Chapter 5

M aggie paced in the family room, biting her bottom lip and occasionally catching her heel on the old rug near the front door.

Alistair was on the way to pick her up!

She'd originally had on jeans and a cute top, but then he'd told her about the progressive dinner idea and one of the restaurants she knew for sure was pretty upscale, so she'd changed into a spring-patterned skirt with an off-the-shoulder thin sweater in a matching pale blue.

He was taller than her, so she felt comfortable with heels that brought her petite five-four up a couple inches, and she'd spent the last twenty minutes fussing with her hair and eventually just leaving it down. Normally she wore it in a loose braid or bun, but tonight was special.

She hadn't been able to stop thinking of him, even when her mom had called and asked her to come over and help with her sister's wedding prep and she'd bowed out because of her date. She'd promised to stop by tomorrow and help with a few of the last-minute things ahead of the wedding, which was next Friday.

She heard a car door shut and her heart sped up.

A few moments later, there was a knock at the door and she nearly had a giggle fit as she bounced on her toes and tried to figure out how long she should wait before answering so she didn't look like a loon standing at the door.

Ah, now!

She hurried to the door and opened it.

Alistair was holding a bouquet of pink roses in one hand, his other hand lifted as if he were going to knock again and she'd interrupted him.

"Hi," she said. "Come on in."

"Hi, Maggie, you look beautiful." He stepped into her apartment and brushed his lips over her cheek as he passed by.

She nearly swooned at the touch, her senses lighting up as she caught the hint of cologne that made everything within her warm.

"Thanks, you look great too," she said. He handed her the flowers.

"I hope you like roses. I've never bought flowers for anyone before, so I asked the florist and she said these were great first-date flowers."

Aw, he'd never bought flowers before? Be still her freaking heart!

"I love them, thank you so much."

He followed her to the kitchen as she set the flowers on the counter and cut the wrapping away. In moments, she'd filled a vase with water and set them inside, then placed the vase on the kitchen table.

She was nervous but also excited, and totally feeling tongue-tied.

"If you're ready to go, our first reservation is in twenty minutes, so we should get on the way."

"I'm ready."

He opened the passenger door of a white SUV for her, and when she'd sat, he shut the door. He climbed behind the wheel and turned the engine on.

"So tell me more about this progressive dinner you planned," she said as he backed from the parking space and left the lot.

"One of the guys at the park told me about it. I had a few ideas for dinner, but he suggested the progressive dinner and I thought it was a great idea. I hoped you'd like it too, but if you'd wanted to just go to one place that would have been fine too."

"I think it's really neat."

She'd never heard of a progressive dinner for a first date. That seemed like something people did for holidays, where they ate different courses at peoples' homes. This idea, though, of stopping at different restaurants for the courses was a pretty cool idea.

"I'm glad you like it. We're going to start off with appetizers at Manriados. Have you ever been there?"

"No," she said. "I did peek at the menu, though."

He gave her a sweet smile. "Me too."

While he drove them to their first restaurant, he asked her questions about substitute teaching and what her last day had been like.

"It wasn't too sad," she said. "I was subbing there for a while, so I got to know the kids. But I was really glad I was able to go on the field trip because it meant I got to meet you." She pursed her lips. Had she said too much?

She was way out of practice with dating. How the heck was she supposed to let him know how much she'd been looking forward to seeing him again?

"I'm glad you were there too."

She stifled the giggle that wanted to burst free. Barely.

"The kids had a great time," she said. "I thought it was really neat what the park did for them."

"We don't do a whole lot of field trip-type events like that, but it was put together really well. The park has some great people who work there."

"I bet."

They arrived at Manriados, where he gave his last name for the reservation, and they were seated at a small table near the window that overlooked a busy street. The waiter appeared and they placed drink orders and each picked an appetizer, Alistair explaining to the waiter that they were going to only have appetizers.

She'd chosen mozzarella sticks, which were her favorite. He chose bruschetta, which she'd almost picked herself.

Opting to save the glass of wine for the main course, they both got water with lemon.

"So, I haven't been out on a date in…forever," he said. He leaned back in the chair and lifted his brows as he met her gaze.

"Really? Me either. How long is forever?"

"Years. You?"

"A year. I never dated a whole lot anyway, but I was pretty serious with a guy for a year and then I ended things a year ago."

"Do you mind if I asked why it ended? You don't have to tell me if it's too personal."

She toyed with the fabric napkin, feeling the hemmed edge as she turned her gaze anywhere but his storm-gray eyes.

"It's not too personal, I just feel like an idiot."

"Why?"

"Because he was cheating on me, pretty much the whole time we were together. I saw warning signs, but I ignored them because my family kept telling me that he was a good guy and I was just being paranoid." She was aware her voice turned bitter, and she blew out a breath and tried to push the feeling away.

Alistair placed his large hand over hers, the warmth chasing away the chill that had suddenly settled on her.

"I can't believe your family sided with him, and I definitely can't believe any man would have the honor of being in a relationship with you and decide to cheat. I'm blown away by the sheer audacity and terribleness of that." He pursed his lips for a moment and then continued. "I think cheating is one of the worst things a person can do to another. You want to be with someone else? Then say so and leave, don't be an asshole and cheat."

Some of the tightness she'd been feeling at sharing only the barest details of her last relationship eased with his words. His tone was honest, his gaze filled with concern.

He leaned forward. "Would you like me to beat him up for you?"

Her mouth fell open.

And then she laughed.

The rest of that tightness and tension in her body seeped away.

"You're a little too good to be true."

"Just for you. No one else gets my sweet side."

She liked that a lot. "Thanks for the offer, though. It actually makes me feel better."

"Good."

Their appetizers appeared, set in the center of the table, with small plates and silverware. They were quiet as they started to eat, but in short order, he was telling her that he'd decided as a young man he didn't want to date for the sake of dating, that he wanted to find his soulmate.

She dipped the mozzarella stick in marinara and paused. "You believe in soulmates?"

"Sure, don't you?"

Um, yes, if by soulmates you mean you and me.

Clearing her throat, she took a bite of the hot appetizer to give herself a moment to not say what was on the tip of her tongue.

"I do, actually. But I was also burned pretty badly and feel like my ability to trust people has been on the fritz since then. I don't want to make the same mistakes I did before, so my defenses are always up. My mom says I'm the most suspicious person she knows, and that's saying something because my Uncle Tommy was a conspiracy nut before he passed away a few years ago. He was super suspicious and a little loony too."

Alistair smiled. "I think it's smart to be cautious with your heart. I want to tell you that you can trust me not to hurt you, but we just met and that would be really cavalier and ridiculous of me to suggest that." He leaned in again, giving her the full weight of his gray eyes. "But I will tell you that I'm entirely smitten by you and we've hardly spent any time together, and however things move forward, it will be at your pace."

Okay.

That was the most amazing thing a guy had ever said to her.

It didn't feel like flattery, it just felt like the truth.

She wanted to tell him that she did trust him already, but her brain took that moment to remind her that she'd trusted her ex right away, and he'd betrayed her over and over.

And Alistair was a hundred times sexier than he was, so he probably had women chasing after him all the time.

She wanted to trust him, but she needed time.

"I appreciate that," she said finally.

He nodded and reached for a slice of bruschetta. "This is really good, but I'm genuinely starving and can't wait for our next stop."

"Me too!" she said. "Although that burger at the park was really delicious."

"Tarquin and Lucy run the burger stall; they do a great job. Since Lucy was helping out with the tours, another staff member took her place with the food. I usually grab something in the employee cafeteria, but if they've got a good burger of the day, I'll eat out in the park. Once I took a burger with me into one of the paddocks and Tank nearly knocked me over trying to get to it."

She laughed. "I didn't know moose liked to eat burgers."

"They shouldn't, but he's a character. Needless to say, I don't take food in there with me. Except for carrots, of course."

"I'd love to see him up close," she said.

"Anytime, just let me know."

"Really?"

"Sure. What fun is it working with the animals if I can't share it with people who are important to me?"

She knew her eyes went wide at that, and she watched as his cheeks darkened and he cleared his throat in what almost sounded like a gruff growl.

She smiled to herself. He thought she was important!

She was going to hold that thought in her heart for now.

Because it was awesome.