The house wasin total darkness when Zeke pulled up out front. That was odd, Helene and Sara should be back by now. He locked the car and headed up the stairs, checking his phone for messages as he went. Nothing. Where could they be? Unlocking the door he entered the silent house.
“Helene?” he called, thinking she might just be upstairs sleeping.
No answer. The entire first floor lit up with the flick of a switch. With disappointment as his only companion, Zeke went to the kitchen to find something to eat. He was just shuffling items around in the refrigerator when he heard the front door fly open, followed by the sounds of a breathless Helene.
“I’m so verra sorry I’m late. I ken I promised yer dinner would be here when ye arrived, but…” she stopped speaking and stood staring at Zeke.
“Wow! Look at you.” Zeke walked to her and taking her hand twirled her around so he could see her from all sides. The warmth of Helene’s hand was like an electric charge running up his arm. This involuntary reaction to her was something Zeke hadn’t felt for a woman in a long time. Looking at her in her sexy jeans was causing his own jeans to tighten uncomfortably. “You look beautiful.” He couldn’t take his eyes off her. “You always look beautiful, but today there’s something different about you.” He reached out and took one beautiful blonde curl into his hand, thinking he’d like to kiss her right now, but knowing this was not the time.
“Well, yer sister did buy me new clothes. Oh… and I got me hair and nails done. Do ye really like it?” Helene was talking a mile a minute. She seemed flustered by his reaction to her.
“I do. I mean, you are a natural beauty. You don’t really need all the extras, but it’s not that. You seem more… I don’t know… alive. You’ve got a confident air about you.”
Helene was staring at him as if he’d sprouted another head. “Did I seem dead to ye before?” She appeared quite confused by his statement.
“No. Of course not. It’s just that you’ve been so sad since you arrived. This is the first time that I can feel that sadness has gone away. Am I wrong?”
Helene gazed down at her new boots. “Nae. Yer not wrong. I had fun today. I left me woes behind and enjoyed the day with Sara.”
“Good.” He was still holding her hand and was surprised she hadn’t removed it.
“I’ll go make ye some supper.” She pulled her hand from his grasp and began walking to the kitchen.
“No. Don’t bother. Let’s go out for something to eat.”
“’Tis nae trouble,” she said as she turned back towards him.
“I know. I want to take you out to dinner.”
She tipped her head and gazed quizzically into his face.
“Come on. Let’s go.” He grabbed her hand and led her to the door. “Besides you’re all dressed up. We don’t want to waste that now do we?”
A sweet smile crossed her lips as she followed him out the door, making him feel like he just might be the luckiest man on earth to have found her.
“Ithinkyou’ll like this place,” Zeke said, holding the door to the restaurant open for her.
They were greeted by the hostess and taken to a booth for two in the back of the restaurant. Zeke waited for Helene to scoot into the booth, before following after her. He knew he was sitting closer than he should, but he was feeling inexplicably drawn to Helene tonight.
The darkened restaurant lent an air of romance to the evening. Zeke didn’t mind one bit. He found he had romance on his mind. He was seeing Helene as a woman he could possibly fall in love with. She was a special lady and he couldn’t help wondering if Edna had sent her to San Francisco especially for him.
“Do you want me to order for both of us, or do you want to look at the menu?”
Helene glanced at the menu. “Nae. You order. ’Tis a lovely place, Zeke. Thank ye fer taking me here.” A warm smile crossed her lips.
“My pleasure. It’s good to see you smile, Helene. You deserve to be happy and if I can help in any way, I will.”
“Yer a good man, but I still feel badly that I didnae have yer dinner ready.”
“You’ll have plenty of time to have dinner ready for me in the future.”
“Do ye nae think Edna will send me back home?” She sounded worried, and Zeke’s heart broke just a little bit. He wanted her to stay, but more importantly it had to be what she wanted too. If she wanted to go back and she could, should he try to stop her or should he find a way to convince her that staying with him was the better choice?
“I don’t know.” He honestly had no idea what to expect. It was possible she’d be gone tomorrow. He hoped that wouldn’t be the case. He was enjoying the opportunity to spend time alone with her and didn’t want it to end too soon, if at all.
Zeke ordered their dinner and they spent the rest of the evening talking. There were no awkward silences at any point. Helene seemed to enjoy the food and the more she smiled at him, the more Zeke hoped she might see him as something more than the man who rescued her. Of course, it was too soon. Helene had been through a traumatic experience and it would take time for her to get over it, but Zeke had all the time in the world to wait.
“Do you like chocolate?” Zeke asked, looking over the dessert menu.
