AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Well, I won’t lie, it took me some time, but I got used to it.” I winked, meeting his eyes. I wasn’t sure I would ever tire of looking at them. They were so clear, and today they reminded me of sea glass. “Okay, for the note, what would you like it to say?”
I pulled out the chair at the small desk and picked up my pen, waiting for him to begin.
“Um…let me think.” He paced back and forth. “Dinner. Tonight. 7:30. Pick the place. It’s on me.”
I stopped writing and looked over my shoulder to see him grinning.
“What do you say? Will you have dinner with me?”
Immediately, I felt my heart melt. This had to be the sweetest, most romantic thing anyone had ever done for me, and inside I felt my heart skip a beat. Was he for real? Was he kidding? He had to be joking, and while I waited for him to give me the punch line, I looked at him, not sure what to say.
Ethan cleared his throat. “What do you say? Do you have a favourite restaurant in town?”
I nodded. “I do. The Italian Affair, just a couple blocks over.”
“Does 7:30 work for you?” he asked, leaning on the counter as he waited for my response.
I nodded.
“Okay, I’ll pick you up at 7.”
His eyes glued to mine, he took a couple of steps backward and then turned, still looking over his shoulder at me. When he was gone, I turned and looked down at the small card I’d been writing, reading what I’d written once again as a warm feeling came over me. He wasn’t kidding, he really did want to take me for dinner.
* * *
I worked around the shop for the next couple of hours. Each minute that passed, the excitement grew. Then the nerves crept in. I had just finished dealing with a customer when I spotted the card that I’d been writing out to go with the yellow roses. As I stared at the words, the nervousness grew. I hadn’t been on a date in so long, I wasn’t sure I even remembered what one was like. Immediately, I ran to the phone and dialed Trinity.
“Hello, Bluebird Books!” she sang over the phone.
“I don’t know what I’ve done,” I blurted without a hello.
Trinity giggled. “What are you talking about?”
“Ethan! Ethan Alexander, remember, the pen pal I’d never meet? The safe haven, as you called him.”
I heard a mumble in the background, followed by another, and then the line went quiet. “All right, spill it. What is going on now?” she asked with laughter in her voice.
“Well, Ethan was here. He asked me out on a date!”
“OOOHHH tell me more…”
I could imagine Trinity rubbing her hands together like she was gearing up, once again, to begin a project she’d been dying to work on. Which she was, and that project was me. She’d been so disappointed when I told her that he hadn’t been around and had only been emailing, I thought she was going to cry. I was certain she was probably grinning like an idiot and bursting with excitement at this development.
I swallowed hard. “I did something dumb. I said yes. I, Peggy Hollis, agreed to go out with him. What was I thinking? First, he shows up here like some stalker, then disappears and reverts to email for two weeks, and this morning he brings me breakfast and asks me out on a date.”
“He brought you breakfast?” Trinity questioned. “Again?”
I let out a sigh. “Yes.”
“Did you order it again for delivery?”
“No, and he brought me my second favorite, that super cheesy omelette.”
Trinity was quiet for a moment, and then I heard her whisper, “You know, Peggy, I have a good feeling about this.”
Trinity was happy with this development, excited that the plan I knew she had created in her mind was clearly working.
“I don’t. This can only end in one way.”
