Page 58 of Surprised By Her

It was a relief when my feet were back on solid ground. This time we were at another airfield. Ryan led me toward a sleek black car with a man in a suit standing next to it. He opened the rear door for us.

“I feel like I’m on a TV show, or I won a contest,” I said as I got in, sliding along the seat to the other side.

“Should I say hello to the driver?” I whispered to Ryan. I’d ridden in cars with a driver before, but not one as fancy as this.

“If you want,” she whispered back.

“Hi,” I said, my voice sounding too loud.

“Good evening,” the driver said, taking us away from the airfield.

“Wow,” I said softly to myself. This was something else.

We arrived at a restaurant that had been converted from an old mill, with a river and waterfall right next to it. The setting was rustic but refined.

Ryan led me to the entrance and was greeted warmly by a hostess who led us through the dining room and then up a set of stairs to the second floor. It looked like it was set up for an event, but no one else was here.

We followed her through a set of glass doors and onto the porch, which looked over the falls. There was one table set up for two already that she directed us toward.

“Wow,” I said as I looked out at the view. The restaurant was so amazing that my anxiety was distracted. That had never happened before, but I was going to go with it.

“Can we have a moment?” Ryan asked the hostess as she filled our water glasses.

“Of course,” she said. “I’ll send your server up in a few minutes.”

“Thank you,” Ryan said, and then we were alone.

“I don’t even know what to say,” I said, gazing at Ryan. “This is incredible. I was not expecting anything like this.”

“It’s not too much? A lot of people would consider taking a helicopter to dinner a little too extravagant,” she said, fiddling with her water glass.

“I mean, it’s over the top, but in a good way,” I said. “A very good way.”

The rush of the water below us and the warm summer breeze only added to the beauty of the evening.

“I bet this place is gorgeous in the fall with the leaves changing on the trees,” I said.

“It is. This is one of my favorite restaurants. I’ve even come here in the winter and eaten outside,” she said.

I hadn’t known that. She brought me to a place she loved and had created this beautiful time for us. This was a gift.

“Thank you for bringing me here,” I said, reaching for her hand. Ryan squeezed me back.

“I hoped this would be okay since it was away from the other people and it would just be the two of us. I thought being outside would help too,” she said. “Is it okay?”

“Honestly, this is the best I’ve felt in a restaurant in a long time. I wonder if this is what other people feel like,” I said. Ryan stroked my hand with her fingers and a server said hello and stole our attention.

The menu was set, so we were both given a list of courses and a wine list. I chose my options and then the server disappeared again.

“I can’t believe we took a helicopter here,” I said. “My parents are not going to believe that.”

“And we get to take a helicopter back,” she said.

Our wine arrived and Ryan held up her glass.

“I’m not good at toasting. Do you have any suggestions?” she asked me.

“To relaxing,” I said.

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