Page 73 of Hiding for the Holidays
“Really? He asked for that?”
“Oh, he asked for it alright,” I tell him, letting the sarcasm drip from my tone as I flick my eyes to Rosie before looking back at Asher.
I see the lightbulb go off in his head. He kisses Rosie on the forehead before rounding the counter. “I'll see you later tonight, baby.” When he’s beside me he whispers, “Tell me.” And leans close to hear my answer.
I whisper a couple of things he said quietly enough that Rosie doesn’t hear and watch Asher’s face turn red and his hands clench as he storms towards Callum.
“What did you say?” She asks in worry. “He looks upset.”
“Oh, he’s just excited to give my brother a little lesson in manners.”
“Manners.”
“Yes. Now, never mind that, shortcake, are you ready?” I turn to face her, rubbing my hands together excitedly.
“Ready? For what?”
I gasp, placing my hand over my heart in mock horror. “You’ve forgotten already? You wound me!”
“You mean our date?” She glances at the clock. “I thought that was tonight.”
“We’re leaving early. Grant is training Jack for the evening shift tonight, and Asher’s going to stay to help in case it’s busy.”
We’d hired Jack to start covering the gym in the evenings. It was only his second day, but he had a training background and seemed like a good fit so far.
He was twenty-two and taking online courses to become a certified personal trainer and physiotherapist. When he got his degree, he’d be a huge asset to Iron Oaks. Physiotherapy would be a great service we could add for clients. I was already figuring out how we could renovate our extra storage room into a space for him.
“Oh, okay. I don’t have a change of clothes; is this okay?” she asks, gesturing to her Iron Oaks shirt and black yoga pants.
“Yep, this way we match.” I smirk, gesturing to my own shirt, then hold out a hand to her. “Come on, times a ticking.” I wiggle my fingers, and she takes my hand.
“Do we have a reservation or something?” she asks as I rush her into getting dressed in the staff room.
“Sort of. It’s more about wanting to get you to myself for as long as possible.” She gives me a warm smile before slipping on her boots, and we head out to my truck. Grant took his car today so he could take Asher and him home later tonight.
After I get her buckled in, I’m practically bouncing in myseat in excitement. Rosie laughs as she asks, “Why are you so happy?”
“It’s our first one-on-one date. I’ve been imagining this since the first day I met you.”
“Really?” she asks in surprise.
I reach over and grab her hand, pulling in back to rest on my knee, under mine. “Yeah. I mean I was worried about you mostly at first, but I sensed there was a fighter in you. And I quickly realized you were just as gorgeous on the inside as you are on the outside.”
“You’re pretty great, too.”
“I know,” I say, giving her a wink, making her laugh.
“Seriously, Leo. I appreciate everything you’ve done and how patient you’ve been with me.”
“No patience required. Being with you is my pleasure.” I lift her hand and kiss her knuckles. “Why don’t you find us some Christmas music on the radio.”
She finds a station, and we sing along to a few classic songs until I pull into the parking lot at our destination.
“Sugar Pine Bakery,” she reads as I help her out of my truck. “What are we doing here?”
“I’ve rented out the place for us to do some Christmas baking.”
She stops in her tracks, making me swing back towards her in question. “What’s wrong? We can do something else.”
