“Huh, I think the last time I went to Rosedale, I was maybe sixteen. And it was only because Larkin was being a little rebel.” She snickers at the memory.
“I’ve done a few jobs out here, a lot more recently, actually. It’s a good area,” I muse. I’m not sure why I’m having a hard time with conversation right now, but I feel stilted as I respond. Maybe it’s because she bewitched me with that damn giggle or I’m feeling trepidation about all this secrecy, but what I need to do is figure my shit out fast because I need to make this date count.
Who knows when the next one will be.
Okay, so maybe the secrecy is wearing on me more than I realize.
“Would you ever move out of Bluebell Falls if it made sense for the company to grow?” she asks so calmly.
But her question blows my little world apart. I’ve never once considered moving after my parents died. My place was always here, to take care of my siblings. I know they’re grown now, but I can’t imagine moving even a half an hour away from them at this point in my life. Small-town life grew on me quickly once I was forced back home, and the company is growing exponentially without even considering relocation.
“No,” I say, my voice gruff and hard. I clear my throat, hoping to lessen the harshness I’m not intending to take out on her. “No. I mean, when I went away for college, I fully assumed I wouldn’t be back here. But then my parents died, and I took over as guardian for Willow and Lennox. I accepted this is where I would stay to make sure they were always okay.Now, the company is doing extremely well, and I don’t see a need to change that.” I shrug like this whole topic of conversation isn’t making me itch with how uncomfortable I am. I’m not trying to be defensive, but I do need Ainsley to understand this is my home and I don’t foresee that changing.
“I get that. I always thought I would never come back here, but when my … situation imploded, this was the first place I thought to come to lick my wounds. That’s probably more telling than I realize.” She huffs out a laugh and looks over at me. My shoulder tension instantly drops as I take in the direction of our conversation. She isn’t accusing or wanting to take me away from here; she was just curious. She’s trying to evaluate her own life and wanted another point of view.Does this mean she’s thinking of not staying?
We fill the rest of the drive with conversations about our time in college, what grandiose thoughts we had that are laughable now. Like I always thought I could come up with the next big app idea and become an instant success, I just needed to wait for the idea to come to me. It’s laughable now because I’m not the most tech-savvy person at all, but I really thought I was going somewhere with that plan.
When I pull up to the restaurant, we’re both laughing so hard, there are tears in our eyes.
“I can’t believe you tried to smuggle in your own cooking to the campus kitchen so you could prove you were better than they were,” I gasp out in between laughs.
“I was such a cocky little shit.” She giggles.
I put the truck in the park and hop out while she’s still laughing, feeling more like myself now. I walk around the hood and open her door, holding my hand out to help her step down.
“And who says chivalry is dead?” She smiles shyly at me.
I lead her with my hand on her lower back to the front door.
“Good evening. Table for two?” the hostess asks once we’re inside.
“We have reservations, for Hutton,” I tell her.
She leads us to the table, and I pull out the chair for Ainsley. It feels weird that this is technically our second date, and it makes me feel like shit that it’s been almost a month and I haven’t done more.
I need to do better. I need to show Ainsley I see a real future with her. Dating, spending time together, and really becoming a part of her life need to be my priority.
“So, what’s good here?” Ainsley asks once we’re alone.
“I’ve honestly never been here, but Rina has been raving about it for months, so I figured it was worth trying. They make all their pasta fresh, so I don’t think you can go wrong.”
She hums while opening up the menu, and I can’t take my eyes off of her. I want more of this, more domestication, more dinners, more dressing up and then going home and stripping her bare.
I never considered any of this before Ainsley. My past experience with relationships is limited to Jenna and a broken heart I’m not sure I ever really had time to focus on.
“I think I’m going to get the primavera.” Ainsley’s voice draws me out of my head.
My eyes skim down the page, snagging on the one thing that looks familiar. “I think I’m doing the lasagna.” It’s a panic pick, but you can’t really go wrong with a classic, right?
“I was debating that one,” she says with a sly smirk that tells me we’ll be sharing our meals tonight.
I’ll share every single meal from here until she drops me to the curb if it keeps that smile on her face.
“So, tell me what Ledger’s grand plan for his life is.” She sits back and takes a sip of her wine we ordered.
Grand plan.
My grand plan is to keep Ainsley. Work hasn’t factored into those plans for weeks, though we’re busier than ever since the conference. I’ve been wracking my brain trying to figure out how to utilize Ainsley better, create a bigger role for her, but I’ve been coming up blank. This is usually when I bounce ideas off of Rina and come up with something, but I can’t do that now. I’ll end up spilling my guts about us dating and just how far gone I am for this woman.
