Page 12 of An Engagement Pact

“It’s not in town. It’s about a half hour away. Toward Charlotte.” Savannah is still sitting in Lance’s lap. She rubs her hands together. “If you bring home any leftovers, don’t expect them to make it to morning.”

I laugh at her teasing and set the flowers on the kitchen counter. “Okay. I’m ready.”

“Okay then.” Dan meets my eyes with a twitch of a smile. “Let’s do this.”

***

MARCO’S IS AN ITALIANrestaurant with a warm, casual atmosphere. It’s every bit as delicious as Savannah claimed, and I eat as much of my pasta and bread as I can and have no room left for dessert.

Dan is good company, asking about my family and about how I liked my college and about why I’m interested in wildlife conservation. I answer him easily and honestly but mostly stick to the basics the way I always have. I don’t spill out a lot of personal information.

To anyone.

But Dan asks a lot of follow-up questions and I somehow end up telling him more than I intend. I tell him about how I basically took care of the house as a kid because my mom worked all the time and about how I didn’t have any friends in college because I was always studying or in labs or working. I tell him about all the activist causes I participated in during college—so many animals that need saving and people whose rights have been trampled. I can tell he wants to know more about Rick, but I steer the conversation away from that topic because it’s mortifying. And I don’t want to feel all of that this evening.

I’m almost surprised when Dan pays the check, and I glance at the time to discover it’s almost ten.

I have no idea how the time passed so quickly.

“We spent this whole time talking about me!” I exclaim.

He laughs softly. “What’s wrong with that?”

“You’ll think I’m a narcissist or something.”

“Vicky, you’re as far from a narcissist as it’s possible to be. Do you have any idea how hard it was to get you to tell me anything about yourself?”

That takes me aback. My lips part as I stare at him. “Was it painful and tedious?”

“No! Of course not. I wanted to get to know you more, and it was gratifying that I was able to learn as much as I was, despite your reserve.”

I frown. “I’m not that reserved, am I?”

“You’re a paradox,” he says, his expression mild and slightly amused as he gazes at me. “A mystery. You act bright and friendly and cheerful. Your smile really lights up. But I’m starting to think that’s mostly on the surface and your real self is hidden away somewhere.”

He’s right. He’s entirely right. And I have no idea how he figured that out about me so quickly. I shift in my seat uncomfortably and don’t say anything.

“So of course it’s not tedious. It feels like a challenge, and I’ve always been into those.” His eyes warm even more—like he might be flirting with me.

I don’t want him to flirt. I’m not sure how well I’ll be able to stand up in the face of that much charm. “Why even bother since we’re just doing this for practical reasons?”

“Why bother? Because I like people. And you’re a person. And we’re going to be thrown together a lot in the next few months. Why shouldn’t we get to know each other?”

I don’t have an answer to that because he’s right.

He’s entirely right.

“So anyway, thank you for having dinner with me. I had a good time talking with you.”

I swallow hard. “I had a good time too. Sorry if I’m kind of... kind of...”

“A challenge,” he finishes for me.

“Sure. We’ll go with that.” I laugh dryly, embarrassed and vaguely pleased at the same time. “I enjoyed dinner too, just so you know.”

“Good. Are you ready to go home now?”

“What else would we do?”

---