Walking after dinner, especially into the parking lot beside Nick instead of letting him go out and get the car and bring it around.
She liked the offer, but it still felt like she wanted to spend more time with him, not less.
But the parking lot wasn't as nice as the foyer and the front walkway of the restaurant. There were ruts and loose gravel inside of some of the potholes.
Nick had offered her his arm and she'd taken it, keeping as loose a hold on his arm as she could.
If she fell, she didn't want to drag him down.
But she wasn't going to completely ignore the chance to put her hand on his forearm.
The soft scratch of hair on his skin, the tempting landscape of his veins under her fingertips.
It might have hurt her feet, but leaning into his warmth was amazing.
Was.
Now, as she walked across the tiled entryway of the house, she was paying for it.
She was sure she had blistered on her heels where the edge of the shoe had rubbed her skin raw.
"Go ahead and have a seat on the couch. I'll grab us something to drink from the kitchen."
"Oh? That sounds great."
And it did. She really wanted to sit down again so she could spend as much time with Nick as she could before she had to head back home and soak her feet.
"I got a bottle of that Moscato that you like. Is that okay for tonight?"
"That sounds amazing. Thanks!" She stepped down into the living room area and felt the give of the carpet under her shoes. Before she could overthink it, she turned to look back at him. "Do you mind if I take off my shoes?"
His warm chuckle made her smile.
"Go ahead. I should have given you that option as soon as we came in. Sorry."
Sitting down on the sofa, she sighed softly as she slipped her shoes off. Sinking back against the cushions she felt her whole body relax a bit. "No need to apologize to me, Nick. I'm just happy to sit down again. You were probably busy setting the alarms."
"Actually..."
She heard the pop of the cork and her mouth watered for the taste of her favorite wine.
"I was staring at you walking ahead of me."
She turned to look at him and watched him pour two glasses, actual wine glasses. "I hope it was a nice view."
Before she could try and take back the words, he was walking toward her, smiling.
"The best. That dress you're wearing really looks good on you, Ruth."
He'd said nearly the same thing a few times since he'd picked her up at her door, but she wasn't going to draw too much attention to the repetition.
She liked it.
She liked knowing that he liked looking at her.
"I wonder if Katie picked that color of shirt," she ran her gaze across his chest and smiled, "and then helped me pick this dress knowing that we'd match."
Nick handed her a glass before he sat down beside her. "I'm sure she did. In fact..." He held out his glass, and she tipped her own toward his. Their two glasses chimed against each other before he continued to speak. "I bet my daughter has already put together a road map of how our relationship should go."
