Since she was on a tight schedule, they concentrated on eating. While they ate, he considered his next move. He wanted to ask her out again, but his budget wouldn’t support many evenings like their first date. Maybe a long drive up to the state park at Deception Pass or a picnic lunch would work. It would feel good to get away for a few hours, and he knew that Natalie didn’t get much downtime.
She checked her watch for the third time in the past ten minutes. “Look, I’ve got to go in a minute, but I wanted to ask you something.”
He set down his fork to give her his full attention. As soon as he did, she suddenly found the circle of moisture on the table where her glass had been sitting absolutely riveting. Using her fingertip to make patterns in the water, she finally lifted her eyes to meet his. Something in her expression had his own tension level ramping up.
“I was wondering if you’d like to have dinner at my place sometime soon. My schedule next week is pretty full, but the week after would be good. Please don’t feel like you have to say yes.”
That tight spot in his chest eased up. “I would love to have dinner with you.”
He reached across the table to entwine his fingers with hers. “And for the record, I was sitting here trying to get up the nerve to ask if you’d like to go on a picnic.”
Her dimples appeared, a sign his confession pleased her. “Why don’t we do the picnic a week from tomorrow?”
“Great idea. And if it rains, we can always ride the state ferry out to Friday Harbor and back. If the weather breaks, we could eat outside there. If not, we can always eat while we’re on board and still enjoy the view.”
“That sounds wonderful. I can’t remember the last time I went on a picnic.” She checked the time again and frowned. “Gotta go. Let’s also plan on dinner a week from Wednesday. If you need to change the day, give me a call. I can be flexible.”
To his surprise, she leaned in and gave him a quick kiss before she was off and running, moving at full speed. Tino leaned back in his chair and watched her go. Damn, he couldn’t wait to see if she brought that much energy to other pursuits. And her comment about being flexible had him thinking things his conscience said he shouldn’t be, not that it stopped a few intriguing images from taking up residence in his head. Man, he couldn’t wait to find out if any of them came close to the reality of taking Natalie to bed. Holding up his fingers, he counted off the days until he’d finally have that woman all to himself on their picnic, not to mention for an entire evening at her place.
He carried his tray over to the counter and tossed his trash. Whistling, he waved at Rosalie and headed down the hall to see where he could lend a helping hand. Time to get back to work. He liked feeling useful, but mainly the long wait until their outings would pass faster if he kept busy. True, he wasn’t stupid enough to assume that she had anything in mind other than the two of them sharing a meal at her place, but there was no mistaking the heat in her eyes when she’d issued the invitation.
Regardless, he’d be considering all the potential possibilities when the two of them would finally be alone behind closed doors. Oh, yeah, he couldn’t wait.
