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This front porch step was as much his home as it was hers. When she’d left town for college, he’d even missed coming here to the point that he’d paid her family a couple of awkward visits just so he could run his hand along the smooth, wooden rail.
Now he was standing on this bottom step with a very different plan in mind.
He was finally going to take Katrina out on a date.
This exact moment would be etched into his brain for as long as he was alive. His heart pounded, his pulse soared, and his stomach knotted so tight he wasn’t sure he could even eat.
Simon swallowed back his nerves and took the six steps two at a time. He got onto the porch and lifted his hand to knock, only for the door to swing open before he made contact.
His lungs stopped working in that exact moment, leaving him without even a breath of oxygen.
Katrina wore a simple dress, a blue number that came to her knees. Her shoulders were bare except for two small straps. The neckline came down into a ‘v,’ drawing his eyes up toward her face.
She blushed prettily, her hand coming up to the hair that was draped over her shoulder. “Hi, Simon,” she whispered.
All at once, it was like the wind came back to his chest, nearly knocking him to his feet. “You look…” He shook his head. There were no words to describe the beauty of the woman who stood in front of him. There never had been.
He reached forward and took her hand in his to pull her against him. “I can’t believe it’s finally happening.”
She laughed. “I can’t believe it, either. I feel like we’ve lost so much time because we didn’t figure this out sooner.”
Simon shook his head. “None of that. No regrets. Tonight is about us.” He brought her hand to his lips and brushed a kiss to her knuckles. “Tonight, I fully intend on showing you just how important you are to me.”
The smile on her face made all the waiting totally worth it.
He tugged her down the steps to his truck. He opened her door, guided her into the truck, and shut the door firmly. His hands shook. They’d never done that before—not when he’d applied for his first job, not when he’d gone on his first date. Not even with his first high school kiss.
If anything told him this was something that would last a lifetime, it was how his body reacted to her.
Simon took a moment to compose himself before opening his own door. He sucked in a deep breath and released it slowly. Then he climbed in beside her. “What did Brianne have to say about tonight?”
“Brianne?”
He chuckled. “You can’t keep stuff like this from her. I know you, Katrina.”
She grinned, looking out her window. Her hands were clasped in her lap, and he reached for the one closest to him. Katrina glanced down at their hands and then back to him. “She said she’s worried.”
He frowned. That wasn’t what he wanted to hear.
“But she also thinks that if anyone can do this, then it’s us.”
That was a little better.
“Well, I don’t think she has anything to worry about. I’ve finally got you and I’m not letting you go.”
Katrina scooted a little closer to him. Placing her free hand against his cheek, she smiled. “I think you’re completely right. I can’t think of a single couple with more history than us. We’re gonna be the ones that set everyone straight.”
He leaned closer and kissed her, deeply, passionately, and with a promise that everything was going to work out.
* * *
The restaurant hummedwith quiet chatter. Simon had been here with Katrina a hundred times before, but in none of those experiences was he her date.
He sat across from her in a dimly lit corner booth of the Steer House and watched her read through the menu as if it was the first time he’d ever seen her before. Katrina Reese was on a date with him tonight—no one else.
She glanced up over the edge of her menu and laughed. “What?”
“I just can’t believe we’re here—together—like this.”
