Chapter 7

The truck with faded green paint that pulled up to the curb in front of me was not what I expected, but it somehow fit Nate better than the sleek red Mustang I'd envisioned. Nate hopped out and walked around the truck to where I was standing. The navy suit made his eyes pop, and his hair looked like he ran his fingers through it a few times in exasperation. There was a lock that fell just above his right eye and I wanted to reach up to smooth it away. I clenched my fist inside my pocket to stop myself. I looked away from him and stared at the giant slush puddle that stood between me and the passenger door. The drain clearly wasn't working in this section of the street.

I looked back at him a bit sheepishly, "I hate to break it to you, but I don't think I can hop far enough to clear the slush and land in your truck."

I'd opted for a skirt and fleece-lined tights for dinner as I wasn't sure if Charlie's was a fancy place or not. Based on how Nate was dressed, I was glad I hadn't worn blue jeans.

"Why don't you get in on my side instead? The truck has a bench seat so it'll be easier than trying to find an unslushy spot."

We walked around his truck and he held the door open for me to get in. His truck was higher up than I expected, and the pencil skirt wouldn't let me lift my leg high enough. I turned to Nate unsure what to do.

"May I?" He asked.

I nodded, and he put his warm hands on my hips as he lifted me up to sit on the seat. I tucked my feet in, and turned to slide across the seat. Except Penelope sat there instead.

"Hi!" she chirped from the passenger seat. Leaving me to sit between her and her dad.

Scooting to the middle, I gave her a smile. "Hey."

"Charlie's is the best. You're going to love it. They make brownies as big as my head."

"Do they now?"

"And the fudge ice cream is the very best flavor..."

She continued to talk, but I became distracted as Nate got into the driver's seat and pulled on his seat belt. His fingers brushed my hip as he buckled himself in. He handed me my own belt and I felt my cheeks warm as I moved to buckle myself in. I was grateful for Penelope as she kept up her chatter for the entire drive to the restaurant. She didn't seem to notice or mind that I was sitting close enough to her dad to realize that he smelled like amber, musk, and a hint of vanilla cupcakes.

Penelope showed me her professional colored pencils and sketchbook, and the fancy case she could carry them around in.

I was still wondering why he chose to smell like cupcakes when he pulled up outside of a restaurant with a big glowing sign declaring it as Charlie's. There were cars lining up around the block, and photographers treating the entrance like the red carpet.

My jaw dropped, "Is it always this busy during lunch?"

"No. That's why I like coming here for lunch."

Nate drove us up to the valet, and got out to hand the keys to the attendant. Another attendant opened Penelope's door, and she hurried to put her colored pencils back in their case. Three of them didn't quite go into their slots and fell to the ground. The attendant bent down to grab them and help her put them away. I wasn't going to be able to get out on that side anytime soon. Nate reached in for my hand to help me out on the driver's side. I scooted as elegantly as I could while avoiding a knee to the steering wheel.

Nate blocked the cameras as I slid out of the truck. With a steadying hand at my back, Nate guided me past the photographers and into the restaurant. Penelope was already inside and had her artist case with her.

The hostess smiled in greeting. "Mr. Mitchell, it's so good to have you and Miss Penelope with us again so soon. Your usual table?"

"Make it for three."

The hostess smiled at me. "Of course. We have a table by the window if you'd like."

"Perfect," Nate said.

The hostess checked my coat and scarf before leading us through the restaurant to a table covered with a white tablecloth and four table settings. The hostess quickly grabbed one of the place settings to get it out of the way. Penelope took one side of the table and Nate helped me into the chair near the window before taking the remaining seat. A server appeared, filling our glasses with water and asking what else he could get us, before he disappeared with the extra chair.

Penelope pulled out her sketchbook, turned to a new page, and started to draw on it. Completely absorbed in what she was doing, she disregarded everything around her. Nate and I might as well be alone for how much she ignored us. She was completely comfortable in a jersey and jeans despite the fact that everyone else in the room was dressed in their finest. I think I even saw a man in a tux with a woman wearing a dress from Paris Fashion Week.

The ambiance of the place screamed cozy elegance. The lighting was charming but dimmed to give the feeling of coziness. The walls were painted in warm tones while the floor was a dark wood. I fidgeted and felt completely inadequate in my yellow handknit sweater, and pencil skirt.

"Dad, can I have your phone?" Penelope asked. "I want to look up how to draw a fox."

Nate handed over his phone without question and Penelope snatched it like a toddler being offered a cookie. She quickly started searching for the video, ignoring the two of us once more.

"So..." Nate said.

"So...?" I answered.

He smiled at me and I noticed that his gaze had a softness that made him feel approachable. "Do you like doing hair?" he asked.

I picked up my glass of water and took a sip as I thought about what to say. "I like making people feel pretty, but the salon wasn't my favorite place I've worked at."

"Was?"

The server returned with our drinks, saving me from having to answer. He carefully set the lemonade Penelope had ordered in front of her, and placed a little bowl with lemon slices for my water by my glass. After setting down an extra glass of water in front of Nate he pulled out his notepad and asked, "Are you ready to order?"

Penelope practically bounced out of her chair. "I'd like to get the lasagna and a Big Brownie Sundae with chocolate, strawberry, and vanilla ice cream. Extra sprinkles and chocolate sauce."

The server smiled as he wrote it all down, then looked at me. "And for you Miss?"

I looked at my menu, my eyes nearly bulged out of my head at the prices. I could get a week's worth of groceries for the cost of Penelope's order. I looked for the cheapest thing on there, a regular house salad, and ordered that.

"Any dessert?" he asked.

I shook my head, not wanting to run the bill higher, "No that's all."

Now that it was Nate's turn to order he said, "How about one of your appetizer sampler platters for the table, a steak for me, and another brownie sundae to go."

The server wrote it all down, clarifying how Nate wanted his steak cooked, and walked away to put the order in.

Nate leaned back in his chair as he relaxed. "You can take the sundae home with you."

"That's really sweet of you. You didn't have to get me a dessert." I told him.

"I believe it was part of the deal when we invited you to join us." He leaned forward, putting an elbow on the table so he could rest his chin on his hand. His smile was stunning, and I was glad to know what he looked like without the sunglasses. When he looked at me I knew I had the entirety of his attention.

I shook my head and put on my best smile. "I hear you have a big game later."

His smile got bigger, "It should be a good game. Do you like hockey?"

"I honestly don't know. I've never watched it."

He looked at me surprised. "So you just talk to your neighbor about hockey then?"

"Mrs. Jex was trying to distract me and cheer me up."

"What did you need cheering up for?" He asked.

I hesitated.

Penelope gasped. "Dad!"

He snapped his attention to her, and with her eyes wide she looked at me apologetically before handing Nate his phone.

"Mom got Lia fired!" Penelope cried. Erin was smiling at the screen as she walked in front of the salon talking about how important it is to protect children everywhere.

Nate looked at me. "You were fired?"

I nodded. "The bad press left my boss with no choice."

"I'll make this up to you. I'll get my lawyer on the phone and we'll make this right." He started tapping away on his phone.

"That's very kind of you. But I'll be fine."

"Lia, I'm so sorry you got tangled up in Erin's garbage."

I took a sip of my water, and added a lemon slice. "It's not your fault, and you aren't responsible for her actions."

He sighed, and the silence stretched on. I took another sip of my water, and looked around once more. People had noticed Nate, and I caught a couple of people trying to take sneaky selfies on their phones. I'd never been one for the spotlight, and the attention was uncomfortable.

The server brought the food out, he apologized for the appetizer taking so long, but we were just happy to have the food. The smell of Penelope's lasagna had my stomach grumbling as I picked at my salad so I took a mozzarella stick from the appetizer platter.

Nate set his fork down "Do you want something besides salad? Charlie makes really good burgers too."

"No. The salad is great." My stomach just couldn't get past the knots my anxiety had made earlier.

Penelope, bless her, decided to change the topic for us. "Look at my picture!"

She moved her pencils to the side of the picture to better show us, but the purple one kept rolling, until it fell right off the table. It bounced when it hit the floor before it rolled under the table. She was quick to shove her chair back and dive under the table. Her chair tipped and clattered to the ground. People looked in our direction to see what caused the commotion, and I could feel my face warm.

She was still looking under the table for it when I heard her. "Dad, it's by your foot."

Nate, more carefully, scooted his chair back and knelt down to pick up the colored pencil which had now rolled closer to me. I leaned down as well, and heard people gasp. I took a deep breath before sitting up and looking around to see phones pointed in our direction. Penelope got out from under the table, with her colored pencil in hand.

Penelope smiled, oblivious to the people around us.

"Did she say yes?" Someone asked, and then there were flashes from the other side of the window.

I looked at Nate, my eyes wide, and saw his were just as big as he knelt in front of me. He stood up quickly, placing a handful of bills on the table, before taking my left hand in his as he helped me from my chair.

"We're going." He said quietly. Smiling and nodding politely at people around us.

Penelope opened her mouth to argue, but one look at her dad had her putting her pencils and sketchbook back in their case as fast as she could and reaching for his free hand. He hurried us through the restaurant, ignoring the congratulations people offered. A man with dark hair and brown eyes fiddled with the button on his suit jacket where he stood next to the hostess by the front door. The hostess was already holding my coat and scarf.

Nate only let go of my hand so I could pull on my coat and scarf.

The man looked at us apologetically. "I'm so sorry Nate. I've sent the valet to get your truck. It's bad out there, we had a celebrity in the back room for lunch who people wanted a shot of."

"It's not your fault Charlie," Nate said as he looked outside.

Our server rushed towards us with a take-out bag in hand. "Your desserts."

Charlie grabbed the bag. "I'll help walk you out."

Nate gave his thanks, as we saw his truck pull up just outside the door. The moment Charlie opened the door and held up the food I was blinded by the flash of the cameras. The press was furiously taking our photo and I heard people yelling over each other, but there were too many and I wasn't sure what they were asking.

Nate helped Penelope into the truck before lifting me in. He ignored the reporters around us, and handed me the bag that was in Charlie's hand. He rounded the front of his truck and didn't hesitate to take off through the gap Charlie and his staff created for us.

"I'll fix this," He told me.