Page 13 of Second Chance with Seth
“No.”
He smiled. “In that case, would you like to have dinner with me?”
“Here? In Hart’s Creek?”
“Why not?”
“Because you don’t live here.”
He frowned just slightly. “Is that a requirement? Do you only date guys who come from Hart’s Creek?”
“No,” I said, shaking my head. This was a date? Of course it was. Why else was he asking me out? I felt flustered, but knew Ihad to explain. “What I mean is, if you’ve got a long journey to get home, I don’t wanna keep you.”
“You won’t, and I haven’t. I only live in Concord. It’s not the other side of the world.”
I nodded my head, feeling embarrassed, and said, “Okay. Where would you like to go?”
He shrugged his shoulders. “You tell me?”
“We’re not exactly inundated with choice,” I said, realizing the stupidity of my question. “But the hotel is supposed to be nice.”
“Let’s go there then.”
My aunt was already holding the door open for us, and I grabbed my purse from the hook just inside the kitchen, and followed Seth out onto the sidewalk, telling Aunt Clare I’d see her later. She smiled and said goodbye to Seth, and then he took my hand, letting me guide him toward the hotel.
We had a lovely meal, during which Seth was more than attentive… holding my chair when I sat down, and gazing into my eyes while we ordered. We barely stopped talking the entire time, discussing food mostly, and discovering that we shared a lot of similar tastes.
Afterwards, both of us were unwilling to let our evening end, and Seth suggested a walk.
“We could go down by the creek,” I said, and he agreed, letting me lead the way.
It was dark, but there was a full moon, and he held my hand, making sure I didn’t fall. We talked some more, and because I felt as though I’d monopolized some of our earlier conversations, I asked about his childhood. He told me about his parents, which was as hard to hear as I think it was to tell, and made me understand how much we had in common.
I enjoyed listening to him talk, though, and neither of us realized how late it was until I started to get cold. Seth gave mehis jacket to wear, and only then noticed the time… which was gone two in the morning. I couldn’t believe it, and I don’t think he could, either.
He walked me home, and although nothing happened between us, I knew how much I liked him. When he asked for my number, I didn’t hesitate to give it to him. I suppose there was a part of me that thought I might never hear from him again, but I fell into bed, hoping that I might.
He called me the very next day. And then again the day after that. We talked for ages, never struggling for things to discuss, and our phone calls became the highlight of my day.
He hadn’t mentioned coming back to see me, which could be why I was so surprised when he walked through the door of the coffee shop the following Friday evening. It was already nearly time to close up for the day, and Aunt Clare said I could go early, giving me a smile.
I didn’t need to be told twice, and I took off my apron, barely remembering to grab my purse before I left.
“What do you want to do?” Seth asked.
“Anything.”
He chuckled and took me to dinner at the hotel again, explaining on the way there that he’d booked a room and was staying for the weekend.
“The entire weekend?” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.
“Yes. I thought we could spend some time together… if that’s okay with you.”
I smiled up at him, his eyes meeting mine. “It’s lovely, but I’m afraid I have to work tomorrow morning, and on Sunday.”
“All day?” he asked.
“No. Just the morning again. My aunt’s doing tomorrow afternoon, and we close at lunchtime on Sundays.”
