the fifth date, even if he hadn’t tried to get her into his bed again. He was just about ready to pop the big marriage question again, but he didn’t want to risk another rejection.
“So,” he said, casually. “How do you think this dating thing is going?”
Amusement spread across her face. “Just fine from my perspective. How about yours?”
“Can I be honest?”
“Of course.”
“To tell you the truth, it’s getting on my nerves.”
She went absolutely still. “Oh?”
He recognized that deadly tone with its undercurrent of hurt. “I want more, Val. I’m not a kid. I’m way past dating.”
“Maybe I’m not understanding you. What is it you want?”
“I want to take it to the next level.”
Her gaze narrowed. “Which is?”
He was about to say marriage, but at the last second his courage failed him. “A relationship,” he declared. “I want us to have a relationship.”
To his astonishment, she began to laugh.
“What?” he demanded indignantly.
“Oh, Slade, you wonderful, sweet man.”
“What?” he repeated.
“What exactly do you think we’ve been having all these weeks?”
He struggled to find a word, but got lost somewhere between friendship and sex. He figured neither description would earn him any points.
“A relationship?” he suggested cautiously.
“Exactly,” she said.
Well, damn, he was better at it than he’d thought. And it wasn’t nearly as terrifying as he’d imagined it would be. Maybe he was ready to take that leap to the next level—the highest level—after all.
Just not tonight.
Sixteen
Val had been all but certain that Slade was going to propose the night before. An Italian restaurant wasn’t the place she would have chosen for such a momentous occasion, nor would she have had Annie nearby. But that hadn’t mattered when she’d seen the glint in his eye and heard him fumbling for words. She’d been sure she knew what was coming.
Her heart had climbed into her throat. Her palms had begun to sweat. She’d looked into his eyes and seen what she thought was love shining there. Hope had blossomed deep inside her.
Then he’d blurted out that he wanted them to have a relationship. What kind of a suggestion was that? She hadn’t been able to hold back the laugh, even though she’d seen right away that she’d hurt him. How on earth was she supposed to get him to the next level? At this rate, they’d both be confined to rocking chairs on the front porch by the time he got around to asking her to marry him.
“Do you think I should propose to Slade?” she asked idly, while Laurie was rehearsing the last new song for her album.
Laurie’s nimble fingers strummed a discordant screech on the guitar. “Excuse me?”
“It wasn’t a trick question. Do you think I should propose to Slade?”
“Not in a million years,” Laurie said adamantly.
“Why not?”
“For starters, it’s the one thing in life that is mostly the man’s prerogative.”
“Even a man who can’t make up his mind?”
“Especially a man who can’t make up his mind. Give him time, Val. He’ll come around to the idea all on his own. If he doesn’t, then it wasn’t meant to be. I don’t think it’s smart to try to shove him off this particular cliff before he’s ready.”
“What if he’s just too scared to spit the words out?”
“Do you think that’s Slade’s problem?”
“Honestly, yes. I could have sworn he was going to do it last night, but at the last second he shifted gears and said he wanted us to have a relationship.”
“That’s progress.”
“No, it’s not,” Val said impatiently. “That’s what we’ve been doing all along, having a relationship.”
“Perhaps he meant an intimate relationship.”
Val considered that. “Could be.” She winced as she thought of the way the light had died in his eyes at her laughter. “I probably shouldn’t have laughed.”
Laurie groaned. “You didn’t.”
“Afraid so.”
“That’ll do a lot to build up his courage.”
“Which brings me back to why I think I should do the proposing. It’ll take the pressure off.”
Laurie stared at her intently. “You’re going to do it no matter what I say, aren’t you?”
Val reached a decision and nodded. “Yes. I think I am.”
“When?”
“Tonight,” she said. “I think I’ll take him flowers. Or do you think I should take him a plate of fried chicken? He really likes that.”
Laurie sighed. “Just don’t take your own engagement ring.”
Val regarded her indignantly. “I would never do that. Some things the man has to do.”
“I’m relieved you can see that,” Laurie said wryly. “Let me know how it turns out.”
To Val’s chagrin, Laurie didn’t exactly sound as if she expected a happy ending.