Page 23 of Falling for Forever

When he walked around to his chair, her eyes were wide, her cheeks flushed, her lips parted. Chet grinned as he reached for his rolled-up fabric napkin. “So, are you going to come clean, or what?”

Her eyes flared. “I wasn’t laughing at you,” she insisted. Then her smile returned and that blush intensified. She waved a hand between the two of them. “Isn’t this a little weird?”

Chet arched a brow. “Weird?” Perhaps it should’ve concerned him. At the very least it might have given him pause. Thankfully, he’d gotten past that stage of planning.

He flashed her his most boyish grin. “I wouldn’t call it weird. I’d call it only a matter of time.”

Lydia dipped her chin and fiddled with her napkin. He liked her flustered. It settled any doubt that they were on the right track. As long as Lydia was ready to take the next steps, then he’d have the confidence for them both.

“You look really gorgeous tonight.”

“Thanks. You do too.”

He stared at her a moment. Then what she’d said caught up with her and she covered her face with her hands.

“I meant handsome,” she said, peeking through her fingers. “You look really handsome.”

“I figured.” Chet chuckled as he picked up his menu. “But maybe I like ‘gorgeous’ more.”

“Ha ha,” she muttered sarcastically. “At least we’re getting the most embarrassing stuff out in the open right off the bat.”

His gaze slid to hers, unable to contain his amusement. “The night is young, Lydia. We never know what might happen.”

She gasped and pointed a finger at him. “Don’t you dare jinx us. I’m not going to have anything but fond memories of this date because I’ve wanted it for so long.”

Heart melting, he watched her for a moment. “Yeah?”

Lydia nodded, her lower lip dragged between her teeth before she murmured, “Yeah.”

Before he could say he felt the same, their waitress arrived. She was a tall brunette who had one of those contagious smiles. She glanced between them. “Hey, I’m Catherine. You can call me Cat. What can I get you to drink?”

“I’ll have a Coke,” Chet said, dragging his eyes from the menu back to Lydia.

She scanned the menu for a little while before she blew out a breath through pursed lips. “I suppose I’ll have a water with a lemon.”

“Coming right up.” Cat hurried away, leaving them to continue staring at each other. To the outside world, they likely looked a little crazy. Or maybe they looked to be in love. He wouldn’t have minded if that was what the assumption was. In this town, any amount of gossip could get out of hand. He didn’t care what people said as long as it turned out well for the two of them.

He reached across the table and took her hand in his. The movement accidentally knocked Lydia’s fork to the floor.

“Shoot.”

“I’ll get it.”

They both moved at the same time. In a move that wasn’t at all attractive, he’d bumped his head against hers. They both pulled back, their fingers rubbing at the offending bruise that would no doubt make an appearance later.

Lydia scrunched up her nose with a laugh.

“I’m so sorry,” he murmured, mortified as he scooped up the fork and placed it to the side. “We’ll make sure they get you a new one. Are you okay? Let me see⁠—”

She swatted at him playfully. “I’m fine. You got hurt, too.”

“Yeah, but I’ve been told often that I have a hard head.”

“By my brother?”

He chuckled despite himself. “He’s just one of many.” His eyes stayed on her longer than necessary as she looked over her menu again.

Lydia must have caught his eyes on her because she peeked over the menu at him. Her eyes crinkled at the corners. “I’m glad I came,” she admitted as she put the menu down. “No matter what else might happen, I’ll still be happy we did this.”