Page 19 of The Dating Dare

“I know where you live,” he said. “Over yonder where the houses are.”

“Oh, prickly pears. Why would I even say that?”

“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe because you’re someone who says things like ‘oh, prickly pears’?”

Laughter floated over the line. “We’re not allowed tosay the Lord’s name in vainin our house, so I had to get creative. ‘Gosh’ got old after a while.”

“Say no more. A lot of my Korean-American friends come from devout Christian families.”

“I don’t know about devout. My parents stopped going to church years ago because they got so much crap about promoting Satan’s way with the brewery. But they still have their faith.”

“Isn’t judging others just about the most un-Christian thing they could do? Your parents didn’t deserve that.”

“Right? It’s quite messed up,” she said with quiet indignation. “Anyways, I think we were just setting up a date. Didn’t you need something from me?”

“Yes, your address please.” He grabbed a pen from his messenger bag and scribbled down the address on the back of a receipt.

“Okay, then,” she said before he could find something interesting to say. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“See you tomorrow,” he said quietly, reluctant to let her go.

If he didn’t want to spend all day staring at the clock, willing the hands to move faster, he’d better keep himself busy. He pushed himself off the chair and scanned the dining hall with his hands clasped behind his head.

The afternoon light filled the restaurant, giving it a sleepy, dreamlike ambiance—like sunlight streaming through the window of a neglected attic room. What was clutter and mess suddenly became something magical and surreal. It made a familiar tingling run down his arms to his fingertips. Taking photographs just for the sake of capturing beauty gave him an instant high. He might even be able to use some of the shots for the website.

He rushed to grab his equipment from his car, hoping he’d broughtthe right lenses. Rummaging through his bag and case, he found one that would probably work. With a camera bag on one shoulder and a tripod on the other, Seth rushed back inside. Thankfully, everyone was gone for the day, and he was able to concentrate on his inspiration.

The light transformed the wood dust floating in the air into tiny birds coasting the sky, their movements sinuous and graceful. He wanted to take pictures of his birds until the sun dipped out of sight. But he grudgingly moved on to the other parts of the interior because he only had about ten more minutes with the light. Then he became captivated by what he saw in the nooks and crannies of the unfinished French-country interior—the brass rooster pan left lying on the mantel, waiting to be hung, and the crystals peeping out from under the covered chandeliers, creating psychedelic rainbows against the wall. There was beauty everywhere.

When the ethereal overlay dissipated with the light, Seth felt a familiar weight press against his chest. This was just the beginning, or at least it used to be. In his past life, the photographs he took would be transformed with another layer of enchantment—his paint work. In his mind, he saw a secret beauty in the world that he could only communicate through his art. It allowed him to make real what he saw through his soul. But that time was long gone.

He used to put his heart into his work, and held out his art to the world like exposed nerves. It pulsed with life and hope. Every encouragement brought him life, and every criticism felt like little deaths. But his love of art had always revived him. Until it hadn’t. The thing that brought forth his creative death was when his first love rejected his art, the very core of him, at his debut exhibit in the most public and humiliating way.

He pushed away thoughts of his past. What had happenedhappened. There was no point in lingering on it. Never again would he make himself so vulnerable that another person could destroy him. When he locked away his heart from love, his art couldn’t survive, because art demanded the same raw vulnerability as love. The dreamer in him that had burned so bright now only existed as a glimmer.

But Seth was happy the way he was. Not pouring too much of himself into anything or anyone kept him safe. He would never go back to living with his heart on his sleeve. It would be foolish to take such a risk. He wasn’t a masochist. Life was fun when he just skimmed the surface. He didn’t need the intense joy that his dream and love had brought. Pretty happy was enough for him.

And his arrangement with Tara was going to fit perfectly into his lifestyle. His lips tipped into a smile. She was such a dynamic woman. He had nothing but respect for her ambitions and single-mindedness. He appreciated her honesty, intelligence, and loyalty. A conversation with her was an adventure—always interesting and often hilarious.

And, God, she was so beautiful that she literally took his breath away. Seth wanted Tara to the point of distraction, but that wasn’t the driving force behind his proposition. It was about the fun and excitement of getting to know her better. He was moving to Paris next month, so he had to make the most of his time with her. And if their dates led to sex, he’d be fucking grateful. Getting to know her body would be another fascinating adventure.

He blew out a calming breath to slow down his suddenly pounding heart and dragged his hands through his hair. He felt a deeper connection with her than any other woman he’d dated, but that didn’t mean this was going to be different from any of his other relationships. She knew he was leaving in a month, and all they’d promisedeach other were four dates. They had no expectations of this leading anywhere, and knew exactly when it would end. Clear and uncomplicated. It was going to be a fun spring fling for both of them.

Seth packed up his equipment and locked up the restaurant. Since he volunteered to bring a picnic basket, he had to figure out what went in one. His family used to have picnic lunches in the backyard or the park when he and Landon were small. He should’ve paid more attention to what his mom packed for their excursions. He was almost certain his mom packed their favorite sandwiches and a fruit salad. While his brother was a world-class chef, Seth was the opposite of handy in the kitchen. But even he should be able to make sandwiches, right?

He could go to the market and buy the ingredients for some BLTs.You can’t go wrong with bacon. What if Tara didn’t like mayonnaise? There were no peas or cooked carrots in mayonnaise, so he should be safe there. Besides, he would load the picnic basket with Comfort Zone’s mouthwatering desserts. No matter how much he messed up on the rest of the stuff, the desserts would save the day.

But first things first, he needed a picnic basket before he could fill it. Did Aubrey and Landon own one? There was no time for him to go up to the house to check. He should just buy one when he went into town. What else did people bring to picnics? A picnic blanket. He’d better pick up one of those, too.

Seth pulled out of the restaurant parking lot and headed for Weldon. He knew where the market was, but that was about it. But the folks in the tiny town were so friendly and helpful, he could ask them about everything else he needed and be pointed in the right direction.

Excitement fluttered in his stomach. Was he having first-datejitters? He chuckled under his breath. When was the last time he felt really excited about something? He couldn’t even remember. All he knew was that he was looking forward to having Tara all to himself.

CHAPTER FIVE

The sock elves not only stole her socks but every presentable piece of clothing she had. Tara had nothing to wear for her first date with Seth. She palmed her forehead and blew out a frustrated breath. It was a beautiful spring day, and she was tying herself into a knot over herpicnic outfit.

She chose the park for their first date because it wasn’t really a hangout point for anyone she knew. And it was spread out enough that she and Seth could have some seclusion. Basically, no one would see her, really, except for him, which made her problem beyond silly. Clicking her tongue, she grabbed a pair of black leggings and a loose blue tunic from her closet and put them on.

---