AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Simon frowned. “You’re not supposed to pay for anything. It’s a date. Remember?”
Katrina got out of the booth and held her hand out to him. “We have lots more dates for you to make up for a ten dollar tip I left for Lacey. Let’s go.”
Simon chuckled and stood up as he took her hand. “Good point.”
Once they were in Simon’s truck, Katrina shared her plan. “We’re going to stop to pick up a few snacks and then we’re going to your place. We’ll sit outside and enjoy the fresh air. What do you think about that?”
“It sounds like the perfect plan.”
As they passed beneath the streetlights as they drove through town, he was able to catch glimpses of the grin he adored so much. If someone had told him when he was sixteen that he’d end up winning this girl over, he would have laughed in their face. Katrina had always been the girl he was never going to get. And now here she was, in his truck, holding his hand.
Simon brought her hand to his cheek and turned his lips to kiss her palm. “Yeah, it’s the perfect plan.”
“I thought you’d like it.”
They pulled up to the edge of the huge front yard of her family’s property and Simon cut the engine. He got out and pulled the bags of food from the back and grabbed the blanket he always kept for emergencies in the winter.
They settled onto the blanket as they pulled the snacks out and started to nibble. The sun was just about to set and everything about this setting was perfect. Simon couldn’t think of anywhere he’d rather be and he certainly wouldn’t want to be with anyone but Katrina. But there was the part of him that worried Katrina might look back on this night with regret. Expectations had been high and this was a very low key first date.
“So I love your idea—you know being out here where we grew up is comfortable. It’s where we started out. But… I don’t know… are you sure you won’t think back on our first date and wish we’d done something more exciting?” He hated to start things off on a negative note, but he couldn’t let go of this one worry.
“Don’t be silly. This was my idea, and I just want to be with you. Doesn’t it make sense to spend tonight just the two of us in the place we know the best?” She shrugged and then smiled. “It makes sense to me.”
“You’ve lived on both coasts and small town Rocky Ridge doesn’t offer what a big city does. I just don’t want you to be disappointed.”
“Aww, Simon. I don’t expect big city life here. I won’t lie and say I don’t love the city. I do. But here is home. With you.” She reached for his hand and took a grape and fed it to him. “And besides… we’ll have plenty of time to enjoy the Steer House. And you can take me to The Aviary. That’s plenty high class for me.”
“You make good points. And of course I’m happy that there might be a second date after tonight.” Simon’s laugh peeled out into the night as he scooted a little closer to her.
Her lips quirked upward. “If it makes it any better for you, I might allow you to make this simple date worth my while.”
Her soft voice hummed along all his nerve endings. How many times had he wished something like this would happen to him? How often had he lain awake at night wondering if he’d ever get a shot with her?
Well, now he had it and he wasn’t willing to mess it up.
“Fine. I think I can take that task on.”
His pulse exploded. There was no holding back. His heart was completely done for. Simon grasped her chin, stealing the kiss he’d been anxious to take since he’d picked her up earlier in the evening. She tasted better than he could have ever imagined—sweet and tantalizing with a hint of something he couldn’t put his finger on.
Katrina was the girl he knew he wanted to marry.
There, he’d finally admitted it to himself. Simon was finally one step closer to getting everything he ever wanted, and it all started with Katrina losing that job.
What they said was true. When one door closed, a window would always open.
That was what happened with them, and he hoped one day they could look back at this moment and appreciate it for what it was—the start of a beautiful future where anything could happen.
Now, he just needed to help her see just how great staying in Rocky Ridge could be.
And he had the perfect idea.
CHAPTERFIFTEEN
Three weekslater
“Okay,you can open your eyes now.”
Katrina grinned, her hands still covering her eyes as Simon’s voice floated around her. “I know where we are. You get that, right? I don’t think there’s anything you can do to surprise me.”
