“You okay?” he asked.
Oh, had that snaked from my mouth too loudly? “Yes, I’m fine. I was just talking to Lady.”
“You look beautiful, by the way.”
“Thank you.” Heat bloomed in my cheeks. I dipped my chin bashfully and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. “You do, too. Look nice, I mean. Not beautiful. Well, you look beautiful for a man. No, not beautiful.Handsome.You look very dashing.”
I sighed. This was not going well.
But Rufus didn’t seem to notice. He smiled bashfully in a Ryan Gosling way.
“Thank you,” he murmured.
Before I stuck my foot any farther down my throat, I said, “So. Where are we going?”
He gestured to his SUV. “It’s a surprise. For now, my lady, your chariot awaits.”
Rufus took me to a white tablecloth restaurant in Park’s Bluff, one town over. Park’s Bluff was located on a river, and so was the restaurant. Large plated windows looked out over the boats and fishermen while a pipe filled with water flowed along the roof of the restaurant, dripping the stuff outside, giving a rain effect.
I had to admit, the artificial rain, the flowing water and the candlelight just about made me want to curl up in someone’s lap and take a nap.
Not Rufus’s, though. I would not be taking a nap in his lap. There did not need to be any hanky-panky going on.
“What made you choose this place?” I asked after we’d ordered. I got pan-fried trout and Rufus ordered steak. Of course he did. It always seemed like men ordered steak.
“I asked around, and people told me this was the best restaurant here. So I thought you might like it.”
My gaze wandered to the bustling waitstaff. “I’ve never been here before.”
“Then hopefully it was a good choice.”
I propped my elbows on the table and rested my chin in my hands. “So tell me. How was spell hunting? How is Sykes Laffoon?”
He broke a breadstick that the server had left. “The answer to the first is tricky.”
Curious, I asked, “How is that?”
“Because I’m looking for an interesting spell, and I could use some help.”
I groaned. “Now I know why you asked me here.”
Surprise flared in his eyes. “No, no. Don’t get the wrong impression. I wanted to see you.”
“Mmm hmm.”
“Clementine, I missed you.”
My heart pinged. “Go on.”
He smiled. “While I was gone. I thought of you a lot. There are things…” He stared out at the river. “There are things that I want to do with my life but can’t because, like I’ve said before, I don’t know what or who could be waiting for me.”
Guilt rushed through me. “About that, John—”
“Here are your meals.” The waitress delicately laid down my plate of fish and Rufus’s dinner of steak and asparagus. “Is there anything you need right now?”
Rufus deferred to me. “I’m okay,” I answered.
He shook his head. As soon as she left, he continued. “But you know all of that, about how I’m trapped. But yes, about the spell hunting—there’s a spell that I could use some help finding.”
