“Yeah. Yes. Of course.” I push back my chair, trying to understand what I did or said to shift his mood so abruptly. He opens the cupboard under the sink and scrapes what little is left on his plate into the garbage.
As if he can read my thoughts, he grabs me by the wrist and pulls me into him. “Thank you for making breakfast. I don’t think anyone has cooked for me like that since . . . I don’t know. It was amazing, and it’s gonna make me want you to sleep over all the damn time now.” He plants a chaste, lingering kiss on my lips. “And I like you in my shirt. I also wish I had time to get you out of it before we have to leave.”
I look at the clock over the stove. It’s six thirty. “How long will it take to change the tire?”
“Maybe twenty minutes or so.”
“And when do you have to be at work?”
“Usually I’m there around seven thirty, but I’m not officially on the clock until eight.”
“That should be lots of time, don’t you think?” I grab the hem of his shirt and pull it over my head, tossing it on the floor.
Apparently, that’s all it takes to convince Aaron that we do indeed have enough time.
CHAPTER 14
DATE NIGHT
Teagan
On Saturday evening Aaron comes knocking on my door at six for our dinner date. I check my reflection in the mirror one last time and glance over my shoulder to make sure my dress looks good from all angles before I open the door.
“Oh, wow.” I exhale on a low whistle. “You clean up nice.”
He’s wearing a pair of black dress pants, a light-gray button-down, and a slate-gray tie. His hair, which is often covered with a baseball cap, is styled neatly, and if I had to guess, I’d say it’s been cut recently.
“You look damn well amazing.” Aaron’s gaze moves over me in a hot sweep.
“Do you want to come in for a minute?” I step back to make room for him to enter.
“I do, but I don’t think it’s a good idea.” He brings his finger to his lips and taps it twice.
I frown. “Why not?”
“Because if I come inside, I’m going to find a reason not to leave again, and I want to take you out for dinner, especially with you looking like my favorite dessert.”
“Oh my gosh.” I swat his chest. “That was a terrible line!”
“That wasn’t a line, that was the truth and a promise.” He grabs my hand and pulls me up against him. “I’m going to treat you like an all-you-can-eat buffet later. You got an overnight bag with you, right?”
“I do.”
“Go get it, and let’s get out of here before I get inside you.”
“The worst lines ever, Aaron.”
“It’s not a line if it’s the truth.” He raises both hands and takes a step backward so he’s on the landing rather than inside the loft.
I grab my clutch and my overnight bag and lock the door behind me before following Aaron down the stairs. He gives me his arm as we cross the pebbled driveway. I hesitate a step when I realize it’s not his work truck in the driveway but a white sports car.
“Is this yours?”
“Uh . . .” He rubs the back of his neck. “It’s not.”
“You know, you didn’t have to commit a felony for our date. My car is sitting right there.”
Aaron laughs. “I borrowed it from my neighbor. He’s in his early eighties and only drives to the grocery store and back. I take his car to the garage when it needs servicing, so when I asked if I could borrow it, he agreed. It smells like old man, but it’s pretty nice otherwise.”
“I can’t believe your eighty-year-old neighbor drives this, or that he lent it to you.”
“I’m a good driver.”
“I know that. I just mean, that’s a sweet ride. Bradley would never let me drive his Porsche, and I’m family.”
“Oh, well, that’s kind of the way it is around here. And don’t look too closely because Chuck has hit a lot of things while driving that car.”
“Chuck is your neighbor? And he’s eighty?”
“How do you know Chuck?”
“He’s the one retiring from Harry’s Hardware.”
Aaron laughs. “He says that every single year, and then he retires for a month and comes back. I think he likes the party they throw him, and he’s been working there since he was twelve, so they don’t mind celebrating him like that. He’s been a fixture in that place for as long as I can remember.”
“This town is something special, isn’t it?”
“It has its moments, that’s for sure.”
We chat as we head toward Lake Geneva, talking about work. “I’m going to attend the next town council meeting and propose a farmers’ market.”
“We haven’t had one of those in years. Who wants to take on that job?” Aaron asks.
“I thought it would be a good way to connect the community. But maybe it’s too much. I don’t know if people will trust me enough to want to be part of it.” And maybe I’m biting off more than I can chew.
“I think it’s a great idea. Lots of people talk about putting things like that together, but there hasn’t been follow-through. You’ll have tons of interest, and the town loves you, Teagan. If you need suggestions or someone to bounce ideas off, I’m here.”
“Okay. Thanks, I appreciate that. I’ve run events for Smith Financial before, so it’s not outside of my wheelhouse, but being a new face might be a deterrent.”
“Not if you have some old faces backing you up,” he says with a wink and a smile.
Twenty minutes later we arrive in Lake Geneva, which is much busier than Pearl Lake. The whole vibe is different, almost like the city has been transplanted here in some ways. Upscale restaurants line the main street, which is well maintained. The nightlife here is different as well. While my dress tonight would make me stand out in Pearl Lake, here I blend right in. In fact, I feel underdressed and like I should have tried harder, but surprisingly I don’t care what anyone but Aaron thinks.
We arrive at Fresco’s, a seafood and steak house. It’s the kind of place I used to go to all the time. Upscale everything, pretty drinks, and tiny appetizers, the food as much art as it is a meal. For years I didn’t appreciate what I had. How this kind of dinner out should be an occasional splurge and not a weekly occurrence.
And I feel bad that until now I’ve never truly appreciated how hard people work to be able to afford this kind of treat. I would have to save most of my paychecks this week to cover the cost of a single meal here.
“Hey, everything okay?” Aaron squeezes my hand.
“Oh yeah, everything’s fine.”
“Are you sure? Your face kind of says something different.”
“Really. I’m fine. It’s been a while since I’ve been somewhere as nice as this, and it got me thinking about how I didn’t appreciate it when I had it.”
Aaron brushes a tendril of hair away from my face and places his finger under my chin, tipping my head back. “Then I’m glad I get to be the one to take you out for a fancy dinner, and we can appreciate it together.”