Page 14 of Sheltered

No, that’s not right.

Blaze was early by three whole minutes.

Maybe that shouldn’t have been something to find appealing, but my horrible date with Rob had left a lot to be desired and really set the bar low.

I wasn’t quite sure what I expected would happen when I opened the door to him, but I certainly hadn’t expected what I got.

Blaze didn’t say a single word before he allowed his eyes to drift away from my face and down over my body. Judging by the way he was clenching his jaw, he liked what he saw.

Strangely, despite having had the experience I did last weekend with a guy I’d just met, telling me we needed to hop into bed with one another that night if I wanted something more with him, the appreciative look in Blaze’s eyes was nowhere near being on the same level of creepiness. In fact, I didn’t find it creepy at all.

If anything, the heated look in Blaze’s stare felt the way I believed it should have felt for a first official date. Two people getting together to have dinner together because there was a mutual attraction. It was his actions that would prove he was interested in more than just the physical connection.

Blaze’s eyes slowly traveled back up my body to my face, and when he met my attention, he smiled and said, “You look stunning.”

I returned the smile, feeling warm all over from his attention. “Thank you. You look nice as well.”

He dipped his chin in acknowledgment and asked, “Are you all set to go, or did you need a few minutes?”

Shaking my head, I declared, “I’m ready to go.”

Once I stepped outside and locked my door, Blaze surprised me by taking my hand in his to lead me toward his truck. The walk there remained silent, but it was during that trip to his vehicle that I noticed how much I liked the way my hand fit perfectly nestled inside his. It might have been such a simple gesture, but as a woman who hadn’t had the opportunity to experience this before, it felt like a big deal.

The excitement I’d been feeling before he even arrived at my place ticked up a few notches after we were in his truck and on our way to dinner. It had been so long since I’d been on a real date—one where the guy hadn’t managed to even take my hand in his—and I didn’t want my nerves getting the best of me, so I decided to be honest.

“I have to tell you, I’m unbelievably nervous right now,” I shared as Blaze drove.

He glanced over briefly, sending a warm expression my way, and when he returned his focus to the road, he reached across the center console and placed his hand on my forearm. He offered a gentle squeeze and asked, “What are you nervous about?”

His touch provided me with a reassurance I hadn’t expected it could, which helped to encourage me to continue to be honest. “As you already know, it’s been a long time since I’ve been on a date. I just don’t want to do anything that’s going to make me seem like I’m weird.”

Blaze’s thumb stroked along the skin on my arm. “I think we all have a little bit of weird in us, Harlow. There’s nothing for you to be worried about.”

“Do you promise you won’t laugh at me if I say or do something stupid?” I pressed.

The truck came to a stop at a light. Blaze looked over at me and said, “I would only ever laugh with you, never at you.”

That was nice. “Okay.”

“Don’t get yourself worked up over nothing. We’re going to have a great time tonight,” he assured me.

Tipping my head to the side, I asked, “How do you know?”

He grinned. “Because we’re both already looking forward to our next date with each other tomorrow. We said we’d only do that if tonight went well.”

The light changed to green, and Blaze turned his attention back to the road. I placed my opposite hand on top of his and said, “Okay, I’m putting my faith in you.”

For the remainder of our drive, which wasn’t even a full ten minutes, Blaze and I simply settled into the silence. I didn’t necessarily mind it, using the time to attempt to quell the lingering nerves.

Before I knew it, we were seated at a private table at the restaurant and had given our orders to the waitress. With nothing else to distract us, I felt compelled to start the conversation.

“So, was the rest of your week anything like mine?” I asked.

“I guess that depends on what your week was like,” Blaze noted with a quirked eyebrow.

I shrugged indifferently. “I don’t know. I noticed my mind drifted a lot whenever I didn’t have a client in the chair.”

Curious, he asked, “And what were you thinking about?”

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