Page 11 of Lane's Lost Kitten

I wanted tonight to be 100 percent date-like. Whatever that meant.

Elio picked me up exactly at six thirty. I opened the door with a smile, a little better dressed this time.

“You look handsome,” he said, and held up a little bag with a cat pawprint on it.

“Is that for me?” I teased.

“Nope, it’s for my favorite girl.” He walked past me to Cat-terine, who was meowing for his attention. He pulled out a little ball with a bell in it and rolled it across the room. She barreled after it and started batting it around. He handed me the rest of the bag. “This is filled with them. The man at the store said that they will get lost a lot and then, once you have forgotten all about them, they’ll be found in the middle of the night by your sweet kitty who will decide it’s suddenly time to play. Basically, they’ll only be found when you don’t want them to be. You’re welcome.”

I could very much see that being the case. I put them under the sink, bag and all, not wanting her to get them all out and lost while we were gone. Elio went down to his car.

“Where are we going?” I asked when we arrived at the car.

“I couldn’t decide. And then I watched one of those cooking travel shows where they go across the United States finding hidden gems. Have you ever seen any of those?”

“I haven’t, but it sounds fun. Is one of those hidden gems here?”

“Yeah, not too far from here. We probably could walk, but there’s the potential for rain, so I figured it was better if we drove. No one wants to walk a mile in the rain, especially not with a full belly.” He was right about that.

We drove the short distance and when they said “hole in the wall,” they meant it. You could easily drive past this place without even realizing it was there.

“What do they feature?” I asked as we walked up to the door.

“You’ll see. I looked up the menu and they have it all highlighted ‘as seen on TV.’”

We walked inside and I instantly loved the place.

Upon reading the menu, I discovered they were best known for deep-frying random things like cheesecake and Oreos, and even a sandwich—not like a grilled cheese sandwich, no. They they took the sandwich and dipped it in batter before they deep-fried it.

I did a hard pass on that one and instead got the actual grilled cheese. We sat in the corner booth and ate our fill of junk food. I splurged and had a milkshake to wash it all down, although they called it a malt. As much as people tried to tell me the difference between a malt and a shake, I never tasted the difference. But in any case, it was delicious.

And the company? Fantastic.

We talked about how he came to own the apartment building and why it meant so much to him. It put a lot more things in perspective—the way he handled so much of the maintenance on his own, the way he seemed to really care about his tenants, and the way he just came over to fix things that were broken, even though it was well past normal working hours for that kind of a task.

In the same way he learned a lot about me that night in the kitchen, I learned a lot about him right there in the diner. I wasn’t sure if it was a good thing or not. I found myself really falling for him, and really liking him. And because it was me, I just blurted out, “I really like you, Elio.” I grabbed his hand as we were walking to the car. “This okay?”

“It’s more than okay.” He squeezed it back. “And, for the record, I really like you, too.”

Chapter Ten

Elio

I hadn’t had an evening like this in, well, in forever. Lane was the antithesis of everyone I’d ever dated or been involved with, proving my theory that I’d just been going for the wrong type. I couldn’t even imagine how or why that would have happened, and after our lovely time together, I actually didn’t care.

However many frogs I had to kiss to get to this moment, everything in me said they were worth the warts. Ick. At least I could turn my back on the past with no regrets. Meri had said more than once that I was a great guy who just didn’t know what or who he really wanted. She was going to love my admitting that she’d been right.

Of course, the same could be said for her since until she met Rob, she’d been with me and I was just as wrong for her. But the sense of joy and wonder I felt just sitting in the car next to Lane…I didn’t have any words.

I walked him to his door and waited while he unlocked it. All evening, while we talked and laughed, the heat between us had been building, and I wanted nothing more than to take him to my place and make love to him all night. But the last thing this very sweet man would want was me leaping on him like a wild thing. I’d have to make patience my watchword and wait until he was ready for me to make a move. If he ever was.

“Elio?” Lane stood in his open doorway, one hand on the knob, a look of doubt in his beautiful blue eyes. “Would you like to come in?”

“Yes.” The word was out before I could even consider whether it was smart. Or what he was inviting me in for. “I’d love to.” For any reason.

“Okay.” He smiled, and the doubt disappeared. “I think I have some wine.”

“Wine sounds good.” I followed him into the kitchen where he pulled a bottle of white from the refrigerator. He turned to face me, and I couldn’t help myself. I just wrapped an arm around his waist and pulled him in for the kiss I’d been planning to give him at the door. Only, instead of a good-night version, this was something else entirely. His lips parted under mine, a moan emerging as our tongues tangled.

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