AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Fiona twirled around to see a man standing before her. He was tall, with broad shoulders and slicked back brown hair, and a trim beard on his face. This was definitely the same man she’d been talking to online—but he looked even more handsome in person. He wore a button-down shirt, and was much more muscular than she had imagined. Fiona was typically not into men who were so built, but she had also never had someone like that interested in her.
“Mark?” Fiona asked.
He laughed, showing off his white teeth, and stepped closer to her. “You look beautiful. Wow.”
Fiona’s cheeks went up in flames. “Oh, thank you… you look very nice too.”
Mark smiled and offered her his arm. “Shall we go in?”
Fiona nodded and looped her arm through his, feeling the warmth of his body as he led her into the restaurant. The smell of freshly baked bread, succulent steaks, and buttery seafood filled the restaurant. The hostess greeted them with a smile and showed them to their table—a cozy corner booth that overlooked the gardens outside.
Mark pulled out Fiona’s chair for her, and she sat down, feeling a bit overwhelmed by the attention he was paying her. He took the seat across from hers, then wiped his palms on his pants. Was he nervous too? It was hard to picture someone like this being nervous to meether.Mark looked like someone who spent a lot of time in the gym. Fiona had gotten a membership recently, but she had yet to exactly use it.
She was going to, though. She needed to get strong if she were to make strides toward being more in the field with the FBI.
“It’s so nice to finally meet you,” Mark said. “Thanks for agreeing to the date. I know it can be scary meeting a stranger.”
It had been scary, but in the moment, it felt right. Mark had a nice, warm aura. “It’s nice to meet you too. Sorry if I’m a bit shy. I’ve never used a dating app before—I was actually going to delete it until you messaged me…” Fiona laughed awkwardly and hoped she wasn’t oversharing.
“No need to apologize,” Mark said. “It’s nice to find someone genuine. I know it can be hard to find someone with the same values and interests as you. I’m glad we connected.”
Fiona smiled, feeling warmth spread through her body. She hadn’t expected to feel so comfortable with Mark, but she was glad she did. She’d been so nervous about going on her first date, but Mark was making it easier.
“Well,” he said, picking up a menu, “shall we?”
Fiona nodded, opening hers up. The menu was a beautiful leather-bound book, with gold engravings on the spine and a glimmering gold lining on the pages. The font was a bold serif, and the portions were listed neatly in columns. Fiona had probably never ordered off such a fancy menu.
As she was deciding what to order—probably between the buttery garlic steak and the shrimp salad—Joslyn snuck back into her mind. Getting more hands-on with the FBI had made Fiona think about her sister’s case more than ever, and even had her wondering if she could somehow solve a case that’d been cold for ten years. She wondered what Mark would think of that, but it was way too early to get into that aspect of her life. He didn’t know she worked for the FBI. She felt weird dropping that on him, just in case it freaked him out at all.
A waitress in a black uniform came over to take their orders. Fiona gestured for Mark to go first, but he smiled and said, “Ladies first.”
Fiona blushed and told the waitress, “The steak sounds great. Thank you!”
Mark chuckled. “Same for me. That sounds way too good.”
They handed their menus back, and the waitress left them alone again. Fiona smiled nervously at him.
“What?” he joked. “I really did have my eye on the steak. You only confirmed it for me.”
Fiona chuckled. It was strange how easy things felt with Mark.
“So,” Fiona said, hoping to break the ice, “how do you like working in finance, Mark?”
Mark smiled. “I love it. It’s a great career, and I get to work with some really smart people. Plus, I get to travel a lot for work, which is a nice bonus. What about you? What do you do?”
Fiona took a deep breath. Here was her chance to tell Mark about her job.
“I’m a forensic specialist and entomologist,” she said. “I work for the FBI.”
Mark’s eyes widened. “Wow, that’s amazing. I had no idea you did something like that. That sounds like a really cool job.”
He seemed genuinely interested, and Fiona couldn’t help but feel relieved. She had been worried that he wouldn’t take her seriously, but it seemed like he was impressed.
“Thanks,” she said, smiling. “It’s a lot of hard work, but I really enjoy it. I get to work with some really interesting people, and I’m always learning something new.”
Mark nodded. “That’s great. What kind of cases do you usually work on?”
“Ah, unfortunately I can’t say,” Fiona mumbled, but images of the last two cases she’d worked on flashed in her mind.
