Relief eased some of the tension in her chest as she neared the foyer.
“Leave us, Ryan.”
Victoria paused at the almost unrecognizable voice.
Thomas had never sounded so cold, so grim. Not even when discussing his disappointing niece and nephew.
Should she turn back? See if Thomas needed her? Perhaps if she understood the problem, she could offer her help.
“I’ll see you out.” Ryan’s statement at her shoulder made her pulse jump.
She glanced at him, catching the disapproval in his eyes, as if he thought she was intending to eavesdrop.
He was apparently judging her in the light of his own character, at least from the two times she was sure she’d caught him listening outside his uncle’s office when Thomas had been on the phone. But confronting him on that point would do no good at the moment.
She allowed him to lead her to the front door and shut it behind her. Her thoughts, however, remained inside, with Thomas. And she did the only thing she knew could enable her to let go of worry and the things she couldn’t control.
Lord, You know what Thomas meant. You know what trouble he’s facing. Please give him wisdom and Your peace. Help me to leave this matter and all things in Your hands.
The last request in her silent prayer was one she should have prayed earlier. She would need the Lord’s help to make it through the rest of the day, knowing that in seven hours and forty-six minutes, she would meet with the man she had never thought she would see again. The one she had allowed to occupy her heart, only to regret it for the rest of her days.
She would have to be very careful this evening. She could not let herself commit the same error twice.
Chapter
Four
Cillian couldn’t take his eyes off the woman seated across the table from him. It was obvious why she’d picked Mason Grill. Essentially a sports bar and grill, the counter in the center of the restaurant was filled with boisterous drinkers. The restaurant’s music was louder than Cillian guessed it would be during the day, when families probably occupied the booths along the outer walls. The large TVs ratcheted up the noise level even more with the sports and other channels they displayed.
There was nothing romantic about the location, that was for sure. And the loud environment made conversation a challenge, even where they were seated in a small booth by the wood-paneled wall. The restaurant was perfect for Victoria to pick since she apparently didn’t want to talk or chance anything that could be interpreted as a date.
Her already perfect posture had been straighter than normal, basically rigid, since the moment she’d walked in, and he’d waved at her from the booth. Surprise had lifted her eyebrows. Probably expected him to be late, since he’d never prized punctuality as a teen.
But he’d intentionally arrived ten minutes early, predicting she’d arrive five minutes before eight. He’d been right. At least this way, he could start showing her he’d changed in some ways. In the ways she would want him to.
She’d barely said a word after she’d joined him in the booth, clearly taking great care to be sure her knees and feet didn’t touch his beneath the table. A real trick, since the tiny space didn’t at all allow for his long legs.
But he tried to oblige, angling one foot out into the aisle. He couldn’t help but remember a time when she hadn’t tried to avoid contact. When she’d actually enjoyed the tame touches, the hand holding. All firsts for the innocent fifteen-year-old she’d been then.
Did she have more experience now? The idea of other guys getting close to her squirmed in his belly. But judging from her prim and proper, almost laughable attempts to keep her distance from him now, maybe she still hadn’t dated much.
She had changed her outfit for this non-date, though, which could mean she wanted to look nice. Or she just didn’t want to wear scrubs to a restaurant. Her slim-fitting burgundy turtleneck and long, flowing skirt that skimmed heeled boots were completely modest, completely Victoria, and insanely attractive. Kind of like the way she always wore her hair up in a perfect bun that begged him to undo the clip like he once had and run his fingers through the auburn silkiness.
His heart thumped against his ribs so hard it was probably audible. His blood rushed in his ears. If he didn’t stop thinking like that, he was going to do something impulsive and send her running. He reached for his coffee to make sure his dry throat didn’t sound croaky when he tried to say something.
After a quick gulp, he looked at Victoria again. Or tried. She still wouldn’t make eye contact, angling her head to supposedly observe the men at the bar instead. “If I didn’t know you so well, I’d think you were checking out the other guys.”
“Excuse me?”
His mouth twitched at her polite response. The restaurant was loud, but not that loud.
She’d heard him. At least she finally looked at him, her gorgeous hazel eyes aiming at him across the table.
Those eyes. Still had the ability to shoot heat behind his ribs and make him want to move way faster than he should. Made it so easy to remember why as a junior in high school, he’d chosen to date a freshman.
Well, at first he’d wanted her as another conquest. He’d gotten tired of the wild and shallow girls he’d won over and then discarded when he had become bored. But Victoria, her goodness and wholesomeness, offered a fresh attraction and new challenge.
He’d never expected to fall in love. For the first and only time in his life.
