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She hadn’t realized until now just how much she missed the way he was looking at her. It made her feel like the most important person on the planet.
Yes, that meant more than she could possibly ever have imagined.
“Thank you,” she said quietly. “You look pretty handsome yourself.”
Tap-tap-tap-tap.
That was the sound of Gracie’s paws on the hardwood floors behind her. It was coupled with theslap-slap-slapof her smacking herself with her toy as she swung it around.
“She does that when I get home too,” Charity said, looking back over her shoulder. “I can’t tell if she’s excited to see me leave or if she thinks she might convince me to stay.”
“Maybe she’s practicing for when you return.” Nic smiled. “We’d better get out of here before she gives herself a concussion.”
Charity couldn’t help but smile too. She also couldn’t help but look back at her dog and say, “I’ll be right back” in her usual dog mom voice. If Nic judged her for that, so be it. She couldn’t leave the house without reassuring Gracie that she’d return.
“I hope you don’t mind the monster truck,” he said as he followed her up the walkway.
“Not at all.”
Maybe he’d forgotten they’d ridden in it before. Or maybe it was that she was all dressy tonight, so the pressure to have a certain type of vehicle was on.
“The sidewalk’s a little slick in places,” he warned.
Charity was already carefully setting down each foot. The last thing she needed was to slip and fall on her rear right in front of him.
“Thank you for driving,” she said as they approached the truck. “I would have met you there.”
“No way. Santa wanted us to go to this together, and that’s what we’re going to do.”
Speaking of which… She unzipped her purse and checked inside for what must have been the tenth time. She just kept making sure her ticket was still in the pocket. The last thing she needed was to get there and realize she’d left it at home. Since the tickets had been a gift, she wouldn’t have even been able to pull up her proof of purchase on her phone.
“It’s a bit of a climb,” he said apologetically as he pulled open the door and waited for her to climb up.
Yes, this time it would be a little tougher than when they’d gone mistletoe hunting. This time, she wore heels and a skirt. She didn’t mind the big truck. She just once again didn’t want to make a fool of herself.
“I’ve been told this isn’t the best truck to take on dates,” he said as she eyed the step up.
She glanced over at him. “How many dates have you taken this truck on?”
The question was said in a teasing tone. She hoped he took it that way. But she did feel a twinge of jealousy.
“None yet,” he said. “Well, if this is an official date, I guess it will count as my first since my divorce.”
Nic winced. She caught that just before she faced forward and put her foot on the step. Luckily, her skirt was A-line, not tight all the way to her calves. Otherwise, she might have had a tough time getting into his vehicle. She made a mental note that if she was ever a passenger in his truck again, she had to wear jeans. Dress pants, at the very least. Maybe some hiking boots to really prepare for it.
Once she was safely in the seat, buckling up, she breathed a sigh of relief. He was running around the front of the truck by then, apparently not concerned at all that he might slip on a surprise patch of ice. He made it around safely and climbed into the truck without much effort. Maybe that had a little something to do with the fact that he was over six feet tall.
And then he smiled over at her. “Ready to get the town talking?”
Charity sucked in a breath. “I didn’t think about that. We’re going to be seen by everyone.”
He shook his head. “Don’t worry. They’ve already been talking about us.”
That was news to her. “What have they been saying?”
“I have no idea. I just assume they’ve been talking. Don’t you?”
Okay, to that she had to nod. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to know two people who used to date in a small town would be talked about if they started hanging out together again. Especially since this town seemed to be so romance obsessed lately.
