He’d been both persistent and inventive in asking me out, making it increasingly hard to keep turning him down. And each time I did, it was difficult to remember why I kept saying no.
‘Okay, how about an escape room? And if we don’t get out in the allotted time, I’ll buy you dinner.’
‘And if wedoget out?’
‘I’ll still buy you dinner. Basically, it’s a win-win as far as dinner goes.’
I laughed. ‘I’m not sure escape rooms are my kind of thing.’ What I actually meant was that I wasn’t sure being locked up in close proximity with him was such a good idea. Not because I didn’t like him; I already knew from our numerous phone calls that I did. I think my biggest concern was that I might be starting to like him a littletoo much.
My suggestion came so unexpectedly I surprised even myself. ‘Maybe we could do something outdoors ...?’ Had he been standing in front of me, instead of at the end of a phone line, Adam would have seen the way I was nervously biting my lip as I waited for his reply.
‘I love outdoors,’ he said, with such warmth and enthusiasm, I wondered why I was trying so hard to keep our relationship purely in the friend zone.
Because you’re an idiot, who’s still waiting for something you should have given up on a long time ago.Josh was never going to be anything more than an impossible fantasy, and the sooner I stopped hoping for anything more from him than friendship, the better it would be for both of us. Maybe it was finally time to open myself up to other options.
‘How about a picnic?’ I said, glancing out the window at the brilliant summer sunshine. The forecast for the next few weeks promised more of the same.
‘Done!’ said Adam with the speed of an auctioneer closing a sale. ‘How does tomorrow sound?’
Which was how I found myself giving him my address and, without realising it, opening a whole new door to my future.
My doorbell rang at the exact time Adam had arranged to pick me up. Unlike Josh, whose arrival time was always a rough approximation or a complete surprise.
‘Stop doing that,’ I sternly commanded my reflection as I gave my appearance one last check before running to the front door. My new white shorts looked good against the tan that was still lingering after a week spent under the Spanish sun. The shorts went well with the pale blue chambray shirt that I’d knotted at my waist. Whitetrainers and simple silver hoops in my ears completed my look, and a high ponytail that swished from side to side as I hurried to let him in.
My breath caught in my throat as I opened the door to Adam. I’d forgotten how tall he was, and also how good-looking. Not like Josh was, in a dark, brooding, Austen hero kind of way. Adam was somehow ... golden. It was the colour of the natural highlights the sun had streaked into his hair. It was there in the flecks in his hazel eyes. And it dusted like fool’s gold on the downy hair on his arms and legs. Like me, he’d dressed for the forecasted hot weather, in cargo shorts and a plain white tee. He was more muscular than I’d remembered, and had I known him better I’d have teasingly asked if he’d been putting in some extra gym time in the weeks since we’d first met, because that’s exactly what I’d have said to Josh.
I hesitated after my first ‘Hi’, unsure if I should invite him in or grab my denim jacket and the bottle of prosecco I’d plucked from the fridge and just go. He seemed to sense my indecision and took a step back on to the pavement, giving me my cue.
‘All set?’ he asked with a smile that radiated even more warmth than the August sunshine.
‘Absolutely,’ I said, following him to the pavement. His car was parked a little further down the road, the sunlight gleaming off the panels so brilliantly I was glad of the polarising tint of my sunglasses.
‘I hope you don’t mind, but I’ve brought Fletcher with me. He’s waiting in the car.’
A silent warning buzzer sounded in my head. It wasn’t that I was against meeting his friends ... eventually ... but I hadn’t expected him to bring a mate along on our first date.
‘Oh . . . no, that’s fine.’
‘I hope so. He’s under strict orders not to eat all the sandwiches or slobber all over you.’
I nodded slowly, wondering if it was too late to fabricate a sudden migraine, when Adam blipped the car and a furry black and white head popped out of the gap he’d left in the car’s rear window.
‘Ohhh. Fletcher is your dog,’ I said, on a cry that landed somewhere between amusement and relief.
Adam’s brows drew a little closer together. ‘Yes. I said that, didn’t I?’
I was grinning now, I couldn’t help it, especially as his dog appeared to be doing so too, as he delightedly greeted his owner as though he hadn’t seen him in months.
‘Actually, you didn’t. You made it sound like Fletcher was a friend.’
Adam reached in through the open window and gently fussed the dog’s head.
‘He’s that too.’
Something warm stirred in my stomach as I saw the expression in Adam’s eyes as he looked at his dog, and then turned molten when he swivelled that same gaze to look at me.
The phone calls and banter we’d shared since the day Adam had ‘rescued’ me ensured the conversation flowed easily during the journey. He was funny, self-deprecating, and a really good listener. He asked all kinds of questions about Rainbows and Cupcakes, and although I was watching closely, I didn’t once see his eyes glaze over as I talked about the business and the plans I had for its future.
