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“What are you grinning about?” he asked as the waiter walked away, noticing the look on her face.
“You,” she answered, her smile widening as she said it. “You’re always so… steady.”
He cocked his head to the side. “What is that supposed to mean?”
She chuckled. “It’s a good thing. It’s just everything about you is so good and so sure. Pulling my chair out for me when I came here, you hold the door open everywhere we go, how kindly you treat everyone around you. What you’re doing for the Hiltons. All of it.”
Clark shrugged, his brown hair glinting in the soft light of the restaurant. “It’s just the way I was raised.”
Valerie considered that, trying to picture the parents that had created a man like Clark. The idea alone made her want to meet them. But before she could embarrass herself and blurt that out, she clamped down on the thought, harkening back to what she’d been stewing over earlier in the cab.
She still wasn’t sure if she was staying. And she felt like it would be unfair to bring up meeting his parents if they were going to be going their separate ways in a few short weeks.
“What are you thinking about?” Clark asked, and Valerie scrambled to come up with a believable lie.
Thankfully, she was saved by the return of the waiter and the arrival of their food. They dug in, and she moaned at the taste.
“The food is so good here,” she said around a bite of meatball. “Back home, everything is sohealthy.Which, don’t get me wrong, I like that too. But there, everyone is always so terrified to gain even a pound that everything is leeched of so much flavor. It’s all raw carrot juice or a kale salad. And then there’s this.”
She took another bite of the meatball, groaning again and Clark laughed, shaking his head.
“I genuinely don’t know how you do it,” he said, grinning at her after a bite of his steak. “I would die if I lived out west.”
“After living here your whole life, I can kind of see why,” she answered honestly, grinning at him.
Valerie didn’t miss the way his eyes flared at her words, his thoughts written plainly on his face. She could see the way that hope flared so clearly within him when she talked about loving this place, hoping that she’d stay. But Valerie just wasn’t sure if she could do it, if she could leave everything she’d ever known and live in Snowy Pine Ridge. She didn’t want to get his hopes up just to smash them if she ended up leaving anyway.
Clark would never say anything about it, and she knew he would never pressure her or make her feel like the decision was anything other than entirely her own. But that didn’t stop her from feeling guilty when she saw such raw hope lingering in his handsome face.
She was spared having to say anything else when the sound of Clark’s name was being muttered across the restaurant.
They both turned, and immediately, her gaze landed on a man that she didn’t know, although she recalled having seen him at the rink. He gave them both a wave, approaching the table with his hands stuffed in his pockets.
“Hey, Rudolph.” Clark gave him a welcoming grin. “What are you on this side of town for?”
“Picking up a bit of dinner,” he replied. “Just waiting for them to bring it out. Thought I’d come over and introduce myself since I was busy when you all came into the rink the other day.”
He turned to Valerie, and she couldn’t help but notice the way he was blushing.
“I’m Rudolph Hutchins,” he said.
She expected him to extend a hand for her to shake, but he didn’t. He just stood there a bit awkwardly, looking at her with an expectant look on his face.
“My name is Valerie Bernard,” she said, giving him what she hoped was an encouraging smile. “It’s nice to meet you.”
His eyes roved over her face, a bit like he was studying it and trying to commit it to memory, the way someone would a loved one. Valerie tried not to squirm. One of the staff members approached, carrying a to-go bag, and extending it to Rudolph.
“All right, then,” the older man muttered. “That was all. I’ll be going now.”
Clark and Valerie said goodbye to him, then sat in silence while they watched the man walk out the door.
“That was strange,” Clark muttered. “Rudolph is usually so prickly that it’s like pulling teeth to get him to talk to you, let alone approach someone while they’re having dinner.” He turned to Valerie, a smirk tugging up the corner of his lips. “Maybe he’s a secret romance movie fan.”
She rolled her eyes at him, waving away his words. “Or maybe he just felt bad for being busy the other day.”
“Well, whatever the reason, now you’ve officially met Rudolph Hutchins. Because what small town would be complete without their own grumpy older resident?”
Valerie chuckled. “Is he really that bad?”
