Page 52 of One Sweet Day I Found You

Nick sucked in a breath—wow. He had been leaning against a wall, a few yards away, waiting for her, and now stepped forward to meet her.

Her fitted floral-print dress fell several inches above the knee. The spaghetti straps hugged her shoulders, and she’d slipped on a pair of tall wedge sandals.

His heartbeat quickened. She could’ve just stepped out of a magazine, as far as he was concerned. She was beyond sexy.

“You look gorgeous.” He laid a quick kiss on her lips and took her softly by the hand.

“Thanks,” she said, with a spunky bat of her lashes. “You clean up well, too.”

Nick had changed into a pair of dark cargo shorts and a collared shirt. He wore a pair of classic navy flip-flops on his feet. The dress codes even in the fine dining restaurants in the area were generally resort-casual.

He’d made a reservation for dinner on the property. But first, he wanted to grab a drink at the bar.

Courtney threw her extra bag, now containing her sneakers and the day’s outfit, over one shoulder.

“I can take that to the car for you. You want to wait here?” He held up his own gym bag and pointed to a cluster of cozy but elegant sofa seats, situated around a large tabletop fire pit. Flames danced quietly among the blocks of tempered blue glass.

The bar hopped with fashionable happy hour patrons. A small group laughed and exchanged stories around the fire, sipping drinks from martini glasses and tumblers.

Courtney took in the inviting scene. “Sure! I’ll save you a seat. Thanks.” She handed over the extra bag, tucked her purse over her shoulder, and headed toward the fire pit, where she claimed a pair of seats.

Nick walked back to the parking lot with a swing in his step. The day had gone even better than he’d hoped. He couldn’t get enough of Courtney. The list of things he loved about her had doubled or even tripled today. She was always willing to try new things and she just had a huge, overall enthusiasm for life. Everyone that met her couldn’t help but adore her, including himself. He just wanted to make her feel special tonight.

He thought she probably already had a pretty good idea about how he felt. He was taking it slowly, but she could tell, right? He’d sent her all the signals.

But tonight, he was finally ready to talk—and tell her what he’d been holding back about.

He had taken Tom’s advice and asked her out, several times over, just to see if, under the surface, she was everything she seemed to be. And he’d been right—each time they’d gone out had been better than the last. He knew, now, that she was someone he wanted to spend a lot of time with, someone he wanted to keep seeing. And he knew she liked him, too.

Would anything change when he told her about med school? Like it or not, tonight, he would find out.

---