Page 24 of Dark Rover's Luck

"How about the café in half an hour?" she suggested. "It's usually quiet this time of day."

"The café sounds perfect." He hesitated, then added, "I've been looking forward to seeing you, Fenella."

There was a pause on the other end, long enough that Din wondered if she'd hung up.

"I would have preferred to meet you at the Hobbit Bar, over a stiff drink, but it's only open on weekends. Have you been there yet? I hear that it's quite new."

Din chuckled, relieved that she hadn't rejected his sentiment outright and also because of the unexpected shift in conversation. He'd forgotten that she used to do that. "We'll have to save that for a Friday night date, then."

Her laugh was short and sharp. "That's very confident of you to think that we're going to last that long. It's only Monday."

The words stung more than Din cared to admit. He swallowed, forcing lightness into his tone that he didn't feel. "I'm sure that I can convince you to see me every day from now until Friday. I'll do my best not to bore you."

"I'm sure you will," she said, and there was something in her voice he couldn't read. Regret? Discomfort? "I'll see you in half an hour, Din."

"I'm looking forward to it," he said, but she'd already ended the call.

Din lowered the phone, staring at the blank screen. That hadn't gone exactly as he'd hoped, but what had he expected? A warm, enthusiastic welcome? Fenella had never been the effusive type, even before whatever horrors she'd endured at the hands of that Doomer.

He slipped the phone into his pocket and picked up the wooden box again. Should he bring the brooch with him? Would she see it as presumptuous, or worse, pathetic?

After a moment's hesitation, he put the box in the bottom drawer of the nightstand. He wouldn't give it to her today—that would be too much, too soon.

A knock at the door pulled him from his thoughts.

"Come in," he called.

Thomas opened the door, hovering by the threshold. "I'm heading out to the gym. Make yourself at home."

"Thanks. I'm meeting Fenella at the café soon."

Thomas nodded. "Good luck."

After he left, Din spent a few more minutes gathering his thoughts. He'd been so focused on overcoming the seemingly endless obstacles to reach Fenella that he'd given little consideration to what would happen once he finally saw her.

What if she took one look at him and decided the reality wasn't worth the fifty years of buildup?

Din looked at himself in the mirror, straightening his collar. He was being ridiculous. He was five hundred years old, and he could handle Fenella.

You couldn't fifty years ago, a nasty voice said in the back of his mind.

"I'm not the same male I was then," he said to his reflection in the mirror. "I will never again let something I want slip through my fingers."

With that, he left the house and walked the gravel path toward the village center.

His phone buzzed in his pocket just as the café came into view, and he had a sinking feeling that Fenella was texting him to cancel their date.

Pulling out the device with dread, he was relieved that it was a message from Max.

Worked some magic for you. I traded concert tickets with a friend who had reservations for Callie's tonight, so you can take Fenella out for a nice dinner. If things don't work out between you two, I will take Kyra there instead, so let me know. The reservations are for seven o'clock.

Din had heard how difficult it was to get reservations at Callie's, and he was beyond grateful.

Thank you,he wrote back.I owe you.

The answer returned almost immediately.Consider us even.

13

---