"If you want to hold my hand, I'm good with that, but probably..." She gently pulled her right hand from his and replaced it with her left. "This might be easier. If you hold myright hand, I'd have to stretch it across my body. Kind of like a living straight jacket."
His upper lip curled a little and he felt the ends of his mustache tickling it.
"That might not be a good thing. This," he gave her hand another gentle squeeze, "makes me even happier."
"Of course," she leaned in a little, "you're going to need this hand to eat when our food comes."
"Or," he countered, finding he liked this new closeness between them, "you could feed me."
"Oh my gawwwd!"
They both turned to see Katie, covering her face with the menu.
"Look," she peeked out from under the menu, "I'm all for you two doing the dating thing. And hopefully, more... but this is too cute for words. It's all kind of... gross!"
Nick saw Ruth's shoulders shaking with laughter. He gave Ruth a hang-dog look and shook his head. "We'regross."
Ruth nodded. "I remember what it was like when I was Katie's age. Yes," she nodded her head with great authority, "we are completely gross."
Nick saw Katie smiling at them from her seat across the table.
This was a whole new dynamic between the two of them.
Well, between the three of them.
And he was liking it a lot.
More than liking it.
He picked up his menu and flicked it open with one hand.
Ruth deftly caught the other side with her hand and together, they read through the menu just in time to order.
CHAPTER NINE
KATIE
They were finally into partial dress rehearsals and for Katie, that was usually the time when she was the most excited.
It wasn't just dancing the variations in the same dancewear that they used in classes and the bulk of their rehearsals.
Now they got to wear whatever was ready from the costume shop.
For Snow, that meant that they usually had their skirts, gathered tulle that went down to just beneath their knees.
It wasn't all that fancy.
But their skirts did have satin applique all around it from the waist that looked like snowflakes.
As soon as she put her pointe shoes on, tying and then tucking in the ribbons, she got up from the floor beside her dance bag and went into the wings of the theater.
They'd moved from the practice space just a few days before on the weekend and that meant unpacking all the set pieces, backdrops and furniture. It was fun to do the work that she'd seen others do for years. Now, she was older and stronger, able to help more.
She was also able to help her dad build things for the set.
Things like the dias for the second act and the box that the toy soldiers burst out of when they battled the mice?
She wasn't just watching from the side anymore.
