instructor doesn’t have to drive all the way out here?”
“She won’t mind. You should probably take a bubble bath or something.”
A few minutes later, as she was sitting in a steaming bath filled with fragrant bubbles, Val concluded that she was in serious trouble if she’d started taking courting advice from a kid.
Still, she felt especially feminine in her sundress and sandals as she waited on Slade’s porch with a picnic hamper. It was almost dusk when he finally came dragging up the path, looking beat. His expression brightened ever so slightly at the sight of her.
“What are you doing here?”
“We have a second date tonight,” she told him, gesturing toward the hamper. “Nothing fancy. Just a picnic by the creek.”
He regarded her with a puzzled expression. “Did we make these plans this morning?”
“Not exactly. I just seized the moment,” she admitted. “Annie’s gone off for the evening. She informed me she won’t be home till late. Real late.”
A grin tugged at his lips. “Is that so?”
“Do you think a shower will revive you or would you rather do this another night?”
“Let me try the shower and see how it goes.”
When he returned, his hair was still damp, but he was freshly shaved and smelled of soap. “If you have fried chicken in that basket, you will make me a happy man.”
“With coleslaw and potato salad,” she said. “And a couple of cold beers.”
“Ah, perfect. Now I’m ecstatic.” He held out his hand. “Shall we?”
Gestures like that still surprised her. A few days ago she would have judged it to be totally out of character. Now she sensed that he was literally and figuratively reaching out to her. She hesitated, then tucked her hand in his.
It was cooler down by the creek. Val spread out the blanket she’d brought, then took out their supper. Slade leaned back against the trunk of a tree and accepted a plate. They ate in silence, but Val concluded it was the kind of companionable silence that fell between friends. Used to nonstop conversation, she realized that the quiet had its own rewards, especially when Slade’s gaze caught hers and held until her breath clogged in her throat.
There was a dusting of stars across the sky by the time they’d finished eating. A sliver of moon hung in the velvety darkness. Slade stretched out on the blanket and sighed with contentment.
“Never thought much of picnics before now,” he said.
“Why?”
“Seemed like a lot of trouble to go to, when you could eat the same food sitting at the kitchen table.”
“Has tonight changed your mind?”
“Just about.” He gave her a lazy once-over. “I have a hunch if you were to stretch out here beside me and tuck your head on my shoulder, I’d reach a whole different conclusion.”
Val leaned down to stare into his eyes. “Second date, remember?”
“Got it,” he said, laughter in his eyes. “But don’t be surprised if I try to steal a third-date kind of kiss.”
She sighed as she settled against him. “I think I’d be disappointed if you didn’t.”
She felt the soft brush of his lips against her forehead and closed her eyes. Desire spiraled through her, but so did that same sense of peace she’d felt a few nights ago. She was beginning to see that her instincts all those months ago had been right. Slade really was the right man for her.
* * *
Val was making him jump through hoops, but Slade supposed he deserved it. First he’d tried to get her to marry him just so Annie would have a mom again. Then he’d dragged her up to a hotel room on their first real date. He hadn’t even let her start her dinner, much less finish it. Not that she’d complained. In fact, she’d been as eager as he’d been, but it had been the wrong way to go about getting reacquainted. Now he’d established some weird dating timetable that required him to keep his hands off of her for two more dates.
He supposed they’d go by quickly enough. Val seemed almost as anxious as he was to get them behind her. In the past few days she’d dreamed up a million things she’d always wanted to do, dropping hints the way a bee buzzed around spreading pollen. Then she waited to see if he picked up on them.
She wanted to go dancing again, despite the way the last time had turned out.
“I haven’t really gotten the hang of the two-step yet,” she said, making it clear that she