Page 180 of From Rivals to I Do

Camilla had no response to that. She sat with the statement as they drove along. You’re still alive…so live.

When they pulled into the parking lot, Camilla was surprised to see Abel standing outside by the door. He was in uniform, and his hair was combed back and out of his face and into a neat ponytail. He also looked like he’d shaved since the day before. His skin looked smooth and new compared to the light stubble he’d been sporting lately. Camilla couldn’t deny that this look was a vast improvement.

And Lulu could see it as well. She gave Camilla a knowing look, wiggling her eyebrows at her. “Well. You have a good day.”

“Shut up.” Camilla laughed as she got out of the car.

She walked up to the door, focusing on the keys in her hand. “Morning,” she said without looking at him. “You’re here early.”

“Yeah,” he said. She felt his eyes on her as she opened the lock on the door. Camilla suddenly felt silly in not looking directly at him. She glanced up and almost got caught in his stare. She looked away quickly.

“You look good,” she said as she opened the door.

“Thanks. I just thought I’d clean up a little this morning. You know, look professional for work.” She smiled as he rubbed his smooth jaw, causing Camilla to look away again. They walked into the restaurant, and as she locked the door behind her, she noticed he was just standing there, watching her.

“We should probably get to work,” she urged. He dug his hands into his pockets.

“Yeah, yeah,” he said, his eyes suddenly darting all over the place. “But, um, there’s another reason I came in early today.” He paused, and Camilla felt her mouth go dry with anticipation. “I was hoping that maybe if you weren’t doing anything…I could take you out sometime.”

She stared at him, partially in disbelief and partially in numb shock. “Um, take me out?” she asked. Her voice suddenly sounded tinny to her ears. “Like…on a date?”

“Yeah,” he chuckled. “Like on a date.”

She could hear her heart pounding as loudly as a drum in her ears, but she smiled involuntarily. She couldn’t help it. Terror was rocking her bones, and there she was, smiling like a fool in the face of it. “Well, I don’t know how appropriate that is.”

He shrugged. “We don’t have to broadcast it or anything. People can’t judge what’s appropriate or not if they don’t know about it.”

Camilla found herself suppressing a giggle. It was backward logic. “Abel, be serious.”

“I’m being serious,” he said. He was looking at her with his smoldering dark eyes. The air suddenly changed between them. Standing next to him was suddenly warm and inviting. Camilla was fighting the urge to stand just a little closer to him.

Lulu’s words came back to her. About living. About moving on with her life. She did feel stuck lately. Working all day, then home at night and to sleep, just to do it all over again. If she was being completely honest, she missed having someone in her life. Someone other than Lulu. Someone she could talk to late at night. Someone who might be there for her in ways that a friend couldn’t.

And here was someone. Probably the most unlikely person of anyone she’d ever known.

“Okay,” she said. The word came out almost involuntarily. His eyebrows raised a little, and he tilted his head toward her as if he hadn’t heard her.

“Okay?” he repeated.

She nodded. “Yeah. Okay. I’ll go out with you.”

His mouth widened into a big smile. It lit his entire face up and made Camilla’s stomach do flip-flops. “Great,” he said. “Um, how about this Sunday?”

“Oh,” she said, a sinking feeling coming over her. Her time was split pretty evenly between her son and the restaurant. The restaurant was closed on Sundays, which was usually her day to go to church and to spend with Charlie.

“Sunday?”

“Yeah,” he responded. “Restaurant’s not open, so…”

“I…I don’t really go out on Sundays. I mean, since I work six days a week, I’m usually at church, and then there’s Charlie—”

“So we can go somewhere after church. And as for Charlie…well, just bring him along.”

“Bring him along?” She looked at him skeptically, and he laughed.

“Yeah, I mean, why not? He seems to like me anyway.”

She smiled back at him, and a strangely cool wave of relief overcame her. “Okay, that sounds good. Sunday.”

---