Page 18 of Finding Happily Ever After
There was a pull to be with him, and it only grew stronger every time they were together. Natalie didn’t even know how to begin explaining it because she’d never felt anything like it before. All she really knew was that when she spent time with him, she never wanted it to end.
“Would you like to go for dinner at Birchwood? Tomorrow night? About seven?” She blurted out the question before she’d even realized she had.
Had she seriously just asked him out? Just like that?
Surprised by herself, Natalie instinctively opened her mouth to rescind the invitation, but changed her mind and with confidence she never would have had ten years ago, added, “Like a date?”
He took a step backward, obviously taken a little off guard with her forward offer. “A date?”
She nodded. “Yes. A date. With me.” She was in it now. If he said no, she’d…well…
“I can’t think of anything I’d like more.”
Natalie released the breath she’d been holding and laughed. “I thought you might say no.”
Aiden’s eyes widened and he reached for her arm. His touch was light, but her skin heated under his fingers. “You’re kidding, right?”
She shook her head.
“I can’t wait to take you out for dinner.”
She opened her mouth to protest. After all, she’d askedhimout.
“And yes,” he said before she could disagree. “I would really like to take you out. Because you beat me to it. I was just about to ask you.”
“That’s not true.”
“Of course it is.” He moved closer, his hand still on her arm. “Natalie, I’ve been dying to ask you out almost from the moment I heard you whistle in that gymnasium.”
She dropped her head back in laughter. When she looked up again, Aiden was looking at her with such intensity her breath hitched.
He was close. Closer than a man had ever been. And she liked it. A lot. She wanted him closer.
Instinctively, she leaned forward to close the small amount of space between them. She’d been bold asking him out.Could she be even bolder and kiss—
“Mr. Adams!”
Aiden took a very big and very quick step backward, putting space between them as two students rushed over to them.
“Mr. Adams, I need an extension on my paper. I can’t get it done tonight and if I fail, I can’t play in the game next week.”
Aiden gave her an apologetic shrug but she couldn’t be upset, because she’d meant what she’d said earlier—those kids were lucky to have him as a teacher.
Besides, she thought as she drove away, it was pretty damn sexy to see the way he cared about his job and definitely one of the things that was making her fall for him.
Natalie was still thinking about Aiden a few hours later when she joined Katie for girls drinks at the local pub and favorite hangout. Katie had waved her over the moment she’d set foot inside the dimly lit room and introduced her to Sarah Morris before ordering drinks.
“It’s going to be a smaller group tonight,” Katie said. “But I think Faith will be here in a bit. You’ve met Faith, right?”
“I sort of met a lot of people in passing at the Christmas Eve event at the fire hall,” Natalie said. “But I’m really looking forward to actually getting to know people better because I don’t think that really counted since I was busy slicing turkey all night.”
“Jeremy totally made you do all the hard work, didn’t he?” Katie laughed. “Jeremy and I are old friends. I remember when he was the rookie and had to do all the grunt work himself.”
“It’s all part of it, I guess. And I don’t mind.” She accepted the drink the waitress handed her. “In fact, as the rookie, I actually got to teach the first-aid class at the high school.” It wasn’t lost on her how just a few weeks ago, Natalie thought that was the worst thing she could be assigned to do. Funny how one sexy man with dreamy eyes could change her perspective.
“And that’s how you met Aiden.” Katie grinned. “Too bad about the hike.”
Natalie nodded and was about to take a sip of her drink, when Sarah added, “But dinner at Birchwood will be so much better anyway.”
