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“It’s going good. Were you at the game tonight?’
“I was. We won.”
“Yay! That’s great,” she said with a broad smile. “I wanted to be there, but I agreed to cover this shift for a friend to help her out.”
“There’s always next week,” Gareth said. “No shortage of games now that the season is underway.”
“Yep. I’ve been to a few already.” She glanced at Aria, then back to Gareth. “What can I get you tonight?”
Aria looked at the menu that was written on the board behind the young woman. When she spotted a variety of cheesecakes, she quickly decided to get a slice of one to go along with her hot chocolate.
It didn’t take long to get their order, then Gareth led the way to one of the tables in the back corner of the room. Aria was glad to be away from the windows because the last thing they needed was for Nora to drive past and spot them sitting together. Obviously she could still come into the restaurant, but hopefully that wouldn’t be as likely to happen that late in the evening.
“Cheesecake, huh?” Gareth asked as he dipped his spoon into the banana split he’d gotten. “That’s also a great choice here. They make wonderful desserts.”
“I enjoy cheesecake. My mom loved it too. We’d get some once or twice a month.”
Gareth’s expression softened. “That was nice you had a treat you both enjoyed.”
Aria nodded, but when she felt the sting of tears, she looked down at her cheesecake. She used her fork to scoop off a piece and took a bite.
The creamy sweetness with just a bit of tartness was delicious, but it took some effort to swallow past the tightness in her throat.
Trying to focus on the delicious cheesecake instead of the memory of her mom, she said, “This is really good. Probably better than your ice cream.”
He chuckled at that. She was grateful when he went on to extol the greatness of his ice cream rather than asking her more about her mom. There would come a time when she was sure that she’d be able to talk more about her, but it wasn’t that night.
They ended up staying at the restaurant until almost closing time. Gareth had nodded at a few people as he and Aria had talked, but no one had approached their table. Perhaps they’d correctly assumed that he was out on a date and so gave him space.
Though she’d heard lots about the family from Janessa when they’d roomed together, there was plenty that Gareth shared with her that Janessa hadn’t. Especially since she and Janessa hadn’t talked as much once they were done school. They’d kept in sporadic contact, but they’d both been busy with their jobs and life in general to allow for long conversations.
Aria told him bits about herself, but she found herself thinking over her words before speaking. The last thing she wanted was to talk about the previous two years. If she had her way, she’d rather pretend that everything with Tim, her job, and the past year had never happened.
It was almost eleven-thirty by the time Gareth pulled up to the house. There didn’t appear to be many lights on, so maybe everyone was in bed.
Gareth walked with her to the door, then unlocked it to let them into the house. No one was waiting for them in the foyer this time.
“Thank you for a lovely evening,” Aria said quietly as they stood in the foyer. “I really enjoyed myself.”
“I did too.”
“Even if I don’t like ice cream as much as you?” she asked.
“Even then,” Gareth murmured. He hesitated for a moment, his gaze on hers, and Aria held her breath.
For a moment, she thought he might kiss her, but instead, he reached out and ran his fingertips lightly over her cheek.
“Have a good night. I’ll be by here around five-thirty tomorrow to pick you up.”
“I can’t wait.”
“Me, either.” The smile he gave her held an emotion that made her heart skip a beat.
After Gareth left, she went up to her room, praying as she climbed the stairs that she didn’t do anything to mess up their growing romance.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Gareth struggled to quell his irritation at having to curtail his interactions with Aria at work, to be strictly professional. However, he couldn’t deny that it had had the desired effect. Aria had mentioned that Nora seemed to treat her with less derision over the past couple of weeks, ever since that day she’d threatened to attend Cole’s game.
