her since he was related by blood to Damien.

Thinking of Damien, she felt suddenly subdued, and she picked up her coffee and took a sip while she considered the best way to ask this man about his nephew.

‘It’s very kind of you to take time out to see me,’ she said as she placed the cup back in its saucer. ‘You must think I’m very foolish really, trying to arrange a date over the Internet.’

‘If you’re foolish, then so are thousands of other people.’ He sent her a reassuring smile. ‘Dating on the Internet is becoming more popular every day.’

‘Well, thanks. That makes me feel a bit better.’