She laughed out loud then. And then her laughter faded as she realized he meant it. He really was being serious about being serious. “Well.” She shrugged. “Sometimes people like to have fun. You must make time to have fun, surely?”
His frown didn’t lift. “Miss Connelly, I’m serious about my life. I’ve had to be. And I’m serious about dinner.”
Amber had never met anyone as intense. It did something strange to her head and her stomach. Or maybe that was simply because of the fit of his shirt around his shoulders and arms, and those green eyes. “Goodness!”
“So, would you care to join me for dinner on Friday at St Augustine’s?”
“St Augustine’s?” She thought she’d misheard. She’d only ever been there once and that had been by mistake. She certainly hadn’t eaten there.
“Yes, that’s right, St Augustine’s. It appears to be the best restaurant around here.”
She blinked twice. Was he kidding? It was the best of the best; it was so ‘best’ that famous people even made a detour from Christchurch to dine there. She swallowed. “Do they do vegan?”
“I’ve already checked. Yes, they do.”
Her heart dropped. She kinda hoped they wouldn’t. But her heart didn’t drop too far because she was struck by the fact that (a) he knew she was vegan and (b) he’d checked.
“You knew I was vegan?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“I asked that young woman you always speak to in the café. The tall blonde who sits with the man who glares at me.”
“Maddy? You asked Maddy?”
“I don’t know her name.”
“You didn’t checkthatthen?”
“No. I only wanted to find out about you.”
A weird sound escaped her mouth on a sigh—something between a whimper and a laugh.
“So, would you like to come to dinner with me?”
“Well, yes, I would. Thank you. That would be nice.” She smiled, and his face lit up with an earth-shattering smile which reflected her own. More than nice, she thought as she felt its effect in every single part of her body. Talk about an atomic smile. During weeks of coming to the café, he’d never smiled. But it was like the sun had burst through cloud, not only lighting up the world but making you feel glad you were alive.
He thrust his hands in his trouser pockets and rolled back on his heels, betraying his relief. She liked that.
“Good. So I’ll pick you up around eight?”
“That would be lovely, thank you.” It seemed Amber had become Lizzie Bennett to David’s Darcy. She half-wondered if David would seek her father’s permission, too.
He pressed his lips together as if to stop himself from smiling. It worked. “Good. Shall I pick you up from here?”
“Yes. I’m staying a few days more.”
“Good. I’ll see your father, then.”
“What? Why?” He had to be kidding! But he was already out the door, striding down the hall to the kitchen where Jim Connelly was crashing around as if he were desperately trying not to hear their conversation.
“Mr. Connelly?”
David stopped suddenly and Amber nearly bumped into him. She exchanged surprised looks with her father.
“Yes?” She’d never seen her father look so alarmed with any of her, or her siblings’, friends before.
