Page 28 of Falling Madly
I tried to swallow down my discomfort. “Some dinner money would be great.”
“I’d take you oot to dinner, but I doubt we’d get a table with such short notice on Valentine’s Day.”
“You’re right! We’ll have to buy something from the general store.”
He looked defeated, handing me a credit card. “Here you go. Get yourself something to eat.”
I stared at the card, a hollow feeling spreading through me. As much as I wanted to be independent and look after myself, staying the night in an empty office building made me feel uneasy. And when I thought about him leaving me here, by myself…
My voice wobbled with need. “You’re not going shopping? We could go together.”
Chapter Nine
Trevor
It sucked to lose my car keys, but I chose to see it as an opportunity. I’d always been a glass-nearly-full kind of guy, and this seemed like divine intervention.
It could have just as easily have happened to me. I occasionally dropped things, although I didn’t wear shoes that resembled slip-and-slides. I’d seen the way she walked, carefully balancing on the uneven, icy surface. But I could have lost the car keys without her help, and she might have thought I’d done it on purpose.
So, I quietly thanked the universe for letting her lose them. Now I didn’t have to worry about what she thought of my plans. I didn’t even have plans beyond checking out the office. I hadn’t planned to keep her here overnight, let alone several nights. And I definitely hadn’t planned to show her the cabin.
I’d put a lot of effort into renovating it, and I’d been planning to one day introduce it to her. But I’d done something stupid.Something I needed to rectify before she set foot in that house. Which meant it couldn’t happen on this trip.
But I also didn’t want her to sleep on a couch with three children and a dog or lie alone in an empty office space. There were no good options.
“Let’s have a wee look at those two first,” I said, pointing at a couple of restaurant signs down the street. “You never know. Maybe a couple broke up and canceled their reservation.”
Her anxious expression melted into a smile. “You mean, like one of them was found cheating earlier today and their plans fell through?” She twisted her mouth.
“Exactly! Or maybe someone died,” I added on a more hopeful note.
She laughed. “You’re such an optimist.”
I loved seeing her relax. Maybe she really wanted to hang out with me. At least she preferred me over an empty office. How could I get us that restaurant table? We were here, in the most romantic town imaginable, on the most romantic night of the year. Such opportunities should never be wasted.
We walked down Main Street to the Italian restaurant and were waved away from the door. Down the street, I recognized the next place, Bookers. The line was so long several people stood waiting outside. The delicious smell of cooking drifted through the open door, along with music. It was so inviting, but I could tell there’d be a long wait.
We kept walking, first around the town square, then down various side streets. Everything was fully booked. When we returned to Main Street, the sky was already deep blue, almost black. One glance at Teresa told me she was tired, cold, and hungry.
“Sorry,” I said. “It turns out I’m not an optimist, but a daft fool.”
“It’s okay.”
“Let’s go find the general store, eh?”
“It’s a couple of blocks that way,” she said.
As we walked down the road, back towards my car, my phone beeped. Charlie. He’d gotten my message and promised to sort things out as soon as they got back home. Two nights in this town, with a woman who didn’t want to be here. It was either an opportunity to finally reconcile, or destroy whatever goodwill was left between us.
“If we find somethin’ edible from the store, we can take it to the office to eat there,” I suggested as we reached my car.
Her lips quirked. “You mean, like a Valentine’s Day dinner on the floor?”
The streetlights took that moment to flicker on, reminding me of the importance of lighting.
“Sure!” I grinned. “If that wee gift shop is still open, I’ll buy a candle and we’ll camp like two hobos in love.”
The gift shop I’d spotted right underneath the office was indeed still open, and as we reached it, I wandered in. Teresa remained on the sidewalk, until I returned to the door and held it open for her. “Milady.”
