Page 40 of Free to Dream
Caleb is wearing jeans, a black, button-down shirt that could be painted on his muscles with the sleeves rolled up. He’s also wearing his customary boots. His eyes are the color of the deepest, darkest chocolate desert, ones I would love to indulge in. He smiles and waves his hand, encompassing the room, and it clicks.
“Oh, here!” I try to control my blush. I figure I’ve lost that battle when he starts to laugh.
I give him a brief explanation of the dress extravaganza, my hands moving as I gesture around the room. He’s attentive, asking about how many people we have in the program, and the number of businesses from Collyer who participate, when I realize I’ve been talking for a while and I start blushing.
“I’m sorry. This is kind of my baby. I could go on for a while about it. Well, we should probably get going if we’re meeting Ryan and Jared.” Anything to get out the door without embarrassing myself further.
He nods. “Actually, we do need to head out. Do you have a coat? It’s perfect out now, but it’s going to get cool later.”
I quirk my lips and make my way over to the closet where I grab my cashmere hooded poncho and purse.
“Ready?” he inquires while staring into my eyes.
Deep breaths, Cass. “Yes,” I say softly on an exhale.
He smiles and reaches for my hand to guide me out of the chaos and into the unknown.
I’m on a date.
We reach his car—a dark gray Porsche. Caleb walks me around to the passenger side, reaches for the door handle, and holds my hand to allow me to slide gracefully into the low-slung seat. He trots around the car and I can’t take my eyes off of him. My heart is beating wildly, but not from fear. I feel different around Caleb Lockwood than I do with other men.
I’m laughing at myself when he opens the door and slides in next to me. When his door closes, the air in the car is thick with an unknown emotion. We’re staring at each other. I haven’t even blinked my eyes until he speaks.
“Cassidy.” Nothing else, just my name. He smiles, and I can’t do anything but respond to it by smiling back. Did he hear me laughing and want to ask me about it?
“Yes?” I reply, waiting.
“Nothing. Just reminding you I know your name, Pixie.” I narrow my eyes at him and he smiles, his eyes crinkling at the corners.
With a huff, I’m reaching for my seat belt when he grabs my hand. A slight flare of panic bursts through before I can control it. His eyes narrow, as if he can read my reaction.
One second passes, two. Slowly, he takes my wrist and brings it to his lips. “There’s nothing to fear with me, Pixie. It’s your pace the whole way.”
How can he know I needed that reassurance? I nod slowly, relaxing. “Okay.”
“Okay?”
“Okay, Mr. Lockwood. If you expect me to be so impressed with this date that you’ll get a second, maybe we need to start the first?”
He grins and releases my hand before we both reach for our seat belts. Caleb brings the Porsche to life. After its initial purr to start, he puts it in gear and turns north toward Danbury.
* * *
Rosy Tomorrow’shas been a popular Danbury restaurant for over thirty-five years. Between the fishnets gracing the ceiling and the unique memorabilia on the walls, it’s hopping almost every night of the week. Having been here at least once a month since we moved to Collyer, I can honestly say they have some of the best French fries on the planet.
When Caleb and I walk in at 6:30, the restaurant is packed with easily an hour wait to be seated. Yes, the food is just that good. Normally when our family comes here, we order different dishes and pass them around the table.
As much as I’m nervous about this date thing, I kind of hope the Lockwoods and Jared have the same mentality about food. Otherwise, it might take me an hour to figure out what to eat. If I have to choose between buffalo calamari, lobster sliders, or the French dip, we might be here a while.
Caleb steps up to the hostess station to inquire where his brother is sitting when I get a text from Em telling me to have a great time. I quickly reply, thanking her for everything and asking about how the rest of the night went. She tells me not to worry and to have fun before Caleb makes his way back to me.
“Everything okay?” he asks, seeing my phone in my hand.
“Fine,” I reply. “Em was just letting me know she saw us leave and to have a good time.”
“Good. Let’s go meet Ry and Jared,” he says as we begin to make our way upstairs. “I have a lot of work to do to convince you to go out on a second date with me.”
I turn on the stairs, laughing, intending to toss a smart-ass comeback at him, not realizing he’s right behind me. With the stairs and my heels, our faces are almost perfectly aligned. Eye to eye, searching, probing for something, but what? A breath releases from my lips and I feel it reflect back on me from against his face. That’s how close he is.
