Chapter 5

Sam

Nervous didn't even begin to cover how I felt. I forced myself to take a nap after Graham had left, because if I didn't, I was going to be worthless this evening. I ignored my phone as much as I possibly could. Even though I had several emails, text messages, and blog post comments to reply to, I decided to wait. I had no idea what I was going to say to my readers.

Graham and I could talk about how we were going to handle the curiosity of our followers. First, we needed to figure things out for ourselves.

There were several people who followed both his blog and mine since the two of us tended to link to each other quite a bit. A few overzealous commenters had said they had been shipping us for years, whatever that meant.

I texted with Andrew to get some ideas for what to wear for my date. He had not hesitated to tell me to wear my only white button-down shirt, paired with my dark slim-fit jeans. Apparently they were flattering. I wasn't sure which parts of me they were accentuating, and I was too afraid to ask. I grabbed a leather belt and matching shoes. I debated on the gray blazer. I spent nearly twenty minutes taking it on and then off again before I finally hung it up and closed my closet door.

Graham knew what I looked like. Whatever clothes I wore on this date weren't going to make that much of a difference.

Where we were going on this date, I still had no idea. If we were staying in town, we were most likely to be bombarded by people we knew. I wasn't sure if it was my imagination, but I noticed an influx of cars driving by and people walking. Were they hoping to get a glimpse of me and Graham?

Finally, it came time for Graham to pick me up. He had asked if I wouldn't mind using my car for the date since he didn't have one. I didn't mind.

He arrived with a bouquet of flowers, much to my surprise. I watched him walk up the front steps. He stood at my door, shook out his shoulders, and pressed the doorbell while I watched on the camera. I opened the door, and his smile nearly had me coming off my feet. It was swoonworthy.

There was something about the way his eyes brightened when he smiled that always had me letting out a long sigh.

"You look great," he said and handed me the flowers. "These are for you."

"Thank you." I breathed in their scent. The perfect blend of fresh summer flowers. There was a burst of colorful dianthus, as well as a hint of chamomile sprigs.

"You're welcome. I stopped at the florist, and the minute I purchased a bouquet, he knew exactly what was happening. He strong-armed me into buying a more extravagant bouquet. I'm afraid that as soon as I left, he began letting other people know."

I put a hand to my forehead. "Goodness. I'm sorry."

"Don't be. They're making this date very easy on me. Jared and Stephanie called to let me know they had a table reserved for us and that he was throwing in his best bottle of wine. And Calum let me know that he will be playing the piano there tonight, so we'll have some live music."

Jared and Stephanie owned one of the restaurants in town. It was one of the only date spots. I hadn't even considered that we might go there. The minute we stepped foot in there, the gossips would go crazy.

"I don't think wine's the best idea for me right now," I said.

"Was wine the liquid courage that allowed you to write what you did?"

I nodded.

"Well, then I think wine should be thanked for this opportunity." There was that smile again.

This was insanity. Too good to be true.

"Let me go put these in water."

Graham followed me into the house, and I filled a vase with water and put the flowers inside. They were gorgeous. I was tempted to take a picture. If the date went well, it would be great for a blog post. If the date didn't go well, then it would serve as a reminder that I at least got a chance.

Graham held out his arm, and I linked mine into it. "Would you like to drive or do you mind if I...?"

"You can drive if you want," I said. "You know I don't actually like driving."

"And I never get to, so I appreciate the opportunity."

Once we were outside, he held open my door, and I climbed in the passenger seat of my car. This was all too good to be true. I was going to wake up any moment. I was sure of it.

Graham got into the driver's side and adjusted the seat. He looked at me. "This is real, Sam. I promise you that this is not a show. This is not for clicks, and even though we might get some attention from the townspeople and our followers, the date is about me and you. If you say the word, we can get takeout and stay in if you want."

"No," I said. "I mean, we already have a reservation."

"We do. Let's go."

The drive was quick. On a different day we might have just walked to the restaurant. We passed the bakery along the way.

"There are a few more storefronts since I've been away," Graham said. "Or I just didn't notice them the last time."

"There's a new craft show where they paint pottery and do some wood working. It's a lot of fun. Jane and I went to the grand opening. We painted coffee cups."

"Hmm. That's not a bad idea for a second date." Graham winked. "What do you know about the empty space next to the bakery?"

My brow furrowed. "Not much. I've never been in it. Nothing's been in it since the bakery's been open. Why do you ask?"

He shrugged. "Just curious if something might open up in there now that the downtown area is booming."

"There is a lot to do here now. Very different than when we were kids." Back then downtown had just had a bank, the post office, and a library. Now we had coffee shops, a diner, several stores, and picnic areas. Plus, during the summer months, we had several festivals and a weekly farmers' market.

Graham parked and quickly came around to my side of the car and opened the door for me.

"Good job, Graham! Treat our Sam right!" a voice shouted from the other side of the street.

I squeezed my eyes shut.

"Thanks, Mrs. McKelsey. I intend to," Graham replied.

"I'm sorry," I said.

"Don't be. This is amazing. I knew the town loved you, Sam. The popularity of your blog and the bakery proved that, but to see just how much… it's amazing. I'm glad they see it, and I'm glad I'm here to show you how amazing you are."

I bit my lip. "Um. Thanks."

Getting our table at the restaurant wasn't too much of a hassle. We had plenty of people staring at us, a few even snapped pictures. I felt like a celebrity. But I was just Sam, on a date with the guy I'd been crushing on for forever.

"I brought you something from San Antonio," Graham said as we waited for our dinner to arrive.

"Oh yeah? What did you get me?"

"Nothing too special." That had to be a lie, since everything he brought me from his trips was special. "I happened upon a little bookshop while I was there, and a local woman prints and binds her recipes and sells them at the bookstore. I picked up a copy for you."

My heart warmed. There was nothing I loved more than cookbooks, especially when they came from real people rather than celebrity chefs. It wasn't the first time Graham had brought me home a local cookbook.

"Thanks," I said.

"If you want to try out churro recipe that is in there, I'd be happy to be a taste-tester."

I grinned. "You are frequently my taste-tester for my recipes."

"I am, and I love it." Graham winked. "I also left the whisk I got you on your desk at the bakery. You know I'd never come home from a trip without one."

And this was why I loved him. "Is there a story to it?" Whenever he brought me a whisk, there was almost always a story attached to it. Even if it was just him telling me about how he had to go to three different stores to find something unique.

"I picked it up at a little antique shop owned by a Latina lady. She didn't know where it came from, but it has the initials S and G stamped into the handle, so I thought that was pretty nifty."

I had to look away. All of my emotions were on full display, and if I stared too much at him, he would see just how much I meant the words in my blog. "That's neat. I'll have to hang it someplace special at the bakery." Or maybe that one would be one of the few that stayed at my house.

The rest of our dinner went much the same way. We talked, smiled at one another, and tried to ignore the townspeople who kept watching us.

I ignored my phone, even though I saw the notifications light up every so often.

Graham held my hand as we walked to the car and on the drive back. We parked in my driveway, and he once again opened the door for me.

We stood at the front door. "Do you want to come?" I asked.

I knew what it meant. He had to as well.

"Are there cookies in there?" he asked with a devilish grin.

"There are not. But I can make crepes in the morning."

"Crepes, huh? Not just regular pancakes?"

"No, I would treat you to something fancy." It was so easy to tease and joke with him. It always had been.

"Sam. If you're getting up early to make a fancy breakfast after a date with me, then I'm afraid that I didn't do my job well enough."

I sucked in a breath. "What job is that?"

"Worshipping you. Showing you just how much I desire you."

"Oh."

Graham held open the door for me and gestured for me to go inside. "Would you like a demonstration?"

I nodded. Words had failed me.

This really was a dream come true.