Page 54 of The Captain

A knock sounded at the door, and I marched over to it, taking a steady breath before I unlocked and opened the door.

The breath was knocked out of me when I saw him standing there. Lincoln was tall and broad shouldered, his presence filled the doorway, but when I looked at his sandy blonde hair, his button-down shirt under a suit coat, no tie, and his slacks that landed over nice dress shoes, words, for the first time ever, failed me.

“Holy.” Lincoln cleared his throat, cutting himself off whatever words he was going to say. His deep-brown eyes took me in, and when they landed on my face, he grinned broadly, and I felt a blush spread over my cheeks. “You look absolutely beautiful.”

“Thank you.” I nodded and gestured to him. “You don’t look so bad yourself.”

“Thanks,” he said and followed me into the apartment when I took a step back, heading for my coat and purse.

I was halfway to putting it on when he took it from me, holding it for me, and I bit back the wide grin I felt at the gentlemanly move. Oh wow, was Lincoln going to fulfill all of my romantic heart’s wishes?

“Thanks,” I said, grabbed my small clutch, and turned to him. “Ready?”

He eyed the small purse and cocked a half smirk. “That’s not big enough to hold a book.”

I held up the small bag and looked at it. “Was I supposed to bring a book?”

“No, it’s just you always bring a book.”

I blushed again, wondering how much attention this guy had been paying if he knew that about me. Apparently, a lot. “Well, I was hoping the evening would entertain me enough that I don’t need one,” I started. Then, because it was us, I said, “Besides, if I get bored, I can read on my phone.”

He barked out a laugh and grabbed my hand, pulling me toward the door. “I’ll do my best to entertain you.”

“You better,” I said, turning to lock my door once we were out in the hallway. “I wore my best dress for this.”

My admission met silence, and I turned to see him eyeing said dress. “You definitely did.”

I thought the ride to the restaurant would be tense after that moment outside my door, but Lincoln slipped into easy conversation with me the moment he started driving. He told me about practice and how he and Crew had worked through their differences. He explained that he was pushing Lincoln onto me and had nothing but friendly feelings as far as I was concerned.

I was relieved to hear that, because I had been avoiding Crew for a while, not wanting to present a kind of opening for him to think we could date.

I hadn’t been available to date in a long time.

Watching Lincoln round the car and open my door, hold my hand as he led me into that restaurant, pull out my chair, and take my coat, I knew why.

I had unintentionally been holding out for Lincoln.

Dinner was filled with easy banter and talk about future books from me. Lincoln was still champing at the bit for more of the series.

“Seriously though,” he said, swallowing a bite and politely wiping his mouth with his napkin. I couldn’t believe that made me swoon, but there we were. “You need to get that book published.”

“I need an agent first,” I said, taking a sip of wine. “Or I could self-publish, but that intimidates me.”

The thought of figuring all of those faucets out overwhelmed me. I knew people did it all the time and had great success, but I was way too nervous to try right now.

“Either way, you have to. People will eat it up. This may be the first fantasy I’ve ever read, but I couldn’t put it down,” he said, taking another bite of his dinner.

The restaurant wasn’t one I’d been to before and was a prominent date spot for couples. The candles were lit on every table with a flower display on each one, the low lighting in the large room gave the illusion of privacy.

To put it plainly, it was the nicest restaurant I’d ever been to.

It was the nicest date I’d ever been on.

“You’re just trying to get on my good side,” I teased, edging away from the touchy subject of my work. It was hard to praise yourself for something you were so passionate about. I didn’t want to appear cocky.

Lincoln stared at me from across the table. A slight smile pulled at his lips, and his hand reached across for mine.

I set it gently inside of his, and his rough fingers curled around mine. “Being on your good side is important to me,” he started, giving my hand a squeeze. “But you need to have a little more confidence in yourself. This book is amazing.”

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