The doorbell chimed, and my heart lurched forward. My feet willed me to the door where Oliver stood with a smile on his face and a small bouquet of yellow daisies in his arms. They were lovely but couldn’t hold a candle to the man holding them. His outfit was simple—dark jeans and a black V-neck sweater. The way they molded to the muscles in his body, however, made it ten-times better. His blonde hair housed a small amount of gel, and the cologne he used was mouth watering, although in all honesty, the scent was a little heavy.
“Ollie, they’re beautiful,” I cooed, bringing the flowers to my nose to breathe their scent in.
“Yeah? Well, they were, until I saw how beautiful you were.”
Smiling, a snort escaped. “That’s a good one.”
Maybe it was my experience with cheesy lines, but that one just oozed with unoriginality.
He placed a kiss on my cheek. “I mean it.” “Let me just quickly go and put these in a vase.”
“Do it when you get back. I’m starved!” he urged, and as much as I wanted to ignore his request, I obliged.
Oliver pulled up to the best seafood restaurant in the area, which was also the best place in the state. It was absolutely breathtaking with outdoor seating, a band, a good-sized dance floor and twinkle lights covering every structure in sight. The place cost a pretty penny, but it was definitely worth the money— if you had it to spend.
Oliver gave the hostess his name, and she led us to a table outside under the night sky and white glowing lights. The view was beautiful and really the only way to experience the restaurant, and I was happy I’d chosen to wear a jacket over my dress.
The pretty waitress took our drink order. Ollie ordered a beer, while I decided to go with white wine. The butterflies that fluttered around my stomach felt so out of place. I was twenty-five years old, for cripes’ sake!
“Thank you for coming out with me at the last minute,” Oliver said, while he scanned over the menu.
“What made you want to have the date tonight?”
He shrugged with a smile on his face. “I didn’t want to give you a chance to think it over and change your mind. A smart woman like you deserves much better than the likes of me.”
Heat rose to my cheeks, as I looked down to the table with a smile.
“Well, I can’t argue with you there,” I teased, taking a sip of my wine.
“So, how have things been since your return from New York?”
An image of Corey flashed in my mind, and I smiled. “They’ve been much better than expected. How have you been?”
“I’ve been all right. I’m kind of at that point in my life where I’m tired of the wild and free lifestyle.”
His pointed look made me nervous. What exactly was he expecting from this impromptu date? Sure—there were butterflies when I thought of him, but he also hadn’t been in my life for seven years. He didn’t know who I was anymore, and until I’d come back hadn’t cared to know.
“We’re only twenty-five. It’s not that urgent to settle down,” I pointed out, hoping to shed some light on his sudden ‘epiphany.’
“I’m not getting any younger, Dani.”
His eyes locked with mine, and I shivered. Talk about out of the blue! It had to be a joke. There was no way Oliver had awakened that day and decided that not only did he want to take me on a date, but that he wanted to settle down too. And from the direction of the conversation, it appeared it was me he wanted to settle down with.
Thankfully, the waitress returned to take our dinner order. I ordered the Mahi-mahi with butter and garlic-mashed potatoes, while Ollie decided to take on the steak and lobster platter. While awaiting our food, we touched on light, safe topics—both sets of grandparents, the Inn, sports and weather. We never got too in-depth with one subject before moving along to the next. The more we talked, however, the more I realized Oliver was nervous around me. Back in the day, he’d been known for being the smooth talker, and I’m sure he’d had more ‘dates’ than the average male. Yet, there we sat, making forced small talk while he fiddled with the silverware next to his plate.
It was hard to tell who was more relieved when the food came. We made comments about our dinner, the band and