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That did not sound at all pathetic. What in the world was wrong with me?
Heidi stared at me for a minute, then she laughed. Holding my face in her hands, she urged me to raise my head and look at her. "You were worried I was leaving you. That's so cute, Damian. You're always confident and smooth, but it's nice to know you have an anxious side too."
"You like my anxiety? That's crazy."
"I like that you care enough to worry about losing me. You're not, by the way. I'm staying."
"But you have your purse, like you're going somewhere."
She rubbed her thumbs over my lips. "Relax. I'm taking Mara into town so she can buy a wedding dress."
"Oh." How dumb did I feel? Thumb-sucking, babbling, drooling-lunatic dumb. "You're sticking around until the wedding, then."
"I'm sticking around, period."
"What about your job?"
She shrugged one shoulder. "I quit."
"What? When?"
"This morning. Didn't get a chance to tell you yet because I was helping my friends get ready to leave." She draped her arms around my neck, brushing her fingertips through my hair. "I've got enough money in the bank to get by for a couple months, which gives me time to figure out what my next step is. Val and Eve offered me a job here—a nonspecific, whatever-I-want job—but I need to think about it."
"The resort needs an event planner."
"Let's talk about that later. Right now, I need to go with Mara."
"Was her mom upset that you're taking over the wedding planning?"
Heidi leaned her body against me, her fingers still toying with my hair. "No, Sheryl understood. She wants Mara to be happy, and she only became the wedding dictator because Mara didn't want to make her mom feel bad. She was afraid to say what she wanted. Naturally, Sheryl assumed her daughter needed the most expensive, designer everything."
"But she doesn't. Mara wants something cozier and more relaxed."
"That's right. How did you know?"
"I've been working with Mara for months now."
"Right. I almost forgot." She danced her fingertips down my neck, spreading her hand over my shoulder, then she dragged her palm down to my chest. "What should we do this evening, after you get off work?"
I cupped her ass with both hands. "How about we go into town and have dinner at a real restaurant? No buffet, no senior citizens poking their noses into our business, just the two of us."
"Are you asking me out on a date?"
"Yeah, I guess I am."
She smiled. "I'd love to go on a date with you, Damian."
The urge to fist-pump was strong, but I ignored it. "I'll pick you up at eight, at your room. Okay?"
"I'll be ready." She eyed my work uniform. "Are you going to, like, wear a suit or something? Should I dress up?"
I hadn't even considered how we might dress, but nudity was pretty much off the table. The authorities frowned on naked people strolling into a restaurant. I did own a suit, for special occasions. For years, I'd worn a prison-guard uniform, and now I wore the resort uniform. To wear a nice suit again might feel weird, but I looked forward to it. And I couldn't wait to see Heidi in whatever fancy dress she decided to wear.
"Yes, we're dressing up," I said. "The only restaurant in town is the steak house, but I hear it's nice."
"It is. And they usually have live music. A string quartet or something like that."
"Sounds perfect. Have you been to the steak house before?"
