Page 44 of Then Came You

“I wasn’t sure if I should. I mean, what would Stella have thought if she woke up and saw my truck there this morning?”

It sounded like he was teasing, but she couldn’t be sure. “Is that the real reason you left?”

He hesitated for a moment. “I wasn’t sure how you’d feel if you woke up and I was still there.”

Ah. Now they were getting somewhere. She took her coffee mug to the kitchen table and sat down with it.

“I would have been okay with it.” She decided not to divulge that she’d been hoping he was there so she could kiss him again.

“Do you have to work today?”

“Yes, but not until eleven. What about you?”

“I’m on the afternoon shift, so I don’t go in until three.”

It struck her that they were discussing their schedules like they were a couple. It was strange yet oddly appealing.

“I was wondering…”

“Yes?”

“Would you go out with me?”

He sounded cautiously optimistic, and she almost laughed. Just a few hours ago, they’d been kissing, but she understood his hesitation. After all, she’d been the one to put it there.

“On an actual date?” she teased.

“Yes.”

“That depends. Will it involve touching slimy worms and catching my own dinner?”

He chuckled. “We’ll work up to that. No. I’m talking about a real date, where we dress up some, go out for a nice dinner, and then…”

She sucked in a breath and hoped he hadn’t heard it.

“And then?”

“I’ll let that part be up to you.”

Her heart fluttered in her chest, and she felt a tingle down below in a place that had been sorely neglected for too long.

“Yes. I’ll go out with you.”

He let out a big breath, and she laughed.

“Were you really that nervous to ask, or are you just pretending?”

“I’m not an actor, Gillian. Sometimes I wish I was.”

“I’m glad you’re not. I appreciate your honesty.”

He was quiet for a few beats, and she thought they might have lost connection. Then she heard Rocky barking.

“What’s he barking at?”

“Oh, this pesky squirrel that insists on taunting him. One of these days, Rocky’s going to catch that squirrel, and she’s going to be sorry.”

“She?”