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“I’m going to need some help.”
“Help with what?” Shelly chimes in on cue, appearing right next to me. “I’ve been calling you for like five minutes, Finn. What has you so deep in thought?”
If anyone knows how to find the key to a woman’s heart, it’s Shelly. I want to move things further along with Marissa. To take her on dates and be seen in public with our friends. This cloak and dagger shit is taking its toll on me. I want to be with her, to be the one she comes home to after a long day of work. The person she shares her burdens with when she’s having a rough time. At the moment, I’m nothing but her fuckboy, ready to obey her every command. When did I become so pathetic?
“I need to come up with the perfect date to take Marissa on. Tonight.”
“Damn, you couldn’t give a girl some warning?” she grumbles, leaning against the back bar.
“Hey, you got as much time as I did. I saw an opening, and I took it. Lucky for me, she said yes.” I wrap my arm around her shoulder, pulling her to my side and kissing the top of her head. “I have you and your chocolate cake to thank for it, too.”
“It’s gonna cost you.”
I roll my eyes at her response. Shelly would give me the shirt off her back if I needed it, but she would also make sure I remembered for the rest of my life that one time she helped me. Who am I kidding? I’d probably do the same thing to both Nolan and her.
“Can’t you just help me out of the kindness of your heart?”
“You know me better than that.”
“I do,” I respond, already prepared for this turn of events. “You can have the next two weekends off.”
“I’m listening.”
“Don’t push it, Shelly. I need help, but I could always just ask my mom.”
“An entire weekend?”
“Yup.” I pop the letter P at the end of the word. I knew that I’d get her to do just about anything for me if I promised her time away from this place.
“Make it a month and you got a deal.”
“Okay, but you need to create some premade items that Nolan and I can heat in the oven to serve during lunch.
“Oh, and I need you to make me another one of your chocolate cakes to give to Marissa tonight. It was a condition of her agreeing to go on a date for me.”
“Of course, you need one of those.” She sighs, checking her watch to make sure she has enough time. “Okay, I can do that. Do we have a deal?” She holds out her hand for me to shake, and I don’t hesitate, clutching it in my hand and giving her a firm handshake.
“A picnic,” she responds immediately.
“You don’t need any time to think about it?”
“Nope. Nolan and I have had a list of ideas written on a piece of paper in the kitchen for almost two weeks for just this occasion. Let’s face it, Bossman, you’re a smooth talker but not much else.” She sighs loudly, waiting patiently for me to give her a hard time.
But I don’t. “Where’s a good place to take someone for a picnic?”
I remain silent, waiting for her to give me an answer. I know I haven’t been on a date in a while, so I admit I’m a little rusty. I’ve taken women on dates before, but it’s been years, and not one of them meant anything to me. I was going through the motions, attempting to forget Marissa, but it got me nowhere. I always found a way to turn women away before they could get too close because I was never drawn to them. But with Marissa, she’s always been different. So different that it terrifies me.
“It should be somewhere special. Somewhere that you feel is the perfect place to tell Marissa how you feel because I know you. Now that she’s given you an opening, you’re going to go full throttle.”
“The Meyers Farmhouse,” I suggest, after taking a few minutes to think. “Sutton, Marissa, and I always went there to watch the stars and catch fireflies when it was warmer out.”
“Perfect,” she responds quickly before wrapping her arms around my waist and giving me a tight squeeze. “What time are you going?”
“She’s meeting me here at 7:30.”
“Perfect. You’ll be able to eat while watching the sunset, and the skies should be clear tonight. Stargazing is very romantic.”
“Thank you so much, Shelly. I owe you one.”
