AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Surprise skittered across his face. “Oh, I’m sorry. Yes, my brothers.”
We fell silent, the two of us casting sideways glances in whatever direction the other wasn’t. I wasn’t embarrassed, exactly. More excitement than anything, coupled with a hefty concern about what I was sure would end in some form of rejection—I didn’t have gear fit to reach Keaton Island.
Despite that, I pulled up my big girl pants and smiled at him. “Well, we came all this way. Would you care to have dinner with me, Mr. Meyer?”
A returning smile tugged at his lips, his shoulders, jaw, forehead easing with the expression. “Sure. Let’s see if they actually made a reservation.”
He pulled open the door, and I walked past him with my nerves firing. I hadn’t been on a real live date in a real long time, and sharing a meal alone with Keaton was beyond my imagination. But here we were, walking into a very expensive restaurant in cocktail attire, just the two of us.
We were led outside to a table next to the river under a canopy of ancient trees. Keaton pulled my chair out for me, and I went a little knock-kneed as I whispered my thanks and sat.
I watched him smooth his tie before sitting, his eyes on the silverware as he settled in. The table was small, only meant for two, lit by candlelight. Trees rustled above us, and music played quietly from somewhere nearby.
Golden lights hung everywhere—strung in the tree, hanging across the river, lining the bridges, clinging to the edge of wide, slow boats as they drifted by, slow and lazy and sighing.
It was nothing short of perfect, even if the man across from me wasn’t mine to have.
But could he be yours?
There were moments when I thought the answer might be yes. Like when he’d spun me around the dance floor and looked so deep into my eyes, I thought he might have seen my very soul. I thought I might have caught a glimpse of his too. I’d sat across from him in his kitchen, his pink apron dusted in flour and his eyes bright with hope that things got better.
Somewhere, deep down, I believed he was interested in me, and I was interested in him, despite whether or not it was a good idea. Because although I had to admit I didn’t know him well, I saw something of myself in Keaton, and I saw the kind of person I wanted to be too. I admired him for all he stood for, for all he’d done, and it left me wanting to rise to meet him.
The server interrupted my thoughts for a drink order, and once she was gone, we were alone again.
“Well,” I started, “They really outdid themselves.”
He shook his head at his menu. “I’m sorry. My brothers … they mean well.”
“So do my sisters, however heavy handed they may be.”
“Subtle, right?”
“Not exactly a Blum forte.”
“It’s not a dominant Meyer trait either.”
I glanced up and around us. “It’s beautiful though.”
“It is.”
Something about the way he said it made me look at him, expecting to find him looking around as I had been. But he was looking at me.
Our gazes held for a fluttering moment before his eyes fell to his menu.
That two seconds of eye contact was all it took to double my pulse.
For a little bit, we chatted about the menu, neither of us seeming to know what to say. My mind scrambled around for a direction to take the conversation, anything to make the unexpected dinner easier, but I couldn’t seem to find a thing. When the server brought our drinks and took our orders, we were out of distractions.
I watched Keaton’s bear hands move his silverware and open his napkin, laying it in his lap. He sat back, then shifted. Put a hand on the table, then back into his lap.
“Do I make you nervous?” I teased.
A flicker of a smile just there, at one corner of his mouth. “Do you always say what you think?”
“I do, sometimes to my peril.”
That earned me a chuckle.
“My sisters are worse. You can’t walk five feet in my house without hearing what somebody thinks.”
“You can’t get five in mine without someone cracking a joke. I don’t think any of them have a serious bone in their body.”
“Not even Cole?” I challenged.
“You know, when it counts, they all do,” he conceded. “And Cole most of all, especially when it comes to Sophie. But the rest of the time?” He made a derisive noise.
I laughed and took a sip of my wine, comfortable for the first time tonight. I couldn’t help but notice he’d relaxed too, just a little. “I admire them. My sisters too. They’re so … I don’t know. Carefree, in their ways. Although your siblings are more easy going than mine. But they’d fight to the death for what they love, human, town, bee, or otherwise.”
