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The Mexican restaurant. That was where he told his parents he was going for dinner. But that didn’t explain why he’d swept through downtown, checking out the pizzeria and deciding it was too busy. He’d then swung by the diner—also too busy. With each sweep, he scanned frantically for signs of Charity’s white sedan.
“This is ridiculous,” he said to himself as he started toward the Mexican restaurant.
He could just pick up the phone and call her, maybe ask what she was doing for dinner. He could even swing by her place and pick her up. She had a dog, so she’d have to stop by there before dinner if she’d been working all day. In truth, her plans were probably to eat at home, but it was still early enough that he might catch her before she dug into her solo meal.
He pulled into the Mexican restaurant parking lot, ready to park and shoot her a text. That was when he spotted it. He braked abruptly, the sight was so unexpected. It wasn’t just that it was a white sedan. It had a smallCharity Interiorssticker on the back bumper. Charity Ardmore was likely inside that building.
It didn’t occur to him until he’d parked and started across the parking lot that she probably wasn’t alone. A beautiful woman like her wouldn’t have dinner by herself. If she wasn’t having dinner with Noelle or her parents, she might be in there with a date.
The man from the mansion last night flashed through his mind—the one with the muscles and expensive shoes. The one who owned a helicopter tour company that obviously brought in a lot of money for him.
A large pink Christmas tree was to the right of the door, along with a bushel of mistletoe that dangled from the ceiling. They’d hung it a little low, which made him wonder if Noelle and Charity had anything to do with it. As soon as he lowered his gaze from the mistletoe, he was scanning the room.
“Hola!” a guy said, greeting him from behind the counter that was just past the Christmas tree. “Have a seat anywhere.”
It was a good thing he didn’t say that last part in Spanish. Nic had two years of Spanish education behind him, but he’d hardly call himself fluent. Still, he managed a convincing enough “gracias” before returning to his room scan.
Charity was in the back corner of the restaurant at a booth. She was alone, but she could very well be meeting someone.
Nic stalled, not sure what to do here. If he took another seat without even saying hi, that would be awkward. But it might be even more awkward if he walked over and said hello and she felt obligated to invite him to sit down. Or worse, she might tell him she had a date showing up any minute. Maybe her date was in the bathroom, washing his hands before his meal or something.
The guy behind the counter was pretending not to notice Nic was lurking. He had to do something. With long, confident strides, he headed straight toward the corner.
She made eye contact around the time he’d passed the last empty table. There were booths over on the other wall. He’d grab one of those after he greeted her.
“Hey.” She sat back and tilted her head slightly.
She was smiling. That was a sign she was happy to see him. But there was also puzzlement in her eyes.
“I had no idea you’d be here,” he said in answer to a question she hadn’t even asked. “I was escaping my mom’s casserole of leftovers, and this was what I was craving.”
Seeing her was what he was craving, but that was something he had to fight. She had a basket of chips and a bowl of salsa in front of her, along with a glass of what was no doubt her favorite beverage, sweet tea.
“I had plans to meet Noelle, but she just texted that she’s overloaded with work, so here I am.” She sighed. “Have a seat. If you’re alone, that is.”
She probably assumed he was meeting a friend. Yeah, that would have been the smart thing to do. But then he couldn’t have had dinner alone with her if he’d scheduled a meetup with one of his high school buddies.
Oh yeah. He didn’t have any high school buddies still living here.
“Are you sure you don’t mind?” he asked.
He didn’t budge. He kept his coat on until she gave him a nod and a smile. Her half-smile and softened expression told him she was definitely okay with him sitting down.
“Things were a little weird last night,” he said. “I wasn’t sure if you were mad at me.”
He shrugged off his coat and tossed it into the booth, sliding in after it. She was frowning. She held a chip between her thumb and forefinger as she stared straight ahead thoughtfully.
“They were?” she asked. “I don’t remember.”
Good. He certainly wasn’t going to remind her that she left suddenly. Maybe she hadn’t been upset after all. It very well could have been that she just realized her dog had been alone too long.
“Have you been watching the weather?” she asked.
The question startled him. He tilted his head in confusion. Was she making small talk, or was there something he needed to know?
“There’s a big snowstorm blowing in up north,” she said. “I doubt it’ll hit here, but your drive home might be affected.”
“When?”
