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Chapter Thirteen
The Christmas conversation hung over Slate’s head as he continued to drive to Riverfront. The restaurant was a sprawling building that looked more like someone’s estate house than a commercial building. It was warm and cozy and inviting—and it sat right on the river that carved its way toward the Gulf of Mexico.
Jill held his hand on the way into the restaurant too, and he’d never felt as lucky as he did in those few minutes with her on his arm. She was stunning in every way, not just how she looked. She was stunning to him in her kindness. Stunning to him in her faith. Stunning to him in her loyalty and friendships.
He knew she’d been struggling with the Lord recently, but he also knew she loved Him. In the end, Slate knew Jill would come out of her mother’s illness a better person, with stronger faith than before. Everyone dealt with doubts sometimes, himself included.
Maybe it’s time you let go of your Christmas hatred, he thought as he gave the hostess his name. She smiled like he was the governor of Texas, and she led them to a beautiful booth that was shaped like a semi-circle. It faced the huge, tall and long, wall of windows that overlooked the river.
“Oh my goodness,” Jill said, her voice made mostly of air. “This is amazing.” She looked at Slate with those wide, blue eyes, clearly enjoying this experience.
He was too, and he knew a large part of that was because of her. He slid into the booth from the left while she did on the right, and the hostess handed them their menus. “Your server will be Lorenzo, and he’s right here.”
Sure enough, Lorenzo appeared, and he held a bottle of wine in one hand and a slice of chocolate cake in the other. “I heard it’s your birthday,” he said with a smile as wide as the sky.
“It is his birthday.” Jill beamed at him, and if Slate was seeing clearly, she held a little bit of love in her expression. Could that be right?
Shocked, he looked away from her as Lorenzo put the cake in front of him. “We encourage you to enjoy dessert before dinner on your birthday,” he said. “Would you like some too, ma’am?”
“Yes, please,” Jill said, a smile blooming across her whole face.
“I’ll be right back, but first, anything to drink?”
“Diet Coke,” Slate said, as alcohol for him was one short step away from drugs. Jill said the same thing, and Lorenzo left.
He picked up his fork and handed it to her. “You test it out.”
“No way.” She refused to take the fork, her smile bright and her spirit strong. Slate simply gazed at her, wondering what it felt like to be in love. Could he have fallen for her already? He’d been at Hope Eternal for over three months now, but he’d only been dating Jill for five or six weeks.
He sure did like spending time with her. He enjoyed talking to her, both through text and in person. When he woke up in the morning, he thought of her first, and then what he had to get done that day second. He wanted to be a better man because of her.
“Stop staring at me,” she said with a giggle. “Eat your cake. Look, here’s mine.”
Lorenzo arrived with her piece of chocolate cake and both of their colas. “Happy birthday,” he said, and Slate was grateful the whole waiting staff didn’t come sing to him.
“Happy birthday to you,” Jill sang quietly. She hadn’t that morning, and no one had that day yet. When he was younger, and his mother called for his birthday, she’d sing to him. Today, she hadn’t. She’d simply said how much she loved him and could remember the day he’d been born.
Jill sang the whole song though, almost under her breath so as to not make a scene, and then she dipped her fork into her cake and took a bite. Slate copied her, his heart flinging itself against his ribcage. He might be in love with her…
“This is divine,” Jill said, moaning. “I’ve never had a chocolate cake this good.”
“No kidding,” Slate said, plenty of cake still in his mouth. He finished his and grinned at Jill, who had the tiniest bit of frosting riding her top lip. “You’ve got a little…” He leaned forward and kissed her, effectively removing that chocolate frosting from her mouth. She tasted amazing, because she’d just eaten cake too, and Slate felt himself slipping in his resolve not to kiss her until he couldn’t breathe once they were alone.
He’d done that already today, but he suddenly wanted to do it again, and again, and again.
Thankfully, Jill had the good sense to remember they were in public—and a very expensive, very fancy restaurant at that—and she pulled away after only a few seconds. “We better look at the menu,” she said with some grinding in her throat. “What have you heard is good here?”
Slate enjoyed their four-course birthday dinner together. He kept the conversation light, though it was about deep topics. He thoroughly enjoyed himself, and as he helped Jill into his truck a couple of hours later, he realized he hadn’t once thought he shouldn’t be there with her.
As he rounded the front of the truck, he took a moment to close his eyes and breathe out, “Thank you, Lord, for this good woman in my life.” He opened his door and got behind the wheel, casting a quick look at Jill. “That was amazing, right?”
“I’m going to call in the morning and schedule another reservation,” she said. “I want that fried shrimp again, and I want to try the fried potato skins, and did you see that triple layer carrot cheesecake?” She spoke with animation and delight, and that made Slate’s heart happy.
They chatted on the way back to the ranch, with Jill asking, “So what is Luke going to do now?”
“Now?” Slate asked.
“Yeah, now. He likes Hannah, right?”
