As I turned to lock the door, my heart skipped a beat when I caught a flash of white out of the corner of my eye. It wasn't just any white though, it was a very specific white, one I'd only seen a couple times before. “What was that?” I breathed.
“What?” Daniel was instantly on alert as he looked around the front yard. “I don’t see anything.”
For a second, I would’ve sworn a ghost had stood on the side of the porch, but there wasn’t anyone there now. It was probably just me being super tired. “Nothing. I’m being silly. Let’s go.” Maybe I was just remembering the last ghost I'd seen on the porch. That hadn't exactly been fun.
I could tell that Daniel wasn't entirely convinced, but we headed down the steps and along the path making out way to his truck anyway, though the alert posture he'd taken never really went away. “Did you paint your truck?” I asked. The rich hunter green was definitely not the same as the beat up dark blue it had been. There had been scratches along the sides where he'd obviously driven too close to the same trees over and over again that were gone now.
He grinned. “Different truck. This is a loaner until Joel can get to mine and bang out the damage from the wreck.”
“Wait.” I stopped and put my hand on his arm. His words were like a vice around my heart. “You were in a wreck?”
He chuckled and opened the passenger door. “Come on. I’ll explain on the way.” He may not have thought it was a big deal, but car accidents weren't exactly things that gave me the warm fuzzies. Not when that's how I'd lost my parents. The idea that I could have lost Daniel and not even known about it until I came back to town made my stomach twist. The supernatural world was dangerous and I almost expected the people I cared about to be in danger because of it, but from a car accident? That kind of thing seemed unlikely now, even though I was apparently wrong.
Chapter Eleven
Emma
The restaurant Daniel had chosen was one I hadn’t been to before. It was a small italian food place with romantic music, big plates full of food, and lots of bricks showing on the walls. They’d also decorated with a lot of red and green, so the place officially felt like a little slice of Italy.
I felt oddly flattered. Living here all my life, I knew this was one of the fancy places. The fact that Daniel chose this place, even though it wasn’tofficiallya date, made me feel like he was trying to impress me. I couldn’t remember the last time a man tried to impress me.
The waitress gave us a sweet smile and set my lasagna in front of me, and his chicken parmesan. They’d already given us really soft bread and this green dipping sauce that tasted like heaven. I knew I shouldn’t still be quite this hungry, but everything just tasted so darn good that I couldn’t help myself.
Grabbing my fork like a child who’d just been given cake, I dug into my food. Instantly the cheesy goodness melted into my mouth, and I groaned. The sauce was just the perfect mix of sweet and savory. When I’d first seen the giant plate, I’d thought there was no chance I could finish it, but now I just couldn’t seem to stop eating.
I’d need to tell the others about this place. Or not. Because I had a feeling we’d all end up here every day.
“I like a woman who eats,” Daniel said.
Glancing up, I froze, every muscle in my body tense. But his eyes were filled with happiness, not judgment. This wasn’t like when Rick would remind me that I need to watch my carbs. Daniel actually meant what he was saying.
My shoulders relaxed, and I snorted and rolled my eyes. “Next you’ll be telling me to smile more.”
He burst out laughing, a little loud, as if he were nervous about something. “No, I didn’t mean it like that. Just, when I dated before, long ago…” He rolled his eyes. “Too long. It seemed like the women always pretended they didn’t actually want to eat. It drove me crazy.”
I nodded, understanding his intent. “Yeah, that was the thing to do in high school, so we could make sure we could fit into our acid wash jeans.” I took another big bite of my lasagna and smiled inwardly at the memory of lying on my bed, sucking in my gut and trying to get my tightest jeans to button.
Now, I only wore jeans on special occasions. Usually, I preferred leggings, jeggings, basically anything that was comfortable and didn’t leave me with a muffin top.
“I wouldn’t mind seeing you smile more, though,” Daniel said. “And especially if I was the one who put the smile on your face.”
I moaned around my next bite full of food and tried not to laugh. “Smooth.” I rested my forehead on my hand and chuckled at that killer line.
He shook his head with a grin. “Sorry, I’m a little rusty.”
“I’m rusty at everything,” I said, then realized what I was implying and felt my cheeks burning.
He threw back his head and laughed out loud. And, I swear, I’d never seen a guy look so handsome. His auburn hair, with the gray at his temples, brought out his sun kissed skin. And his green eyes were filled with a kind of joy that lit his entire handsome face up.
If I could have bottled up the sight of him and kept it forever, I would have. Even when his laugh died, and his gaze fell on me again, it felt like my heart was swelling.
Is this what a good date felt like? Or just sharing company with someone who was genuinely good? I had no idea. But it felt so dang right.
We went back to eating, not talking much. And to my surprise, the silence felt comfortable. Not the least bit strained. It was better than feeling like an old married couple. It was more like we just… fit together.
A few minutes later, he threw me another compliment. “Do you know you have beautiful hair?”
I patted the black mop on my head and grimaced. He really did like me if he thought my hair was beautiful. “I always wanted to cut it short, but Rick thought I’d look like a boy if I did.”
