Their bedroom door opened, and Mercedes strolled out, gorgeous as ever.Her lightweight dress caressed her shape, and he was envious.He wanted to be doing that.Once they got home tonight, he would.
“Ready?I made reservations.”
Her face showed surprise.“You’ve really gone all out.Want to tell me what this is about?”
“I’ll tell you once we get to the restaurant.I don’t want to be late.”
He took her arm and escorted her to her car.Maybe one day he’d make enough money to afford a nicer truck that wasn’t always covered in dirt.Not today, though it was getting closer.
As he drove, he thought of what he wanted to say to her.Unfortunately, he couldn’t really carry on a conversation in the car while he was driving.She never seemed to mind.Another reason he loved her so much.
The restaurant was a fancy one on the outskirts of Boston that actually had parking, a far more attractive prospect than trying to find a parking garage, paying for it, then walking however long it took to get there.Or the other option, which was taking the train.That also usually involved some walking as well, unless the place they were going was right near a T stop.
Mercedes gave him a lovely smile as they walked in.He told the hostess his name, and they were shown to their table.When they were asked if they wanted drinks, he said clearly, “Champagne, please.”
Mercedes tilted her head and narrowed her eyes.“Champagne?What’s the occasion?”
“Remember last weekend, when I said I was at Brian’s helping him fix his car?”
Her eyebrows slid closer to each other.“Yeah.You weren’t doing that?”
“No, I lied to you.I’m sorry, but I was taking the level two test.I didn’t want you to know in case I royally screwed it up.”
Would she be mad that he’d lied?Hopefully, what he had planned for later would take away any lingering anger.
She patted his hand and gave him a slight scowl.“Why do you always have such a low opinion of yourself?And of me?Did you think I’d make fun of you if you didn’t pass?”
“No, I know you wouldn’t.I’m sorry.I guess I just wanted to have good news for you, and it didn’t make sense for both of us to worry.”
Her eyes twinkled.“We’re out at a fancy place to eat and you’re all dressed up.Can I assume you did okay?”
He couldn’t stop the grin that grew on his face.“I got the results today.My boss is thrilled and has already started the paperwork for my new position.”
“New position?Already?”
Evan nodded.“He’s been pushing me to take this test for a while now.He even offered to help me if I needed it.”
“Did you ask him?”
He rolled his eyes.“Surprisingly, I did.Mostly to clarify some things.He took the test years ago and knew the kind of stuff they’d ask.He gave me some pointers for certain types of questions and even showed me how some of the more advanced equipment worked.”
“I’m so glad.Did he know you were taking it last weekend?”
He stared at his plate for a moment before answering.“He’s the one who pushed me to take it then and got me registered.He seemed to think I was ready.”
Her smile lit up the room.“You’ve worked extremely hard learning all that was in that book.”
“You worked just as hard teaching me.”
“I don’t think I really taught you anything.My job was mostly interpreting and making sure you understood the wording and what it meant.Once you knew that, you taught yourself.”
“Pops helped me, too.When I saw him at Easter, we spent a lot of time talking about the test.”
She pursed her lips.“Here I thought the two of you were working on the car.”
“We were.”He shrugged.“But he was also quizzing me on some of the harder stuff I had difficulty with.”
“It was a true group effort, then.I’m so proud of you.I knew you could do it.” She leaned toward him and her lips touched his.This was exactly what he wanted.To be kissing Mercedes and for her to think highly of him.
