Page 13 of It's Only Love

Chapter 6

The next evening, Christy was at her house frantically rushing around for the right outfit to wear on her date with Beau. She was nervous, she hadn’t been out on a proper date since Douchebag Alfie. Her stomach was in knots and she felt so sick that going out to dinner probably wasn’t the best start. She hoped the feeling went away after they settled into the evening. She finally decided on a khaki blouse tucked into a leather skirt with black ankle boots. She added a gold chain and earrings to finish off the look. She looked good, if she did say so herself, but the longer she looked at her reflection the more she started to see flaws and the old thoughts crept in. No, there’s nothing wrong with thinking I look nice when I’ve made an effort.

She’d just finished her makeup when there was a knock at the door. Dang it, he’s early! She smoothed her hair, grabbed her purse and went down to greet Beau.

She opened the door and found him waiting on the porch, he looked gorgeous. He had his dark khaki shirt tucked into black slacks and finished off with shining black oxfords. He smiled when he saw her, giving her a quick once over.

“We’re matching tonight,” he said, dropping a kiss on her cheek and gesturing to her outfit.

“Great minds and all that,” she joked. He smiled again and held out his hand to her. She slid her palm into his warm grip and they walked down to his sleek, black sports car. She laughed as she saw her beat-up old car parked a few feet ahead, the two cars together looked like a before and after photo.

“Sorry if I’m a bit early, I was eager,” he said with a chuckle. “You look amazing by the way.” She flushed at his compliment and didn’t immediately try to dismiss it, which was progress.

“Thank you, so do you.” When they reached his car, he opened the door for her and helped her inside like a gentleman.

“I was thinking we could go to that Italian restaurant in Bakersville,” he said when he got in, he started the engine and pulled away from the curb.

“That sounds great, as long as you don’t mind the drive though, it’s about an hour away isn’t it?”

He flashed her a quick smile, “I’m sure the time will fly by once you start telling me all about what you’ve been doing for the last fifteen years.”

It was a lovely evening for a drive, warm but not humid, she sent a prayer up to the hair gods to keep the weather like this. Beau was right, as soon as she started telling him about her writing, the journey flew by and in no time, they were pulling up outside the restaurant.

“That’s amazing, I don’t think I could ever come up with a mystery interesting enough to engage people. I can’t believe you do it all yourself!” he said excitedly, shutting off the engine and getting out of the car. By the time she unbuckled her seatbelt and grabbed her purse, he was opening the door for her.

“Sometimes it is hard self-publishing and that’s not even the main challenge. Writer's block, which I’m battling at the moment, is the devil. I also worry that the mystery isn’t…mysterious enough,” she finished lamely.

“I’m sure you make them plenty mysterious,” he said, a cheeky gleam in his eye. He took her hand and they walked inside the restaurant. When they were inside, she glanced around. It was decorated in a vintage Tuscan villa-style with lots of plants dotted around the room, and olive branches hanging low from the ceiling. Decorative plates lined the walls and bottles of wine were grouped together in wooden cabinets. Each table was covered in a red checkered linen cloth and had a candle flickering romantically in the center.

A waiter greeted them and led them to a quiet table in the corner of the room. Beau pulled out her chair for her and once they both were seated and had ordered their food, they were left alone.

“Now I’ve talked about myself plenty so tell me about you,” she said sipping her wine, she noted he seemed to look nervous for the first time all evening.

“Well, when I left Citrus Pines, I moved to L.A. and studied sports nutrition. While I was studying, I had a part-time job in a gym. I watched people training, I studied hard and I became fascinated with the psychology behind people’s behavior towards food and diets. I had my own food and weight issues as a kid, so once I graduated, I worked to become a trainer to help people. The more clients I worked with, the more my passion for helping people developed. I went to a couple of investors, managed to get the money to start my own business, and happened to stumble onto the right clients, I guess. I’m sorry this must be so boring for you,” he said shyly, looking embarrassed.

“Don’t be silly, it’s not boring at all! You’ve built a hugely successful business from the ground up, that’s fascinating. It’s taken hard work, determination, and intelligence to get where you are, don’t ever put yourself down!” she said passionately. The waiter appeared with their food and once he left, she gestured for Beau to continue. Beau picked up his fork and began digging into his pasta and she noted he had lovely table manners.

“So then one day this woman comes into my tiny gym telling me she’s an actress and needs help training for a movie role, she was unknown at the time and-”

“Which one?” Christy interrupted.

“I can’t say, I have non-disclosure agreements with all my clients,” he said regretfully, then she caught that gleam in his eye again. “But let’s just say she won the Academy Award last year for Best Actress.” Christy cast her mind back and sucked in a breath when she realized who it was.

“No way! That body is all you?”

He nodded, laughing at her reaction. “Then she passed my details to a friend and the rest is history.”

“That’s amazing, I need to get you to train me if I can end up looking like her,” she muttered, forking in another mouthful of penne.

“I think you look fantastic, but I’m always up for a one on one,” he said, his voice deepening slightly, and she smiled shyly at him. Oh my God, he’s flirting with you, be cool!

They chatted throughout the rest of their meal and all through dessert which he insisted on having. Before she knew it, the restaurant was closing and the check was on their table. He paid for the meal, shushing her protests and telling her she could pay for the next one, her mind filing the comment away to hyperventilate over later. As they drove back to Citrus Pines, he told her stories of his clients, her favorite one being when he got caught up in a tabloid scandal. He was accused of being a homewrecker to a famous elderly gay couple who everyone knew had been together for years.

She enjoyed listening to him talk and was reminded of her brief conversations with him when they were younger. He had been so kind and funny, it was a shame they hadn’t done this years ago, her joy diminishing slightly when she remembered why. She wondered if Beau remembered the incident too.

When they pulled up outside her house she glanced at the clock in the car and saw it was after midnight. Beau got out and came around to open her door, taking her hand in his as they walked up to her front door. As they got closer, the butterflies in her stomach started fluttering more and more at the thought that he might kiss her goodnight. When they reached the door, they faced each other, and she began to rummage in her purse for her keys.

“I had a really nice time tonight,” he said softly, reaching up to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. She met his eyes and his hand lingered on her cheek.

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