Page 34 of To the Moon and Back

Caught! Lauren hadn’t meant to be overheard. “Oh. I just meantthat I’d noticed how thoughtful you were to bring flowers.”

Carly stood a little taller, as if she’d won the spelling bee. Itwas adorable.Shewas. “It’s what you do on a first date.”

Rocky, seeing their new guest, lifted his feet and wagged hiswhole stubby body in Carly’s direction. Lauren gaped because he usually took amoment to warm up to people, but then it was Carly, after all, and she’d neverhad trouble making friends. “This is my dog, Rocky IV. He wants to sniff youall over and then make snuffling demands of your time.”

Carly plopped right on the floor and held out a gentle hand tohim. “Hey there, buddy. You are a little man with a plan, aren’t you? I likeyour little scrunched face.” Rocky sniffed the outstretched hand several timesfor good measure and then crawled into Carly’s lap. Lauren shook her head. Thisdog was no fool.

“Are we friends now?” Carly asked Rocky. His back leg started tokick like a drumstick when Carly found his favorite spot, the one rightunderneath his collar.

“Should I give you guys some privacy?” Lauren asked.

“No way.” Carly kissed the side of Rocky’s face, which warmedLauren’s heart, and stood right up. “While Rocky IV is cute, my date is cuter.”She paused. “Was that a dumb thing to say? You make me nervous. Well, datingyou does.”

Lauren played that sentence back because she had a hard timebelieving it. Carly came off as the most self-assured human, comfortable in herown skin and proud of it. “No, you’re not.”

Carly nodded, and her smile dimmed, showcasing a glimpse ofvulnerability. “It’s true. You’re…different than the women I generally go outwith.” Carly held out a hand. “In a good way. That’s why I have the nervousthing. Am I talking too much?” Carly took a deep breath.

Wow. She was serious about the nerves and seemed actuallyoff-kilter. “Not at all,” Lauren said, finding her own confidence now that sheunderstood she wasn’t alone. “It’s just dinner. We can get away from thetheater and just hang out. Shoot the breeze. Count white guys with blue ties.”

“Are there a lot of those?”

“Too many.”

Carly nodded. “I’d like that.”

“Me, too.” A pause. “Shall we?”

“After you.”

Lauren gave Rocky a good-bye series of scratches and led the wayout. Carly, to her surprise, hurried past and opened the door in grandiosefashion. Okay, Carly was bringing the full charm, which resonated with Lauren.She felt significant and cared for and was so into Carly in this outfit thatevery inch of her screamed for contact.Relax,she commanded every last nerve ending. She had a date to enjoy.

* * *

“Where does your mom live?” Lauren asked. “You mentioned the onlychild thing, and that the two of you are close.”

Carly sipped her after dinner coffee and Baileys, the housespecialty at the little bistro Lauren had picked out for them not far fromdowntown. “She’s in Portland and works at a boutique winery owned by a reallygreat family. They take care of her. She handles tastings and merchandise,things like that. Tangle Valley Vineyards.”

“I love that. I had no idea you knew about wine.”

“Well, she knows a lot more about it than I do. I can tell you thebest places to hide in a vineyard. It was a great place to grow up. Hidden awayand beautiful.”

Lauren leaned her hand on her chin. “But somewhere along the wayyou got the acting bug.”

She nodded. “From the beginning. I used to act out my own storieswith my friends at that very vineyard. My good friend Joey and I would divideup parts. Whichever role I was given, I would always make sure to infuse itwith some kind of dramatic twist not indicated in the script. My costars wantedto throttle me.”

“But knowing you, I’m going to predict they didn’t.”

Carly set down her glass mug. “No. People let me get away with toomuch.”

Lauren appreciated the self-awareness that came with thatstatement. The Carly of just a month ago would not have been so quick to admitthat. “You’re lucky, if you think about it.”

“Yes, but maybe I’ve ridden that train as far as I should. Itseems to have done damage.” She sat back in her chair. They’d each had a glassof wine earlier in the evening, which had helped relax them into easyconversation. There was a flirtatiousness flitting between them every so often,too, that seemed to elevate everything. Lauren’s senses were on high alert. Shecould feel the air against her skin, smell the amazing aromas wafting in fromthe kitchen, and appreciate small things like the purple ribbon tied around thecandle on their table.

“I think you’re doing an admirable job of turning it all around,though. Maybe that will extend to your career back home as well.”

“That’s my hope.”

Lauren met Carly’s gaze. “I really like tonight,” Lauren confessed.

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