They ate at a small diner with a view of the park.The food was good; the company was better.They’d known each other for years and had lived together for months now, yet they hadn’t run out of conversation.That was a good sign, right?
“Want to walk down the street and window shop for a bit?”Mercedes asked once they’d eaten.
“Window shop?Do we need windows?”he teased.
She stuck out her tongue.“Look through the windows while not buying anything.”
“I like the not buying anything part.Have to keep my budget in good shape.”
“Like the rest of you.”The look of desire in her eyes had him heating up.Perhaps they should go home and discuss his shape a little more.Before he could suggest it, he spotted a store with sports memorabilia in the window.
“Look.”He wandered over and examined what they had.“Can we go in there?”
Her flirty smile had him wrapping his arm around her shoulder.“What about your budget?”
Oh, yeah, his budget.An idea popped into his head.“I’ll bet we could find something in there your dad might like.We could get it as a Christmas present.”
“Christmas?It’s not even November.”
“My mother always said, if you find a gift for someone that’s perfect, it’s never too early to buy it.”
Her head tilted back in laughter.“Your mother is absolutely right.And you’re a genius for suggesting this.I never know what to get my dad, and I wouldn’t have a clue what kind of baseball stuff to buy him anyway.You’ve chatted about baseball enough; you must know what he’d like.”
“I’m pretty sure we can find something he’ll be excited about.”As they entered the store, Evan got pretty excited about the fact he’d just earned big points with Mercedes.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Evan made sure to head to work extra early today.It was the first day for the new guy.The one who was Deaf.It would be nice to have someone else who spoke fluent ASL.A lot of the other guys had gotten used to his voice and speech and could understand him well enough when it came to the job.Talking about other things, personal life, et cetera … That was much harder.
He thought about the most recent date he’d had with Mercedes.It had been more traditional than the others, and he wasn’t sure why he’d put it in the pile of cards.After playing games at an arcade, shopping at a farmer’s market, ax throwing, taking a pottery class, and visiting an animal shelter to play with and walk some of the dogs, on the last date, they’d gone to dinner and a movie.
The restaurant had been mid-priced with good food, but Mercedes had gotten upset when the waitress flirted with him.He hadn’t even realized it happened.To make her feel better, he’d showered her with compliments.She’d blushed.
“You better watch out.If you keep saying all these lovely things to me, I won’t want to ever get rid of you.You’ll be stuck with me forever.”
He’d stared at her intently and remained solemn.“I’m totally okay with that.But it means you’ll be stuck with me, too.”
“Sounds like a win-win situation for both of us.”
He’d definitely won with Mercedes.She’d even reserved a closed caption device so he could understand the movie better and remembered that he usually hated movies because it was hard to follow the plot if there was too much dialog.
They’d held hands throughout the movie, forgoing popcorn since they’d just eaten.Toward the end of the movie, when the hero and heroine narrowly escaped death, the main characters fell into a clinch, and soon a sexy romantic scene played before them.
She rubbed Evan’s hand, then signed,Are you getting any ideas?
Lots of ideas.Should I write them on a card, or do you think we’ll remember them?
She leaned over and pressed a kiss to his cheek.If you forget, I’ll remind you.
He hadn’t needed any reminding, not with the beautiful woman at his side.
But he needed to get his head back in the present day.
He reported to the administrative trailer as soon as he got there.Vince was waiting inside with a young man, possibly Evan’s age.
“Thanks,” Vince signed, one of the few signs he knew.Then, he pulled out his phone and spoke into the screen.Evan’s phone vibrated.
—Thanks for coming in early.This is Jake.I’ve got you both working on the cleanup near the new on-ramp.You’ll be on the skid steer, and he’s got shovel duty as the newbie.I’d like you to show him the procedures for each of the jobs we do and make sure he also knows all the safety protocols.If he’s got any questions, answer them.That should get you through today.—
