Page 19 of Jump Start

I smiled and motioned with my hands for her to sit in the booth. Her blonde curls fell past her shoulder as I kissed her cheek. This was going to be fun.

Harper

Thomas decided he would meet me at a Thai restaurant. Luckily, it wasn’t far from my work. After compulsively checking myself in the mirror, I strutted out of theSydney Dailyfoyer and headed for the restaurant. I had an uneasy feeling in my stomach, nerves that maybe this was all a ploy on Thomas’sbehalf, that he had asked me out as a joke. I took a deep breath in as I walked into the bar and was pleasantly surprised by the décor; deep green booths lined the large, open bifold window, and the middle of the restaurant had rustic wooden tables with mismatched chairs. I spotted Thomas by the open window, back to me. I smiled. I always preferred the booth seat.

Walking up behind him, I tapped him on the shoulder.

“Thomas, hey,” I said and offered a genuine smile.

He turned around and stood up immediately. “Harper!” he said and motioned for me to sit down. His hand guided my elbow as I sat, and he kissed me on the cheek. My analytical brain was trying to decipher the act of gentlemanly manners.

Thomas sat down opposite me, and we stared at each other in brief silence.

“So, this place looks really good. How did you land on it?” I asked, shifting my hair off my shoulders. I had curled my hair this morning before work and even though I loved the look, it was super bouncy and a little untameable. His eyes followed my movements.

He took a moment before speaking, shifting his weight from one elbow to another on the table. “Well, some guys on the team were talking about it, said it was good.” His reply was stiff. He was fidgeting a lot, and his voice seemed a little shaky.

He was cute when he was nervous.

Thankfully, a server walked over to take our drink order.

“So, how was your day?” he asked me as he looked down at his watch. I wondered if he was waiting for an escape.

“It was fine. The usual humdrum of a newspaper…I’m sorry, am I boring you?” I blurted, noticing his eyes dance around the restaurant. I started to feel frustrated with him again, the dullsmall talk, looking at his watch.

“Do you even want to be here?” I asked out loud, almost as an accident.

Thomas’s eyes darted back to me, and he straightened up instantly. He laid his arms flat on the table, hands pointing towards me.

“Why do you always assume the worst of me, Harper?” he spoke slightly louder than normal. “I do want to be here, I’m just nervous as hell.” His eyes flickered down to the table when he spoke.

I felt my eyebrows raise in surprise. “You know, you say you’re nervous, but it feels like you can’t stand me most of the time,” I confessed.

He rubbed his chin with his hand, clearly getting exasperated with me. “Can’t we just enjoy dinner together?” His voice lowered again.

“You started it,” I retorted. I cursed at myself for that one, it felt like a low blow.

Thomas suddenly grabbed my hand. I went to pull it away, but he held on tighter, and he placed his other hand on top to secure it.

“How many times do I need to apologise to you before you believe me?” His warm brown eyes pleaded with me.

I felt my face relax into a slight smile. “At least a few more.”

Our drinks arrived and Thomas picked his glass up and signalled for me to do the same. “To forgiveness,” he toasted, and we clinked our glasses together.

I took a sip of wine, letting the smooth taste liven my taste buds. “Oh, this is delicious! Great choice. Do you know wine?”I asked, hoping to move the conversation along.

“Yeah, well my family’s farm was not far from a vineyard. Picked up a few things, I suppose,” he answered with a slight smirk. I suspected there was more to the story, so I dug.

“Tell me about your farm. What was that like?”

He leaned in closer to me and took another sip of wine before saying, “Well, it was great. My brother and I ran amuck. We rode horses and quad bikes and drove our parents nuts. It was the best. My parents own a horse racing stud and have done for my whole life. They live out in the Hunter Valley in the same house I grew up in.”

I smiled. “That explains the wine thing then,” I said, interrupting his story, even though I already knew this from my research on him prior to my first day at Echidna. “What’s the name of the horse stud? Did you have any other animals?” I could feel my journalistic tendencies rearing up, and I was wary of his feelings about such things, so I made a mental note in my head to stop firing so many questions at him.

“Yes, I guess that does explain the wine thing. Jackson Racing Stud, it’s called. We had a few cows and sheep, but they were mainly just for eating down the grass, not selling. Mind if I take the heat off me now?” he asked with a chuckle.

I felt my face flush. “Sorry, I was just thinking that I needed to chill with the questions.” I felt my face heat in embarrassment.

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