She didn’t reply, but when he glanced over again, she was nodding, a serious expression on her face.
Stop making her feel sorry for you, you idiot,he chided himself.
“My favorite Christmas was actually the first one I spent with your brother,” he told her.
“Really?”she asked, looking surprised.
“Oh, yeah,” he said. “I’ll tell you about it when we get to dinner. Is this our turn?”
“Yes,” she told him. “South on Ambler, just like you’re going to the village, but it’s on your right before you hit Cornell.”
“Got it,” he said, signaling. “So, what are the chances that we get snow before Christmas here?”
“It could happen,” Ella said thoughtfully. “We’ve had snow early two years in a row now.”
“I’d love to see it,” Dalton said. “I’ve seen it in the city,of course. But I’ll bet it looks just like a Christmas card out here.”
“It does,” Ella said fondly, her eyes on the little town outside the window.
The big stone houses on the north end of Ambler melted into the community college campus, and at last they reached the sign for The Village Green.
“Looks good,” Dalton said, trying not to feel nervous as he pulled in. It was only a restaurant. No matter how nice it was, at the end of the day they were just putting food on tables.
What heshouldbe worried about was making sure Ella enjoyed herself on this night out. He knew it was rare for her.
He parked the truck and felt grateful when she stayed in long enough for him to get out and open the door for her.
They stepped into The Village Green together and onto the plush carpet of the lobby. Beautiful artwork hung from the walls and a baby grand piano gleamed in the subtle lighting. Dalton suddenly felt a whole lot better about that extra pay in his pocket.
“Welcome,” a hostess said. “Mr. Tyler?”
“Yes,” he said, impressed.
“I’m from Trinity Falls,” she told him with a smile. “You’re a new face, so I assumed you were also the new name. This is your first time dining with us?”
“Yes,” he said. “But maybe Ella has been here before?”
“Oh, no,” Ella said, with a smile. “I’ve never been.”
“Well, I know you’ll love it,” the hostess said. “Come on in.”
Ella glanced up at Dalton and he could see that she was a little nervous too.
The situation settled in his mind a bit then. Maybe he was a scrappy kid from the city, but Ella was a farm girl born and raised, and she probably didn’t feel any more comfortable than he did around grand pianos and fancily lit artwork.
He gave her a warm smile and winked.
Ella’s cheeks flushed pink and she wrenched her eyes away from his, but not before he caught her smiling back.
They followed the hostess past a beautiful mahogany bar area to a large dining room with windows overlooking the little town on one wall and the college campus on another.
“Your server, Geno, will be right with you,” she told them as she indicated a table by the campus windows with a small candle inside a miniature evergreen wreath as a centerpiece.
Dalton pulled out Ella’s chair, and snuck another look around.
While the space was elegant, the diners chatted quietly, looking relaxed. And while most were wearing what Dalton would have called church clothes, others sported jeans and sweaters.
The whole place smelled amazing, and the food on the plates looked like, well,real food, nothing too weird, and not those tiny portions at the expensive restaurants in the movies either.
