Page 50 of Finding Noah
I sat a little straighter. “Yes, that fine dining establishment over in Hartsville.”
“You realize we have perfectly good dining establishments in Foggy Basin?” She narrowed her eyes at me.
“Of course we realize.” Christian—always willing to course correct. “It’s just that we wanted some privacy—not to have everyone goggling at us through the window. Or even inside the restaurant.”
Yes. That. Privacy. No busybodies getting in our business.
“Well, that’s lovely. I hope you boys have a wonderful time.”
“We plan to.” Christian rose, then gathered the lady’s hands in his. “I’m so glad we got to meet you. To have you in our lives. I hope we may call on you often?”
“Absolutely. Does this old broad good to see healthy, handsome men strutting around. Keeps me young at heart.”
Strutting? Okay…
Handsome I could agree with. Christian’s boy-next-door charm came across in spades—aided by the red hair and green eyes.
I waved my goodbyes when the care aide came to settle Miss Esmeralda. Apparently, dinner would be served shortly.
Heading out into the fresh air, for just one fanciful moment, I considered holding Christian’s hand.Ridiculous notion. You’re notboyfriends. It’s absurd.Yet it would’ve also felt right in that moment—I was certain of it.
As we made our way to his SUV, he caught my gaze. “We don’t have to go to dinner.”
“I know we don’t.” I grinned. “But I landed six more clients this week—four in Hartsville. I’ll be going there for a good chunk of Wednesdays.”
“What about the puppies?”
“We can either crate them or set up a space for them and pen them in. Maybe in the family room? They’ll be fine—they have each other and Stormy. I mean, they’re home alone right now.”
He pursed his lips. “I know.”
“And it’s stressing you out.”
He sort of screwed up his face in that adorable way he did when he was trying to make a monumental decision. “Well…”
“They need to learn to be alone. You work. I work outside of the home sometimes. We don’t want them to become too reliant on me being home all the time or able to take all three with me. You knew the score when we rescued them—that they’d have to learn to be alone.”
“I suppose. You’re right, they have each other and Stormy.”
We’d put River and Sable in a large wire crate with Stormy loose. We’d also put her bed next to the puppies, and as soon as she got the lay of the land, she plopped onto her bed. Clearly, either at Paxton’s or somewhere else, she’d learned being alone was okay.
Once we were secure in the SUV, Christian pointed us toward Hartsville, and I rambled on for almost the entire drive about my new clients, my lesson plans, how I was considering going to San Francisco for some advanced trainer training in about a month, and how I needed to figure out how to get more paying customers.
“You’ll work something out.” Christian pulled into a parking spot near the restaurant. “You’re resourceful.” He patted my knee. “You’ve gotten out of tough places before—and this isn’t even a tough place.”
I cocked my head.
“You’ve got me.” He grinned. “I’ll always take care of you.” Then he exited the vehicle.
I’ll always take care of you.
Those words swirled in my head as we entered the restaurant. They chased me as we ordered shrimp cocktail appetizers, grilled chicken on a bed of mushroom rice and asparagus for dinner, and peach flambé for dessert.
The meal was phenomenal. The dessert lit on fire truly spectacular. The bill was a little high, but nothing I couldn’t handle.
We spoke of inconsequential things. Relived some of the better moments from our past—things I could cling to. I’d called my mother and left her a message that we’d arrived safely. She’d texted back and said tokeep in touch.Then she hadn’t responded to my next two texts. Some days I wondered why she’d had me at all. Except maybe if my father had stuck around then we would’ve been a true family. As things stood, he’d taken off, and Mom was involved with a new guy. Maybe if that relationship fizzled out, she might find the time to call me back.
Christian, on the other hand, had changed his phone number entirely and, as of yet, he hadn’t shared the new one with his parents. Ginny, a trusted friend of his, had his new number. She was also the center of all gossip in our old town. If anything happened with the Carters, she would give Christian the heads-up.
