Page 6 of Sharing Her Heart

Felicity was a little surprised. “Um… A few days at least. I was originally going to wear this silver dress I got last year, but I was worried it would be too… shiny for a dinner date like this. Then I wanted to go for a red dress, but I wasn’t sure about what shoes I would wear with it…” She rambled on for a few minutes, and her cheeks heated when she realized how long she’d been talking. “Sorry for carrying on,” she apologized, looking embarrassed.

“It’s okay,” John reassured her. “It’s your night after all.”

Her grin widened. “I guess it is. I just didn’t know I’d be doing so much talking.”

“And do you need someone to tell you when to be quiet and when to speak too?” Nathan asked quietly.

Felicity paused, not sure if the question was meant as a joke. It was obviously not meant to be insulting judging by the look on his face and she got the sense he was expecting a genuine answer.

“Maybe,” she replied. “With the children, they talk so much that I barely need to say anything when I deal with them. I guess that’s why I talk so much around other adults. So yeah, maybe it won’t be the worst idea in the world to find someone to tell me to shut the fuck up sometimes,” she finished with a chuckle.

“That can be arranged,” Nathan replied, and for a second, she could have sworn he was drop-dead serious. Then she saw his lips twitch and knew he was joking.

“Well, let me know when you find a company that offers that service. I’ll subscribe to something like that pronto.”

Nathan was about to reply, but John shot him a look, and he reconsidered, simply shooting her a smile before returning to his drink. Their food arrived, and the conversation continued as they enjoyed their meal. Felicity’s food was delicious, and she was grateful she’d let Nathan order for her. No way could she have ordered something so good on her own.

As the food on their plates got smaller and smaller, the three of them talked about anything and everything, jumping from topic to topic. Felicity had a lot of questions for them, and they answered most of them, sharing stories about the podcasts and the early days of their partnership. As a huge fan of the duo who spent a lot of time online, she already knew most of the story, but hearing it from them was different.

By the time the server came to clear the dinner plates from the table, Felicity had already decided it was the best night of her life.

“So how was that?” John asked, wiping his mouth with a napkin.

“Oh, it was amazing,” Felicity exclaimed immediately. “It’s the best date I’ve been on in a long time…” She heard herself at the last moment and blushed deeply. “I meant dinner… It’s the best dinner I’ve had in a long time.”

“It’s okay,” John said, humor twinkling in his eyes. He’d gone to great lengths to put her mind at ease throughout the dinner, and she still couldn’t believe that he was the softer of the two. “It can be a date if you want. Friends have dinner dates all the time.”

“Friends?”

“Well, after tonight, I’d like to think we’re friends at the very least.”

Felicity’s heart skipped a beat. “I’d like that,” she said. “I’d like that very much.”

“Then it’s settled. You’ve got two new friends. Who knows, maybe we can go on another date sometime soon,” he joked, and she laughed.

“Unless you’ve got someone in your life who would object to you going on a date with two gentlemen,” Nathan asked.

Felicity shook her head immediately. “No, there’s no one.”

“Really?” He leaned forward. “No boyfriend… Partner…?”

“No.” She cleared her throat, not sure why she felt embarrassed about that. “I’m single.”

“That’s ridiculous,” John said in an exaggerated manner that made her chuckle. “You know this country is going to hell when a pretty woman like yourself is still single.”

“And how long have you been single?” Nathan asked, his quiet intensity the opposite of John’s friendly and playful manner. Somehow, they made it work.

“For a while,” she admitted.

“How long?” he asked again, not taking his eyes from her.

“A year… Almost two,” she replied.

“Why?”

She blinked. “What?”

“Why did you and your ex break up?”

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