I couldn’t say I was surprised at Noah’s choice for our second date, but I was relieved, nonetheless. He did know of my family’s money—more than most. And there we were. Dinner at a hole-in-the-wall Greek place, and we had plans to see the new Marvel movie. Not in 3D.
He didn’t so much as apologize for it.
Which made it even better.
“Should we go back to your place before the movie to let Harper out?” The waitress had taken our orders and filled up our water glasses.
“No. She’s fine. I got one of those doggy door things that attach to the sliding door of the balcony. She’s using a litter box for dogs out there when I’m not home. Though she’s with me all the time, even at most photo shoots. The kids love her, and she stays by my feet, so she’s never in the shot.”
Noah’s brows popped up. “Really? She’s using a litter box? That’s a rare dog that will do that. I guess I didn’t give Harper enough credit.”
“She’s pretty amazing. You chose well.”
“Nah. She chose you, remember?” He grinned. “She’s got good taste.”
I rolled my eyes. “Cheeseball, much?”
“Yeah, well. Gotta make up for lost time, right?”
Maybe he’d been thinking about the past as much as I had. In fact, I’d been thinking of it so much, I was getting more and more nervous about Noah, not less. I was a long way from the kid I was back then. More than Noah could come close to guessing.
“You okay?”
“Huh?” I glanced over at him.
“You got quiet and seemed stressed all of a sudden. What are you thinking?” He leaned forward slightly. I thought he was going to reach for my hand, but he didn’t.
I almost told him. But there was no reason to shoot our chances in the face. At least not yet. “Oh, nothing. It’s just been a long time, you know.”
He nodded slowly, concern in his eyes.
Things grew quiet once more, the tension building. I nearly sighed in relief when he spoke again. “So Kayla friended me on Facebook yesterday.”
I gave a chuckle. If there was any topic that would put us at ease, it was Kayla. “Of course she did.” A horrid thought hit me. “Did she send you a message too?”
His smile returned, teasingly playful. “She sure did.”
“Oh shit.”
He laughed softly. “Yeah. You’d probably turn beet red if you saw it. I liked it, though.”
“What did she say? Not that I want to know.”
Noah gave an unconvincing shrug. “Nothing much. Let’s just say, I’m even more certain that I’m not the only one excited about being back together. And there maybe have been a subtle threat of death if I end up hurting you.”
“Oh Lord. I can imagine. I love her to pieces, but the last thing Kayla will ever be is subtle.” And then I couldn’t hold it in any longer. “I’m not the same kid I was all those years ago, Noah.”
He didn’t even flinch. “I know. You’ve made that perfectly clear already. And I have no delusions about dating that thirteen-year-old I knew back then. Nor do I want to.”
“Yeah. But it’s more than that. It’s not that I’m older. I’m completely different. In ways I don’t think you’ll be okay with.”
“You trying to scare me off?”
Was I? Maybe. “I don’t think so. No. Definitely not. I just don’t want to do this and get deeper and then have you walk away….”
“Again?”
“Yeah. I know it’s different now. We’re not teenagers and you’re not getting ready to return to the mission field, but still.”
