“Seriously, Grandma, no real reason. I’m still trying to get my mind wrapped around the whole idea, and I wanted to know if she . . . well, communicated with you in any way.”
Silence. Grandma Verda wasn’t stupid, so I doubted she believed me, but hopefully she wouldn’t push. Yeah, if it happened again, I’d probably tell her. But at that point I was keeping my mouth shut.
“Is that the truth, Lizzie?”
My buzzer went off. Perfect timing. “Hey, Grandma, my date’s here, so I gotta go. I’ll talk to you soon.”
“Are you going out with Nate?”
“No. His name is Kevin, and if I don’t go now he’ll think I stood him up.”
“Go. Have fun. But you should think about Nate.”
“Trust me, Grandma, I have.” All the time. After hanging up, I went to put my coat on. As I left my apartment, I tried to reclaim my excitement.
I’d looked forward to this for most of the week, but now that it was here, I kinda wanted to stay home. Probably because I was worried about Maddie. Not to mention Alice and Jon.
All thoughts vacated my brain when I saw Kevin. Maddie was right. He was completely hot. Mouthwateringly, sinfully, wickedly hot. Suddenly, the evening ahead brightened.
I pretended I didn’t hear the tiny voice in the back of my mind. The one that insisted I’d have a much brighter evening if it involved Nate. But settling down with one guy wasn’t what I wanted. I did that once already. No need to go that route again.
This was what I’d wished for, what I’d blamed Marc for taking away from me. Choices. Adventure. Freedom.
My date was with Kevin; therefore, I intended to have an amazing time with Kevin.
Simple as that.
Walking out of the Briar Street Theatre, Kevin took hold of my hand, his strong fingers closing around mine. “That show was awesome. Did you like it?”
“It was great. I loved the music. I can’t believe I’ve never gone to see it before. Thanks for taking me.” The warmth of his clasp felt solid and real. I liked it, more than I’d expected.“Feel like stopping and grabbing some dessert?”
I laughed. “You, the water-drinking, salad-eating, only-good-things-go-in-my-body, trainer of all trainers, want to buy me dessert?”
“Treats are good for you. You just don’t want to eat that stuff all the time.”
I stifled a yawn. “Actually, Kevin, I’ve had a really long day, and I have to work in the morning. I’m kind of tired. Do you mind if we call it?”
“Sure, let’s get you home so you can get some sleep.”
Wow, I loved that. He didn’t try to change my mind. He just agreed. Not able to hold it back any longer, I yawned as I slid into the seat of his car.
Bluesy jazz spilled from the radio. I leaned my head back against the cushion of his car and closed my eyes. Contentedness seeped into me as the sound of the engine and the hum of the road lulled me to sleep.
I don’t know how much time passed, but I woke to Kevin’s lips at my ear.
“Hey, sleepyhead, we’re home.”
Reaching up, I touched his cheek, felt the prickly roughness of his not-so-smooth shave, and murmured, “Okay.”
He walked me in and we stopped in the hallway, in front of my door. “I’d invite you in for some wine, but I really am beat.”
“That would be sweet, but I’m the water guy, remember?”
“Oh yeah, that’s right,” I teased.
“Hey, Elizabeth, I had an amazing time tonight. I’d love to take you out again. Maybe dancing. You’re so incredibly easy to be around, and I really enjoyed myself.” He smiled shyly. “I hope you did, too.”
“I had fun, Kevin.” This surprised me a little. But hey, part of what I wanted was to date different men, to regain what I never had when I was younger. Not such a hard choice. “I’d like to go out again. Dancing sounds great.”
“We’ll do it then.” He eased toward me, so my back was against the wall. When he kissed me, it was different than kissing Marc, which made sense. But more pointedly, it was different than kissing Nate. My belly warmed, but I didn’t have the tingles and the sparks shooting out all over the place. Not necessarily a bad thing. Just a different thing.
Kevin’s body pushed me tighter against the wall as he deepened the kiss. Not quite the instantaneous combustion I’d gotten used to with