Chapter Five

London

When I told Gray I wasn't interested in doing a scene with him, I was sure that was that. It wasn't that I didn't like him—I liked him too much. Feelings would definitely be caught.

But then he asked me out on a date and, without even thinking, I agreed. A date meant he wasn't looking for someone to play with, or at least not exclusively. That was what I told myself anyway.

We'd chatted a few times since then, but nothing too deep or too long. He wasn't pushing for anything, which had been my fear when I agreed to go out with him. I'd had daddies who used a "date" as a way to get me to a club, and that was a hard pass.

It wasn't like I expected to meet him, fall in love, move in, and have a happily ever after. I was far more practical than that. But knowing he wanted more than just little time was a good sign. At least in my book.

To say I was excited for our date would be an understatement. He hadn't told me where we were going but said that casual or even business casual was fine. He did tell me he'd share with me if I really wanted to know but that he was looking forward to seeing my face when we got there. I did love surprises.

I ended up wearing a pair of jeans with a button-down shirt. It was covered with little teeny trains, so small it could be mistaken for polka dots from a distance. There was nothing about it that shouted being little, but it paid homage to our time together on the train. It felt like the perfect choice for our first big time together.

In my pocket, I slipped the engine that brought us together, the little yellow one carved in Alaska. I still don't know how it got to be so special to me so quickly. But from the time I first put it in my hand, it became my favorite.

And, of course, my little romantic heart had me believing I found it online that night to bring Gray and I together. I knew better than to get all sappy about things like that, especially so early on. It was no wonder I always got my heart broken.

I pulled my engine back out of my pocket. "Let's not jump ahead and just look at things as they are. We're going out on a date. Nothing more." Back into my pocket the engine went.

I'd offered to meet Gray at our destination, but he insisted on picking me up. In some cases, that would be a ginormous red flag. Why would he need to know where I lived on a first date? But, with him, it didn't come across that way. If anything, it felt protective, and I found myself giving him my address without a second guess.

Gray knocked on the door exactly at the time we planned to meet, and I wondered if he waited outside until the hour struck or if he was just great with his timing skills. In any case, it was nice.

"You look handsome," he said.

"You do too." It was sort of a lie. He didn't look handsome. He looked freakin' incredible. But I didn't want to be weird about things.

Unlike me, he was sporting a tie. "Hold on. Let me grab one too." I pointed to his tie.

"No, you don't need it. I only wore this one because it made me think of you."

"Me?"

"You." He tapped my nose playfully. "I bought it because when I saw it, I thought it would make you smile." He held it out.

From a distance, it looked like little blobs, but, up close, it was filled with little teeny-tiny train hats.

"It's fabulous! It goes with my shirt." I puffed out for my chest so he could see my pattern.

"Yes, it does. It's almost like we are going on a date together." He held his hand out to me. "Are you ready?"

He led me out to his car and asked, "Did you want to snap a photo of the license plate for your friends?"

I hadn't even contemplated doing so, but the fact that he did assured me that there was no need to.

"I'm good," I said.

"You sure?"

"Would it make you feel better if I did?"

"It would make me feel better to know that in situations like this, you do." He was so sweet.

I took out my phone and snapped a picture, sending it to myself. Really, there was no need for it, but the fact that he cared about my safety—not just with him but with anyone—was nice and 1,000 percent daddy.

"There's a restaurant about forty-five minutes from here I want to take you to. Is that too far?"

"No, that's fine." It meant more time for us to talk.

"Do you want to look it up first before we go, so you can see what you want to eat?"

How did he know that was something I did? I always knew what I wanted before I sat down, and, when I didn't, it was sometimes overwhelming. Most menus were like the one on the train with only a couple of things to pick from.

"Please."

He told me the website, and, when I pulled it up, I squealed far louder than I intended. "The restaurant's just like a caboose! A caboose!"

"It is. I made reservations to ensure we were in the caboose dining area too, and not in the main building. The food is fine, but the atmosphere is perfect."

"Gray, it looks like all of it is perfect." They had built an addition that looked exactly like a caboose. I wanted to see a real one one day, but this…wow!

I spent a good chunk of our ride looking at the menu. My eyes kept drifting off to the kids' meals. This was one of those restaurants where they said you had to be twelve and under to order off of it. It was a shame because each one came with a little train conductor figure—probably a cheap one, but still fun—and a collector cup.

Instead, I found a burger that was fine. No fancy cup, but that was okay. I was going to be on a caboose!

When we pulled in, it was packed, and I was very grateful Gray had made a reservation. The hostess led us to the back of the caboose, where a table was waiting for us.

"Oh, I'm sorry, sir. I thought the reservation said to set out a spot for a child," the hostess apologized.

"It did. This is right. We're checking this place out because we're thinking about having a party here."

"Okay, sir. As long as you don't mind."

"I don't, and I think we're gonna order a kid's meal and an adult meal to get the full feel of this place."

"That sounds great. And if you need to order two kids' meals because it's not enough food, just let your server know, and they'll take care of you." She walked away, and Gray winked at me.

"You don't have to," he said.

"What?" I was confused. Were we really here checking out their party place?

"I wanted you to have the choice, and I was thinking of hosting a holiday party here for some clients." He had thought of everything.

I did end up ordering two different kids' meals, mainly because I wanted the two different drinks, both of which were named after types of locomotives and were basically Sprite with food coloring. I didn't care. They were fun.

I had a blast with Gray. The food was mediocre, at best, just like he said, but the atmosphere was magnificent. We laughed, ate, and talked all about trains. Gray worked the railroads for a living, and I got to hear all about the non-conductor part of things. It was perfect. The entire day was perfect.

That was until the second he left me at my door with nothing but a pat on the shoulder.

We might've had a great time, but he wasn't into me like that. Oh well. At least I got to talk about trains and had two brand-new figurines to play with and two new collector cups. That was something, right?