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I reach out, tucking it behind her ear and she blushes, ducking her head and reaching for the seat belt.
I climb back behind the wheel, wondering if I should buy a car soon since I’ll be back in the states now and probably staying in Colorado. At least until I hear about my shoulder and find out if I need another surgery.
“Where are we going to dinner?” she asks with that sweet smile that I love.
“Uh, I was thinking about either The Rosebud or Mountain Peak Grill? Is there a different restaurant in town that you like?” I ask her.
I did a search of town and I didn’t see any new places that had opened up but I could have missed something or maybe she wants to go out of town to her favorite place.
“No, either place sounds good.”
“Which do you like more?”
“I’ve never been to The Rosebud but I like the grill.”
“Want to try The Rosebud?” I ask and she grins at me, letting me know that I made the right choice.
I head back toward town and pull up at The Rosebud. It’s an upscale restaurant located on the north side of town. I climb out, waving off the valet so that I can open Evangeline’s door myself and she smiles, blushing slightly as I offer her my hand and help her out.
I don’t let her hand go as we head inside and up to the maître d stand. Luckily for us, it’s a Tuesday and a little slow so we get seated without a reservation.
The place is done up in varying shades of red with small tables that each have a rose bouquet in the center. Our waitress gives both of us a once-over and smiles flirtatiously at me before giving Evangeline a bit of a dirty look.
My blood starts to boil and I remember how she used to get picked on when we were kids. I had shut that down when I was fifteen, threatening to beat the shit out of anyone who said a bad word to her. From then on, she was left alone.
“Did you want to order some wine or something?” I ask and Evangeline shakes her head.
“No, not for me. I’m a bit of a light weight and I’m afraid one glass and you’ll have to carry me out of here.”
“I don’t mind doing that if you want one,” I offer with a smile and she giggles.
“The flowers are pretty,” I say, nodding toward the roses.
“I have some at the nursery too,” she says as she picks up a menu.
“What’s your favorite kind of flower?” I ask as I grab my own menu.
“Oh, I don’t think that I could pick,” she says with a laugh.
“You like them all, huh?”
“Yeah, it changes a lot. Sometimes it’s sunflowers or poppies, sometimes it’s dahlias or irises. I guess it just depends on the season or my mood.”
I nod, filing that information away for later.
“How’s your arm?” she asks after we’ve both decided on food and have set our menus aside.
“It’s okay. A little sore but I iced it and it’s better now.”
“Good,” she says and I can see that she wants to ask what happened but I’m not ready to talk about that yet.
The attack is still too fresh and I luck out when the waitress comes back to take our order. I nod for Evangeline to go first and she grabs her menu, her cheeks pinkening as she tells the waitress her order.
“I’ll just have the Caesar salad,” she says and I stare at her like she’s crazy.
“No, she won’t,” I blurt out and both women turn to look at me.
“She’ll have the steak, medium well with the macaroni and cheese and I’ll have the steak, medium rare, with the Caesar salad and baked potato,” I order.
