“Good, a low bar has been set. I will fly right over that bar, honey. I am taking you to my very favorite place,” he tells me as he waits, holding his hand out for me.
Blinking at him for a moment, I hesitate. I know very little about dating or romance. Lunch dates count as dating, don’t they? Well, assuming they do, I have no idea what the rules might be. It’s one thing Orion always teased me about. I followed the rules, so he got away with breaking a few extra.
“The diner downtown is your very favorite place? They have a good patty melt but I wouldn’t call it my favorite place for lunch,” I taunt.
Beside me, he laughs, taking my hand in his warm one, wrapping big, rough fingers around mine. We exchange a look. It is impossible to deny the current that vibrates between us. This is new. Have I ever felt anything so intense from just a simple touch?
“No, we will go there another time. I am taking you somewhere else.”
Following him to the door, I hesitate as I glance back. I have never closed the shop for lunch. I just hide behind the counter to stuff quick bites in my mouth. Hudson appears behind the counter, even waving a hand at me as he shoots me a look that says“go on, I got you”that sets me at ease.
“Another time? That is a tad presumptuous, don’t you think?”
“Not at all. I will charm you enough during lunch, you will want dinners next. Maybe even brunch on Sundays. Do you do brunch, honey?”
Until he asked, I never thought about it but now…yes, yes, I do think Ido brunch.
Chapter Four
Niko
Holding someone’s hand has never felt important before.
Watching my fingers weave within Nova’s, our hands hanging between us, it feels important. We walk past the other shops on Main Street, past the diner, and past the park. I smile when she raises a brow at me but says nothing. As if wondering what I am up to but waiting to see for herself.
“This is it,” I announce as we step off the main road, past city hall, towards the woods that surround most of True Ridge.
It is a wide clearing surrounded by tall, bushy sugar pine trees. Those tall trees create a pine scented canopy for the clearing, where the sun just touches enough to warm the air. Wildflowers fill the half-moon shaped clearing before the thick foliage of the forest begins. It is a beautiful place, one I come to often when I need to think or appreciate the earth.
Nova glances at me, a slow smile overtaking her face. Jesus, she is so beautiful. My heart thunders in my chest as I stare down at her, that smile lighting up her blue eyes. I reach out, unable to stop myself, brushing my thumb over her rosy cheek. It is cold out, the skies warning of a coming storm, but she still glows in the soft sunshine.
“This is it, huh? Do you do this often, Peter Pan?”
Nodding at the huge stump covered I covered with a linen cloth and set up a picnic on, she is beaming at me. I shake my head. No, I have never set up something this ambitious before. Not sure I have ever wanted to impress a woman this way before.
“No, I have never done this,” I admit with a shrug, flushing just a little. Leading her to the low stump where I’ve set up a little lunch, complete with two log stools, I help her sit. As I take my seat across from her, I cannot ignore her big smile. “If you keepsmiling so pretty, I will gladly do this sort of thing all the time. Like I said, we can even do brunch on Sunday.”
Nova flushes, bowing her head just a little. Gosh, she’s adorable. A little thrown by how buzzed I feel with her, I open the basket I readied earlier. Inside there are some bacon sandwiches, my sister’s homemade potato chips, the best thing in town, and some bottles of iced tea I made myself.
“This is quite a spread, Peter Pan,” she teases me, grabbing one of the chips to pop it in her mouth. I almost crush my BLT in my hand when she lets out a soft, appreciative moan as she tastes the chip. “Oh my. This is.”
“My sister makes the best chips. I have told her to market them at the shops in town, they’re so good. Her flavors are amazing.”
“They are. I wish I could make something this good,” she hums as she crunches on another big, flaky, delicious chip.
“You made that beautiful bouquet. My sister loved it. Do you cook?”
Wiping her mouth shyly, she shakes her head. “No. I uh...I never learned how to. It was something I figured I would learn some day. Not today but someday. My mom was a great cook. The best. She died before that day could come. I can boil water for ramen, sometimes I even put a fancy egg in it. Otherwise, my brother...well, he did do all the cooking for us.”
“Tell me about your brother. We can trade secrets about siblings.”
That smile on her face fades entirely. Those eyes flash up at me as I take a bite of my sandwich. It tastes like sawdust in my mouth when I see the pain on her beautiful face. I choke the bite down, chasing it with some tea.
“What did I say, honey?”
Shaking her head, she tucks her hair behind her ear. It’s shining a pretty lavender in the light, the soft, silky tressesframing her face. I reach out too, grasping the same curl she shoved aside, tugging at it gently. Her gaze flashes to meet mine as she bites at her full bottom lip.
“I don’t...I don’t talk about Orion. Just like I don’t celebrate the holidays. No reason to anymore.”
