“I wanted to look nice for you.I like you, Nick.”
“I like you too.”He leaned over and kissed her on the cheek, taking a second to breathe in her powdery perfume.“Are you hungry?”
She turned, her face so close to his.She rested her hand on his thigh.“If I answer that right now, I’m going to sound like a perv.”
They both laughed.Nick had to discreetly bite his lip hard to administer a jolt of pain, because right now, his body’s pleasure centers were going off like the fireworks display at a Canada Day picnic.
They headed inside the restaurant.The place was small and pristine, and there was an armada of well-dressed wait staff at the ready.Every table was filled with diners, and candles flickered between them all.Out of habit, Nick waited a beat, expecting snickers or pointing fingers.Luckily, no one noticed him.Maybe they didn’t recognize him out of his dirty jeans and work boots.
Good.He didn’t want anything to ruin this night with Claire.
Hopefully, this night would be the beginning of a whole new period for him.
Funtown.You’ve got this.
The host brought them over to a table in the back and handed them a couple of menus.Nick checked out the food, but couldn’t focus on any of the descriptions.
All he wanted to do was look at Claire.
She seemed to be feeling it too.Their gazes kept meeting over the top of the menus, like a couple of puppies in neighboring yards, checking each other out over a fence.Only now, they weren’t trying to hide it.Each time Nick caught Claire looking at him, and vice versa, they held those looks.The atmosphere around them sizzled.If he didn’t know any better, he could swear the lit candle at their table flared with the heat.
Fuck, he wanted her.He had enough experience with women to see that she wanted him too.
Despite the way his brothers used to tease him about his past exploits, Nick wasn’t the sort of guy who kept notches on his bedpost.He’d had some hookups in his time, but always with women who were on the same page.However, when he was dating, he rarely took a woman home on the first date.He supposed it was out of some old-fashioned sense of chivalry, and wanting to make sure his date was comfortable.It was just how his parents had raised him.
Claire made him want to break all his rules.He still wanted to treat her like a princess, but the attraction was only growing more intense by the minute.
Resisting was becoming hard.
About ten minutes later, they settled on their meals and ordered.Their hands met across the table.He couldn’t stop touching Claire, and luckily, she didn’t seem to mind.Their conversation turned toward the sanctuary renovation, but Nick was dying to talk to her about a subject that had been on his mind.“Can I ask you something?Were you the one who took the photos hanging in the sanctuary reception area?”
“Yeah, they’re all mine.”
“They’re really good.Did you ever think of getting back into photography?”
Her smile faltered.“I feel like it might be too late.”
“Claire, it’s never too late.If Haven weren’t a part of your life, what would you be doing?”
“There was a time when I dreamed of selling my images, of traveling and documenting different sites and landscapes.Oh, and architecture!I’ve always had a thing for abandoned buildings, and when I was at school, my specialty was showcasing the architecture of buildings that had been neglected and forgotten.There’s something very haunting about those places.Weird, I know.”
“I don’t think that’s weird at all.It sounds cool as fuck.If you still have any of those pictures, I’d love to see them.”
“I could show you, I guess.But, Nick, is it worth it for me to drag that all up?I made a commitment to the sanctuary.I can’t just walk away from Haven.What would happen to my cats?”
“What if they all got adopted at the open house?”
“There’s nothing I’d love more than to see them end up in good homes, but it doesn’t always work that way.We’ve had open houses before, and a couple of cats might find forever homes, but it isn’t as if we get inundated with offers.On top of that, I need to ensure those cats are going to families who will take care of them properly.It’s a commitment.I personally interview anyone who wants to adopt a cat, and if I don’t get a good vibe from a family, they don’t get one of my cats.We also have quite a few older felines who’ve been with us for a while.Sadly, they don’t get as much attention as the kittens.”Her gaze wandered, wistful.“But yeah, in an ideal world, if they all got adopted into nice families, I might be tempted to start over again.I never lost the photography bug.I guess I just sort of squashed it.”
Nick’s head spun.He knew Claire loved her work at the sanctuary, but it saddened him that she’d given up her dream to help her husband in his family business.
There had to be a way Claire could live her dream, while still honoring any commitments she’d made to keep the sanctuary afloat.
They needed to make sure her open house was a huge success.
Their dinners arrived, and Nick got the sense Claire was happy to change the subject.Instead, they talked about his new show for a while, their families, and they had a rousing discussion, making predictions about how Louie’s date with Adele would go later that week.An hour and a half flew by, and he barely noticed the time.
They were just starting to look at the dessert menu when a woman’s voice sounded over his shoulder.
