Page 63 of Lovewell Lane

“How is seven?” I countered.

“I’ll take it.”

We shared a laugh together before I asked. “What is this for? Another family dinner?”

“Something like that. Just be at the house at seven, and I’ll get you sorted.”

“Yes, sir,” I answered.

When Slick asked me to take off work early, I was expecting it to be about the Honey Festival. Or maybe just another classic Weston family dinner. I walked up to the front door of my house to find candles and flowers in Derek’s backyard.

“What the…”

No one was in sight, so I walked into my house and quickly shut the door. I closed my newly installed blinds and decided to take a shower. That had quickly become my favorite part of my day these last few months. The hot water soothed my aching muscles, and I always came out of it feeling fresh and clean.

I wasn’t sure what all those candles were about, so I put on a sundress, hoping it would be acceptable for a casual or nicer dinner. Whatever the occasion was, I believed a pretty floral dress was appropriate.

Entering the backyard, I found Slick standing next to the circular wrought iron table and chairs that always sat in Derek’s backyard. Since spring had officially sprung, flowers and bushes bloomed all around the yard. Their small fenced-in section was overplanted, so it felt like a magical fairy garden from having so many plants in an enclosed space. It made my morning brighter every time I went to leave for the diner.

“Over here, Margo,” Slick said. He’d pulled out a chair with a pillow cushion on the seat for me. I walked over and sat down. Usually, there were four chairs at this table, but I quickly realized there was only one across from me.

Was Derek’s father taking me on a date? He was called Slick, after all.

I turned around to question him. “Um, Slick, this is great–”

“Just stay here,” he said offhandedly. He left me to sit in the yard by myself and walked up the steps back into the house.

I looked at the fully set table and took a sip of what looked like wine that was sitting in front of me. Yep, definitely wine. It was heavenly after working a full twelve-hour day.

A few minutes later, I heard a commotion coming from inside the house. The door opened and Derek looked like he was a deer in headlights as he walked out onto the porch with his hands filled with two plates.

He quickly gathered himself and walked down the stairs. He hid it well, but there was a hint of a shocked look on his face. “How did he convince you to do this?” he gruffed.

“Uh, I’m not sure exactly what ‘this’ is. What’s going on?”

Derek covered his face with a hand after setting the plates on the table and his shoulders shook. He seemed to gather his composure again when he said, “A date.”

“Oh.” My mouth hung open for a beat stupidly. “He’s parent-trapping us.”

“That isn’t a verb. And again– we aren’t both parents.”

“Setting us up sounds boring,” I said while taking a big gulp of wine. I relaxed into my chair and crossed my legs while leaning back to stare up at him. He stood awkwardly next to the table. “Are you going to join me or not?”

“Do you want me to?”

I laughed. “Free food, I guess.”

He sat down across from me, and I couldn’t help but giggle at his stiff body posture. I could tell he had no clue what to do around me since we kissed. Making a man that was so sure of himself, unsure, gave me a lot of joy.

“We should probably clear the air,” I said, not wanting to spend my entire dinner under the piercing gaze of Derek’s observant eyes. Maybe he would lighten up if we talked about it.

He looked at me with one of his fists white knuckling the table. “Okay.”

“I know we kissed,” I mused. “But we don’t have to make things weird. I’m really liking this town, and like you said, love is painful. We don’t need to risk this nice setup we have going.”

He looked shocked. “This nice setup?”

“Yeah, our friendship. It’s nice.”

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