“It’ll give us a little time to ourselves.” He took my hand in his again. “Do you mind?”
“Having a little time to ourselves, or you holding my hand?”
“Both, I guess.” He brought my hand up and kissed it. “I like the way you feel, Meg.”
My cheeks warmed at his words, and I had to look away, not used to people talking to me that way.
“Have I embarrassed you?” he asked, a smile in his voice.
“A little.”
“I’m sorry.” We walked down Tenth Street and then took a right onto E Street. It wasn’t easy to walk on the uneven sidewalk in my heels, but it was better than being crowded into a tight shuttle bus.
We walked in silence for a few minutes, though all I could think about was the pressure of his hand holding mine. The city was still alive and vibrant at this hour. Businesses, shops, and restaurants lit up the night.
But my thoughts and feelings were so conflicted, I finally had to pull away from him.
“I’m sorry, Seth. I’m not sure we should—”
“What?” he asked, not skipping a beat, though I was sure he was disappointed that I’d pulled away.
“Nothing has changed,” I told him. “I enjoy your company, but I don’t have time to date. Not yet.”
“This isn’t a date. We’re just friends.”
“I don’t hold hands with my friends.”
“Are they as good-looking as me?” he asked with a charming smile.
I chuckled and shook my head. “No. But you know what I mean. You can’t say this isn’t a date and then hold my hand. It doesn’t work that way.”
“Okay.” He looked duly chastised. “I won’t hold your hand again—unless you ask me to. Which I really hope you do.”
We stopped at a streetlight, waiting for it to turn green.
I tried another tactic as we crossed the street. “The next six months of my life are going to be busy and intense. I need to focus all my attention on my work. I can’t complicate matters by getting my heart invested in a relationship.”
He paused, grabbing my hand so I had to stop. His face was bathed in light from an Italian restaurant. The doors were flung open, allowing the sweet, melodic sound of “Bella Notte” to spill out onto the sidewalk.
“Is your heart in danger of getting invested, Meg?” He was as serious as I’d ever seen him.
My throat suddenly felt dry, and all I could do was stare at him.
He moved closer, taking me into his arms, and started to dance to the music.
I was surprised, but I allowed him to hold me close and closed my eyes as I laid my head against his chest. His heart was beating hard—matching my own. Suddenly I thought of Gray and the dance we had shared. I hadn’t seen him in weeks, so why was I thinking of him now?
Confusion warred within me, but I allowed Seth to keep dancing. People walked by us, smiling at the sight of a couple in a gown and a tuxedo slow dancing on the sidewalk.
When Seth finally pulled back, he looked down at me and smiled. “I’ll wait for you, Meg. I promise. And if you’ll let me, I’d like to keep seeing you. I won’t ask anything of you; you have my word. We’ll just spend time together whenever you have a spare minute and get to know one another—no romance or strings attached.”
“You can’t even walk me past an Italian restaurant without dancing with me. Why would I believe you when you say it won’t be romantic?”
He let me go and held up his hands. As he stood there in his tuxedo, his boyish good looks and magnetic personality pulling me toward him, I couldn’t believe him when he said he could keep me at a distance. I knew better. He wasn’t the kind of person who could hold himself back from romance or life. Just as he had a way of pulling people to himself, life had a way of pulling him. It was fun to watch—but it also felt dangerous.
I had agreed to go out with him, hoping to put in a good word for my dad. Now, though, I wanted to see him again, to be near him, and that was a problem. I shouldn’t want to see him, but I couldn’t imagine going six months without talking to him or spending time with him. I didn’t want to make my final decision because of a man, but what if that was the only way I could? What if I was supposed to use the next six months getting to know Seth, Gray, and Zechariah to see if one of themwasmy soulmate?
Maybe I shouldn’t be pushing them away. Instead, maybe I should be drawing closer to them. It was, after all, the biggest decision I would ever make. Shouldn’t I have all the information?
