I inhaled deeply again, letting the air fill my lungs.
He slung an arm around my lower back, and butterflies fluttered in my belly, as though I were a teenager. As I peered up at him, smiling freely, I realized one thing. “You didn’t have to google first dates.”
His stare met mine.
“Any date you picked would have been perfect because I’m with you.” I playfully nudged my shoulder against his.
“Cornball,” he said.
“I know, right? And I didn’t even have to google that line.”
Chapter 27
Charles
I didn’t want the night to end. After the balloon ride, we’d gone to dinner at this restaurant overlooking Lake Michigan. It was quiet, romantic—something I’d also searched online. The day so far had gone perfectly, as planned, and as I drove us home, I was already thinking of our next date in my head.
In a normal first date, I would have been driving her home, to her own place, but this was far from a normal situation. Instead, I was driving to my home, where she also lived.
I stepped out of the car, reaching for her hand. I walked us through the garage, into the house, and through the kitchen. It was eerily quiet, which never happened in my house. No laughter. No bickering children. Just complete silence.
“What time are the kids getting home?” Becky asked as she strolled to the cupboard to grab two glasses, and then she walked to the fridge.
My throat felt tight all of a sudden. I had to clear it. “They’re not.”
Her hand stilled on the fridge as she turned to face me.
“The girls wanted to sleep over at Brad’s. They haven’t been over there in a while.” Could she tell I was lying? It was just a tiny one. Could she blame me?
“Oh.” She poured us some water, and we sat at the table. When she gazed up at me, her eyes were thoughtful. “Doesn’t it feel like we’ve known each other forever?”
Yes, I thought. But I wanted to hear what she had to say. “How so?”
Her fingertips lightly tapped on the glass. “Maybe it just feels like that for me because you’re the only one who knows me truly. Because there’s no present without one’s past, and I’ve never told anyone about my past.”
My fingers met hers across the table. They were long and delicate, and by looking at her, one would never know she’d been through so much. She looked so perfect, untouched by life. I hated that she’d been through so much.
“I feel like everything between us is moving at lightning speed yet not fast enough,” I said. “I don’t only want to know the things that hurt you in the past. I also want to know the good things, too, what makes you, you, what makes you smile. What’s your favorite color? Favorite foods? I already know you make the best pancakes I’ve ever tasted.” I smirked as I played with her fingers.
She flipped my hand over and traced the lines on the inside of my palm, nodding. “I totally get it. It’s the little things, the everyday things that makes us, us. What is your favorite color?”
I narrowed my eyes in thought. “I don’t really remember. For the longest time, I saw things only in black and white. Yes or no.”
I thought about how I’d lived every day after Nat passed away—getting up, going to work, taking care of the kids. And now, more recently, since I’d decided to live more for myself, that life that had been a muted gray was slowly becoming more … vibrant.
I intertwined our fingers again, pressing my palm to hers. “I don’t know what my favorite color was before, but I know what it is now. Green.”
Her sparkling emerald eyes shone, and she averted her gaze, blushing. “You, Charles … have the best lines.”
I laughed because no one would ever pay me that compliment. I’d been out of the dating game for so long. “Those lines only come out when you’re around.”
And I was officially turning into a cheeseball. Who knew I had it in me?
We talked for hours, sitting at the table where we’d originally bonded over nightmares. I found out the minuscule things. Her favorite Disney flick was The Little Mermaid. Spaghetti was her favorite meal. And she loved anything chocolate and with ice cream.
Hours later, I finally walked her up the stairs, dropping her off in front of her bedroom door.
She pushed her toe into the plush carpet, nervous all of a sudden. “I had a great