He has a point there, but it strikes me then how different his date prep was from mine.
He climbs behind the wheel, and I reach for his arm. “Thank you,” I tell him. “For going to all this trouble.”
He leans across the seats to kiss me. “None of this is trouble. It’s effort. There’s a big difference.” His lips are soft and sweet on mine. Tasting, lingering, but not probing. The hunger and drive for more isn’t there. This is a sweet kiss. Loving and reassuring. “There’s no amount of effort I wouldn’t go to for you, Gracie.”
He settles in his seat and pulls something out of the pocket of his jacket. It’s a child’s scarf.
“I’m not cold,” I say, confused.
Ryder laughs, and the sound is real and loud. “I don’t have a sexy kit like yours,” he teases. “This was the best blindfold I could find on short notice.”
“Blindfold?” I ask, raising an eyebrow.
“Yeah,” he says. “You’ve lived in this town your whole life. If this is the only chance I get to surprise you, it’s not going to be much of a surprise if you see exactly where we’re headed.”
I nod and wrap the scarf around my eyes, then I lean back in my seat. At this hour, I can’t imagine what he has planned, but I don’t have long to wait. When the car finally stops, he tells me to wait.
“I’ll come and open the door.”
The night air chills my cheeks when he opens the door and takes my hand. “Blindfold stays on, please.”
I chuckle and grip his hand tighter. “Should I be afraid right now?”
He takes both my hands and leads me with his voice and his slow steps less than fifteen paces. I can peek under the scarf and see sidewalk, so I’m not too concerned I’m going to fall, but I don’t hear anything that hints at where we are. A club? A restaurant? A mall?
I hear a click and then a door open, after which Ryder helps me over a small threshold and then closes a door behind me. Then he gently turns my head and unties the scarf.
“Okay, now this is going to take a little explaining, so bear with me.”
When I open my eyes, I know exactly where we are. We are in a suite at the Star Falls Inn. A gorgeous local bed-and-breakfast. I see things scattered all over the room, but Ryder is excitedly tugging me toward the small desk to our left.
“Okay,” he says. “This is speed dating single dad style. But not with, like, different people. With different dates. Date number one…”
On the small desk is a bouquet of flowers. Soft blue hydrangeas mixed with bright orange tiger lilies, white roses, and beautiful leafy greens. “Flowers for our first date,” he explains.
Then he hurries me to the next “station.” On the hotel dresser, he’s collected single-serving size bottles of wine. There is a small plate of tasty-looking seeded crackers, olives, and fruit spread out. “Hold, please.” He runs to the mini-fridge and pulls out a tiny cheesecake. “Date number two—drinks and apps, plus dessert.”
“Date number three is the big one,” he says, a boyish grin on his face. He drags me to the big TV, where he fumbles for a moment before pulling up a rom-com. “The ‘come to my place and watch a movie’ date.”
The last place he brings me is to the bed. Sitting on top of a pristine white duvet is an envelope with my name scribbled on it. “Open it,” he says, his voice soft.
I reach across the pillows and grab the envelope. Inside is a piece of plain white paper folded into a card. On the front, Ryder has drawn some absolutely hilarious stick people in four sizes. Two kids, one man, and I assume the stick figure with the long waves of black hair is me. Inside, the card reads,
Tonight is about getting to know you better, nothing more. No pressure. Just great conversation, old movies, and a lot of snacks no little kid is going to steal.
Yours,
Ryder
I put the card back in the envelope and face him. “When did you have time to do all this?”
He chuckles. “Austin’s a good friend. He helped and took the kids to the hotel pool while I set all this up earlier.”
“You…” I rise up on my toes and touch his cheek. His face is smooth where he’s shaved for our date, and I trail my fingers along the supple skin. “You did so much. No one’s ever done anything like this for me before.”
I want to look back at the flowers and the snacks and the movie queued up and ready to watch, but I can’t tear my eyes from his face.
“No one’s ever treated me the way you do,” he murmurs.
