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My eyes narrow. “Pete and I came to this very restaurant, like, a week after we moved to town on a date, and you introduced yourself.”
“I said a date, Jen. That was an obligatory dinner out to prove he was the good husband he was, in fact, not.”
“It was still a date.”
“And since then,” she continues, blowing my statement off, “you have not gone on a single date. I mean, I can’t blame you for measuring every available guy you could’ve gone out with to Seth, but hey. You still never went out with any of them. Not even that Max guy who was in here the one day. He seemed nice when I talked to him.”
“He lived in California.”
She shrugs. “I can’t fault him. They have seventy-degree temps year-round.”
I roll my eyes and open the office door because we don’t need the privacy anymore. “To answer your question, no. Not yet. Probably whenever our schedule allows. But honestly, I don’t need a fancy date to know he…cares about me.”
The one thing I will not share, no matter how exciting, with Joanna is that we’ve already saidI love youto each other. Hence the reason I said, “cares about me.” There are some things I want to keep between Seth and I, and that is one of them. Because if the cards he left for me, Ella, and Eli before he left Saturday morning are any indication, the words we exchanged were true. I don’t know if he didn’t sleep or how he found my craft stuff, but it’s hard to tell if the kids or myself were more excited to see hand drawn cards sitting at our places at the table when we came downstairs Saturday morning. I would’ve preferred Seth himself, but I knew he had to go into work, so I didn’t have my expectations set.
As it turns out, though, Seth is an excellent artist. If the whole cop thing falls to the wayside, my kids will write letters of recommendation for him at an animated movie studio.
I might not write one, however, because I kind of don’t want to give up the Seth who wears his navy uniform. My brain has concocted a list of my favorite versions of Seth, andOn Duty Sethis third, only afterLovey Dovey SethandDaddy Seth.And if you must know, number four isBoat Captain Sethand five isShirtless Seth. I had to add that last one for the sake of his tattoo (certainly not because of abs…probably) and its alliteration.
“Well, since the man took your daughter on a date that was really stinking adorable, I cannot wait to see what he comes up with for the two of you,” Jo says, breaking into my thoughts as we step back into the indoor dining space of Farm to Table. She bumps her shoulder against mine. “But you had better tell me when and where so that, A) I can help you get ready, and B) I can follow you and take pictures. In a totally non-creepy way. Obviously.”
I don’t have the chance to respond before the door opens. We both glance over in time to see Seth himself walk in, and my mouth goes dry. He’s wearing a pair of jeans and a green Under Armour T-shirt, and he pulls his sunglasses off to perch them on the collar of his shirt as he smiles in our direction. Forget the sun that’s not out today—his smile is plenty warm for me.
“I think that man gets better looking every time I see him,” Joanna mumbles under her breath. She must expect me to jab her in the ribs, because she takes a step away and angles a bright smile up at him as he approaches. What she doesn’t know is that I was going to agree with her. “Morning, Chief. To what do we owe the pleasure of this visit?”
Seth stops on the opposite side of the order counter, and my feet are itching to walk me through the swinging gate to my left to wrap my arms around him and hug him. I’m left with no choice but to addSmiling Sethto my list. I’m pretty sure it will be an ever-growing list, to be honest, because I’m bound to learn more and more about him in the weeks and months and, dare I hope, years to come.
“Actually, I came to ask Jen if she’s okay with me taking the kids for lunch and the rest of the afternoon.” Seth’s words make me tilt my head as my brows raise. “Figured I’d stop and ask her before going to Alice’s. I thought we’d have tacos and then Jess said they could help her in the kitchen for a couple hours, so…”
“I would take him to the courthouse right now,” Joanna whispers in my ear before she smirks and heads back towards the kitchen.
“I think they’d love that,” I say, trying not to let my boss’s idea cement in my mind. I don’t need a big wedding, though, and we’re both in a T and jeans, so—No.I straighten my shoulders, reminding myself I cannot take Seth to the courthouse right this minute. I’m on the clock, and it doesn’t matter that Joanna would clock me out to save me the time. “That sounds like fun. Especially since it’s so gloomy outside.”
“I can’t promise they won’t digest some of the sugary treats we make,” he warns teasingly, leaning his hip oh-so-casually on the counter between us. The counter that, given my heart’s rapid pounding, might as well be the Grand Canyon with how giant it seems. “But I’m sure they’ll wear it off. Are we still on to go to Marie’s at five-thirty?”
I nod, my gaze inadvertently falling to his lips. Then they shoot back to his eyes, but I think he noticed my perusal because the crinkles at the corners of his eyes have deepened. “Uh, yes. Definitely. Of course.”
“Weather permitting, I’m going to grill burgers for us and the teens. If they won’t mind being at the house while we work, Ella and Eli are free to hang out with us too. I’m going to swing by there later this afternoon to get tape up around the obstacles, and they can either come with me then or stay with Jess. I’m sure Marshall will swing by at some point. In addition to their sugar high, I can’t promise my brother-in-law won’t brainwash them. Sorry.”
Though I have the slightest case of FOMO at the afternoon he’s describing, I laugh. “I’m sure it won’t be any worse than Alice or Joanna. As long as they won’t be a bother to you, of course.”
His gaze, focused and intense, bores into mine. “They’ll never be a bother to me,” he says quietly, meant only for my ears, and his serious tone sends a chill up my spine. No, not a chill. That sounds unwanted and creepy. A tingle. A warm tingle. “The other thing is that I have a proposal.”
Given Joanna’s suggestion not three minutes ago, my stomach barrel rolls. “A proposal?” I repeat dumbly.
“Yes. I would like to take you on a date.”
A smile tugs at my lips. “You would?”
“I would. But would you trust me enough to not know what we will do or where we will go on the date?”
“Hm. Sounds a little suspicious to me, Officer.” I can’t help but lean onto the counter from my side, my feminine butterflies fluttering at his flirty tone. “I’m not so sure about this.”
Seth only smiles. “How does tomorrow night at six sound?”
Tom—My brain scrambles to digest the question. Rationally, it makes sense because Seth will be working on Friday when couples typically go out. But tomorrow, Tuesday, sounds so very soon. What will I wear if I don’t know where we’re going? What if I over-dress or under-dress?
“Tomorrow,” I repeat, much like earlier. “You want to go out tomorrow.”
