I feel my cheeks start to warm and I know it’s from his eyes on me andnotthe candle in the middle of the table.
“And how dare you insult the perfection of Alfredo,” he teases, reaching for a breadstick. He takes a bite and stares at me. “It’s all about mindset. It can be boring if you let it, but I prefer to think of it as dependable. A classic.”
“Dependable, huh?” I laugh.
He sets the breadstick down on the plate in front of him. “Are you nervous?” he asks as he leans back in his seat.
“A little bit,” I say breathlessly. I shuffle in my seat, watching another couple get seated. “Besides Jake, I’ve never actually been on a date before. And I wouldn’t necessarily call that one a success.”
“Well, hey.” Graham reaches for my hand and runs his thumb over my knuckles. He cocks his head to the left a bit and adds, “This can be whatever you want it to be.”
I bite the inside of my cheek to keep from smiling even bigger than I already am.
Our waitress returns, takes our order and then takes off back to the kitchen. I busy myself with dishing out some salad as she walks away.
“How’s your mom?” I ask as Graham starts to serve himself some of the salad.
“She’s good,” he says, setting his plate down and letting out a breath. “She’s really excited I’m out with you.”
“Oh?”
“She hasn’t stopped talking about you since the festival.”
I laugh. “No pressure, right?”
Graham chuckles now. “None.” He picks up a forkful of salad. “I’m sure Raquel is just as excited as Mom.”
I raise my eyebrows. “Why do you say that?”
“She’s been on me to ask you out since you first moved here.” He takes another careful bite.
Apparently, everyone wanted us together just like Judith wanted Charlie and Beth together.
“Well, hey,” I say, my fork scraping my plate. “At least you finally did.”
Graham opens his mouth to respond but is cut off when my phone rings.
“Sorry,” I say as I pick it up. It’s Beth; I know she wouldn’t be calling unless it were important.
“Hey,” I answer, slightly worried that something bad has happened.
“Hey,” she says, “I’m sorry to disturb your date but Charlie just called. They arrested Jake.”
“Really?” I ask. My eyes go wide and I look at Graham.
“James can’t fix this one for him. I didn’t want to wait to tell you. Figured you’d want to know.”
“Yes, thank you.”
“Anyways, I’ll see you when you get home. I love you!”
“Love you, too.” I disconnect the call and set my phone back down on the table.
“Is everything okay?” Graham asks.
I nod. “Yeah, that was Beth. She said Jake got arrested.”
“Good,” he says with a smile. “I had faith in Sheriff Gajewski.”
