He didn't look up when she sat down at the restaurant table. He was staring at the brief summary the organisers had provided him with.

Nora McDonald. Medium height, dark brown hair, Interior designer. Likes: Long walks in the country, going to the ballet, most types of music but especially jazz, cooking.

Hmm. Read middle-aged virgin and frumpy. She probably has cats.*

He sighed. So paying the extra for the hand-picked dates rather than the computer-generated ones had been an expensive mistake. They probably matched them on the jazz bit. But let's face it jazz lovers come in a range of shapes and sizes. Derek was going to pay for this. He should have listened to Edwin who was keeping a firm hand on the family finances.

Then reality struck home. 'Middle-aged and frumpy' – who was he kidding, he wasn't exactly Brad Pit (who incidentally was looking amusingly old these days…)

"So, Nora." He said, still not looking up and hoping the boredom wouldn't show in his voice or his face.

"Tell me about yourself."

And then he did look up. Into one of the most beautiful faces he had ever seen.

A gong rang in his head, his heart and…let's face it he is a Venturi….his nether regions.

"please!" He pleaded.

And Derek was so going to get a rise in his allowance!

She was nervous. George may have sat through endless rounds of dating experiences over the past few weeks, but this was Nora's first time. It was hard getting back on the dating rollercoaster. She hadn't dated since college and the world had changed since then. And so had Nora. It had taken a lot to leave Dennis last year, and although the girls missed him, she was still sure she had done the right thing. What they missed was an idealised memory of what life with their father had been like. The reality was they had rarely seen him in recent years, he worked long hours – It wasn't the hard work she objected to but the socialising. Long "contract negotiations" till the early hours with attractive young paralegals who simpered over him, and glared at Nora on the rare occasions he allowed her into the office.

She blinked at George's sudden enthusiasm and stare. Wasn't it normal to ask your date if they would like a drink, discuss the weather or something first?

George looked at her puzzled expression and then remembered he was an adult and there were social niceties to be observed. He laughed; a genuine laugh.

"I'm sorry." He apologised. "I'm nervous."

Nora smiled nervously back, still reeling from the effect his laugh had had on her.

"Me too. This is my first time."

And then the Venturi gene kicked in. "Really? You don't look like a virgin."

Nice George. Even Derek wouldn't have used that line.

Nora looked at him as though he had just belched. Which in a conversational sense he probably had.

"Sorry… I'm…"

"Nervous?" She said. They both laughed.

"What would you like to drink?" he asked then. She hadn't noticed how soft his voice was. She was sure that he could raise it if he wanted to, but there was something charming about the way he spoke. He wasn't bad looking either. Come on girl, be honest with yourself, he's a HOTTIE! …Did I really just think that? What age are you, woman!

"Nora?" He prompted and she remembered she was supposed to be choosing a drink. Casey's lectures on not drinking alcohol so that she stayed safe sprang to mind. But, suddenly she didn't want to come across as boring.

"What are you having?" she asked.

"Well I'm driving and I have ch…a heavy day tomorrow, so I was planning on just having a light beer."

"I'll have the same." She said, relieved. She didn't miss the slip though, and she wondered what he had been about to say.

George was kicking himself. He'd nearly ruined the entire date with that slip. He had asked the dating people not to pass on the fact that he had children, preferring to cross that bridge at a later time if any of the women seemed likely to hang around. And there he was almost blurting it across the table in the first five minutes.

There was something about Nora that made him want to be honest.

They ordered and filled the silence with the required amount of small talk. George was slightly disappointed. She was tense and he wasn't sure if it was that she didn't like him or if the nerves were getting to her. He hoped it was the latter.

He was smitten.

And a sap. He could almost hear his own thoughts – strange how they sounded rather like Derek…

Nora was relating a tale about a friend of hers who had gone on a date with a guy who had completely forgotten her name halfway the meal. The story was quite amusing, as she told about how he had tried to get her to confess her own name without revealing that he had forgotten it. To Nora's pleasure, George was chuckling with her. Nora rarely thought of herself as witty, but it made her relax.

"That sounds like something Derek would do." He said as the story came to an end.

"Derek?" Nora asked - to keep the conversation going more than any real interest.

"My so.." George paused. Nora looked at him. The honesty thing hit him again.

He dropped his shoulders. "My son."

Nora's eyes brightened. "You have a son?!" She sounded interested and she seemed to come alive. He found it even more attractive, if that was possible.

"Yeah." He admitted. "Two actually."

"I have two daughters!" Relief spread over both of them as the big secret they were both struggling to hide came springing to the surface.

"I have one of them as well." George finished confessing.

"Do they live with their mother?"

"No. Me. My very-ex-wife is 'finding herself' in Spain."

"Oh." Wow! He's a single dad who's involved with his kids!!!! Nora knew that Dennis' behaviour had probably spoilt the whole concept of fatherhood for her, but she was still impressed with George.

"My ex-husband is a litigation attorney in New York. The girls miss him."

"But you don't?" he questioned softly.

"I'd love to say that I miss him lying beside me at night or the kiss at the door in the morning, but as I can't even remember the last time that happened, I'd be lying."

"I'm a lawyer too. But community law. The hours were more suitable for looking after the kids when Abby left."

And suddenly Nora got George. She knew then that he was a thoroughly nice person. He was an ex-husband who understood his marriage was making his wife unhappy – and let her go. He was a father who understood his children needed at least one parent – and changed jobs, and he was a lawyer who cared about the law. Okay so his jokes were lame and he really needed to stop drooling over her chest, but on the face of it. He was scoring plenty of ticks with Nora right now.

"How old are your children?" She asked.

Despite the fact that he had been racking his brain all day to think of topics to talk about that didn't involve Marti refusing to eat greens, Edwin wetting the bed, and Derek and his refusal to walk past a pretty girl without taking her phone number, George began to talk about his children. And because it was, being honest again, his favourite topic, he began to relax.

"Well, there's Derek. He's fourteen, cheeky, conniving, totally hockey, food and girl focussed." He smirked. Nora grinned.

"Then there's Edwin, who is nine and a little business brain. He idolises Derek and Derek manipulates him. Edwin earns the money, Derek spends it."

Nora chuckled.

"And then there's Martha, Marti or Smarti, as Derek calls her. She's four going on forty but completely bizarre and I'm seriously considering demanding a DNA test because I doubt very much there is any of Abby in her at all."

Nora laughed. George's eyes were full of fun as he talked about his kids. And, that hooked Nora even further in.

"They are my world."

She could have kissed him right there and then.

"And what about your girls?" he asked when he could trust his own voice again.

Nora took a deep breath.

"Well there's Cassandra….Casey. She's just fourteen and so pretty. Well, if you ignore the braces and the spots and the post-puberty awkwardness. But she's so intelligent and 'full of life'." He frowned as Nora made the air quotes. "She's a bit of a drama queen." Nora elaborated.

George laughed.

"Casey's big love in life is dance. She's always dancing. And she has a dancer's grace. I worry about what it will be like in a couple of years when she discovers boys and they discover her. She's at an all-girl school at the moment and is a bit sheltered."

George nodded. It was probably a good job Casey was, by the sounds of it, unattractive. Derek would make mincemeat of her otherwise.

"And there's my baby, Lizzie. She's the same age as Edwin and a total tomboy. She's really into soccer." Her eyes sparkled as she talked about her children and he found himself drifting into their depths.

"Are they both as beautiful as their mother?" He blurted. Then sat back in embarrassment.

"Sorry. That just sort of slipped out."

She blushed and then to his relief smiled gently. "S'ok. It's been a while since anyone has said anything so…"

"…forward?" He said, kicking himself repeatedly under the table.

"I was going to say, 'nice'." She said reassuringly. There was a silence as their eyes met and they both knew this wouldn't be their last date.

At some point, they ate the meal, drank the beer. But neither of them noticed. The coffee came and went, and George was vaguely aware that the restaurant was emptying. And still they talked.

Eventually, reluctantly, Nora said. "I really need to get going. I have to get a taxi." He nodded.

"Can I drive you home?"

"I think… Perhaps not. It's not I don't trust you. It's just that if my daughter finds out that I accepted a lift home from you I'll never hear the last of it."

George smiled. Someone else whose children had completely taken over their lives.

"Nora. I really want to see you again."

He felt embarrassed sounding so desperate – well to his ears anyway.

She flushed. "That would be…nice."

"Tomorrow?" He said urgently. Nora giggled.

"Tomorrow would be perfect."

And then he walked her to the taxi rank and made her promise to text him the moment she was home safely.

He was driving the long journey back to London when the text hit his cell phone. He pulled over into a convenient rest stop, impatient to see what she had put.

I'm home. I had a really nice time tonight. Thank you. Can't wait until tomorrow. NoraX

He wasn't good at texting, but he managed.

Me too. GeorgeX

Author's Note:

*Sorry Ashley!