AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I’ve never been engaged,” he said, feeling like he needed to share his romantic past in the same way she had. “I never had a serious enough relationship. I was too focused on school, then on my residency. Plus, I knew I was coming back to Serenity Point, and none of the women I was interested in had any desire to move up here.”
“Were the women you were interested in doctors?”
“No. Not all of them. If the main thing I wanted in a woman was that she have a medical degree, I would have gotten involved with Nora. I need a connection that goes beyond our professions.”
“And you feel we have that?”
“I do feel that,” Gareth said, rubbing his thumb over her fingers. “Though I’m not happy about the hassles Nora has caused, I have to say that having a clear line between our work and personal life because of that, hasn’t been an entirely bad thing.”
Aria was quiet for a moment before she said, “I hadn’t thought of it that way.”
“I wasn’t actively looking for the silver lining around the cloud that Nora has brought upon us,” Gareth said with a chuckle. “But it seems that God was determined to give me one, anyway.”
As they approached the town where the restaurant was, Gareth had to let go of Aria’s hand. The small parking lot beside the restaurant was almost full, so he was glad he had made a reservation.
Once they were out of the car, Gareth held out his hand, which Aria took, falling into step beside him as they walked to the building. He hadn’t been to the restaurant in a long time, so he hoped that the food was as good as the last time he’d been there with his family, celebrating his parents’ thirtieth wedding anniversary.
Gareth opened the door and held it so that Aria could walk in first. A smiling woman greeted them as they stepped into the foyer.
“I have a reservation for Halverson.”
The woman nodded as she picked up a couple of menus. “Please follow me.”
Gareth waited for Aria to go ahead of him, then he followed them to a round table set against the far wall next to a high narrow window that looked out on the hedges around the building. It wasn’t much of a view, but he wasn’t there to stare out the window when he had Aria sitting across from him.
Once they were at the table, he held Aria’s chair as she sat down, then went around to his seat. The woman handed them each a menu before leaving them alone.
“Is there something you’d recommend here?” Aria asked as she looked up from her menu.
“Well, I’m going to be unoriginal and order steak,” Gareth said. “But honestly, I think anything would be good. When we all came here a few years ago, we each ordered something different, and I don’t remember anyone complaining about their food.”
“I think I’m in the mood for pasta and maybe chicken.”
They talked about other things on the menu, eventually deciding to get an appetizer as well as their main courses.
“And of course, we’ll get dessert,” Gareth said with a grin.
Aria laughed. “Ice cream, right?”
When Aria laughed, Gareth’s heart skipped a beat. The joy on her face filled him with joy as well. He’d never had feelings like that for a woman before. Sometimes, he wasn’t sure what to do with all the feelings he had for Aria, and he wondered if she had them too. Or was he the only one feeling things so strongly?
Hopefully, this time together might help to clarify things for him… for them.
***
Aria’s nerves had settled now that she was sitting with Gareth. She hadn’t known what to expect for their date, but like the gifts he’d given her that day, the restaurant he’d chosen was perfect.
Soft jazz played in the background, with the muted sounds of conversation and the clink of dishes layered over it. The restaurant was decorated in a rich burgundy, and the wood accents in the space were dark and shiny. The chairs were styled to look antique, but since they were all the same, Aria doubted they were authentic. Still, they looked appropriate to the décor, and the padded seats were comfortable.
She’d gone to fancier restaurants with Tim, but this one seemed nicer than any of those. That was due, no doubt, because of who she was with.
The conversation they’d had so far had mainly been light, and she appreciated that. Their date that night didn’t feel like a place for really heavy topics, even though they’d already touched on the end of her relationship with Tim.
There was really only one topic she didn’t want to discuss, but thankfully, there wasn’t much chance of him bringing it up.
“You don’t talk about your dad,” Gareth said. “Is he not around?”
Well, this would be a brief topic of conversation. “I actually don’t know who he is.”
