3 Book Romance Bundle: "Loving The Bull Rider" & "Cowboy Down Under" & "The Escort Next Door"

  Chapter Five

  Dinner

  I had just finished slipping my shoes on when the doorbell rang. My heart leapt into my throat. Lucas’s punctuality was an admirable quality, but now I had to actually face him and spend the entire evening with him. I was excited, but my nerves were gnawing at me. Taking a deep breath, I went to answer the door and was greeted by a large bouquet of white roses. I laughed, and Lucas lowered them so I could see his handsome face.

  “Really, Lucas. If you bring me flowers every time you see me, I’ll be able to start my own floral store.” I took the flowers from him and stepped aside to allow him to enter. “They’re beautiful. Thank you. And they smell amazing.” I told him as I took a big whiff of the flowers.

  “They’re not nearly as beautiful as you are, Rebecca.” He said with a cunning smile.

  “Thank you.” I responded as I turned away from him, not wanting him to see me blushing. “Let me just put these in some water, and then we can go. Would you care for a drink?”

  “No, thanks.” He said as followed me into the kitchen. “Wow. This is a nice kitchen.”

  I retrieved a vase from under the skin and filled it with water. “It was because of this kitchen that I bought this house. I told you I like to bake.” I glanced at him and smiled. “And you need a lot of room to move around while baking.”

  “Well, you’ll have to teach me how sometime.”

  “To bake?” I laughed and put the flowers into the vase then washed my hands. “I don’t think I’ve ever taught anyone to bake before.”

  “I promise I’m a quick learner.” He winked; his body extremely close to mine. I inhaled sharply and nodded. “Good. Are we ready?” He finally asked.

  “Yes.” I smiled and as we headed out the door, I grabbed my sweater from the back of the recliner. Not that I would really need it. The weather was warm so I probably wouldn’t need it, but it had become a habit to always have a light sweater or jacket when I left the house. It was another invaluable piece of wisdom my grandparents had imparted to me.

  Lucas was a perfect gentleman on the drive to the restaurant. He opened every door for me, held it until I was through it, and then entered behind me, always keeping a respectful distance. He had this uncanny ability to make me blush simply by being himself.

  When the hostess showed us to our table, Lucas pulled out my chair and waited for me to be seated before he took the seat across from me. “Your waitress will be right with you,” the hostess said before turning and leaving us alone.

  I looked around the restaurant, letting the ambience settle over me. I’d been to this steakhouse dozens of times before, but being here with Lucas was like seeing it for the first time. It was a quaint place with a brick fireplace in the center giving off enough heat to take the icy chill away from the air conditioning.

  “I hope this place is okay. It was highly recommended to me,” Lucas said, picking up his menu.

  “Yes, it’s perfect. I’ve eaten here before. You’re in for a real treat.” I smiled and perused my own menu, although I really didn’t need to. I couldn’t afford to eat here on my own very often, but when I could, I always ordered the steak gorgonzola with the fresh garlic bread and chef salad. Maybe I should skip the bread this time, though. I didn’t want to have garlic breath for the remainder of my date. And if he did try to kiss me… Yeah, I was going to skip the bread just to be on the safe side.

  “What’s good here?” Lucas asked as he looked up from his menu.

  “Everything.” I laughed and closed my menu, setting it down. “This place is known for their steaks. You can cut them with a fork they’re so tender.”

  “Okay, that’s it then.” Lucas closed his menu and placed it atop mine. “The steak it is. Would you like to get a bottle of wine?”

  I wasn’t really a drinker. My uncle was a recovering alcoholic, and I saw what he did to the family, how much contention and problems he caused. Not that I ever thought I’d become an alcoholic.

  Lucas reached over and touched my hand, the heat of his touch jerking me back to the present moment. “It’s okay if you don’t want to. Honestly, I’m not much a drinker myself, but knowing I’m alive and well after my accident and this is our first date, I thought we should celebrate.”

  Sighing, I smiled. “I’m not really a drinker either, but you know what. I think tonight calls for a glass or two of wine.”

  Taking my hand, he kissed my fingers in the same way he had before. It was such a sweet thing to do, and I liked it. The last guy I’d gone out with was a jerk. I swore he only asked me out because he thought I would get kinky in the bedroom with him and play nurse. I shuddered at the memory. Thank goodness Lucas wasn’t anything like that.

  “Do you prefer red or white?” He asked, as he picked up the wine list.

  “Something sweet.” I responded with a smile.

  When the waitress approached a moment later, Lucas ordered an expensive bottle of red wine. I knew it was expensive because when I’d graduated from nursing school, my parents had brought me here to celebrate and my father had ordered the same exact bottle. I really hoped he didn’t think he could impress me by spending money. I was already impressed by him.

  “Are you ready to order?” The waiter’s voice broke our intense gaze at one another.

  “I am,” I said. Lucas nodded at me to go ahead. “I will have the steak gorgonzola with the chef’s salad. No onions, please, and the dressing on the side.”

  “Very good choice.” The waitress smiled. “And for you, sir?”

  “I will have the twelve ounce sirloin and a loaded baked potato, extra sour cream, and a chef’s salad.” Lucas handed her our menus and smiled.

  “Great. I will be back with your wine and salads shortly.”

  When she left again, Lucas took both of my hands into his, his thumbs caressing my fingers. Who knew such a simple touch to that part of my body would feel so erotic? I wondered what it would feel like if he did that on other parts of my body – every part of my body. I pulled my hand from his and took a sip of my ice water, hoping it would cool me down a little. I’d only met this man three days ago, and I was already having those types of thoughts about him. God, what was wrong with me?

  “So, what do you do for fun when you’re not working or reading or baking?” he asked.

  “I like to watch movies, either at home or at the theatre. But I’m not a big fan of television.” I chuckled. “There’s too many reality shows on for my liking, and let’s face it, the things that happen on those shows are not reality.”

  “No, they certainly aren’t.” He smiled. “Would you like to go see a movie after dinner? We can drive into Covanta and go to the multiplex.”

  There really wasn’t anything currently playing that I wanted to see, but I didn’t want to appear rude. It was a nice offer, and the idea of spending even more time with him was appealing.

  “We could. It’s such a nice night to be stuck inside though.” I responded.

  Lucas glanced down where he still held my hand and a faint smile emerged on his face. That look would be the death of me if I weren’t careful.

  “I’ve never felt such soft skin before,” he said, more to himself than to me.

  “As much as I wash them, I have no choice but to use a lot of moisturizer.” I responded.

  That was probably the dumbest thing I’d ever said on a date, and I’ve said some pretty stupid things before. It was my nerves. They caused me to ramble incessantly about the craziest things, like hand moisturizer, for example.

  He looked up at me, and his eyes had darkened. My heart rate spiked. I could only imagine what he might be thinking. I knew what I was thinking, and it was not appropriate dinner conversation.

  “I have an idea. I’ll take you to the rodeo so you can see what I do, and you can meet some of the other guys.”

  Excitement swelled inside of me. I’d never been to a rodeo before. I’d seen them on television and in the movies, but I had a feelin
g a real life rodeo was nothing like the way Hollywood portrayed them.

  “I would love that, Lucas.”

  “Really?” He responded with surprise.

  “Yes.” I laughed. “You did spend an entire night at my job, so I guess it’s only fair I go see yours.”

  He laughed, but before he was able to respond, the waitress returned with our bottle of wine and an appetizer. She popped the cork and poured each of us a glass. And then she was gone again.

  Lucas lifted his glass and I did the same. “To being alive,” he said with a smirk, “and to you, for taking such good care of me. But most of all, to us and the start of what I think is going to be an amazing friendship.” He gently tapped his glass to mine, and then took a sip.

  I brought my glass to my lips and drank, hoping he didn’t see the disappointment in my face. He’d said friendship. I didn’t know why that upset me so much. It’s not like I expected him to become my boyfriend on the night of our first date, but I had hoped he was looking for more. I should’ve known better, though. He was only passing through, and I was probably just someone to occupy him while he was here. When he left to go to Texas, I was sure he’d find another young woman to entertain him. I quickly pushed those thoughts out of my mind and chalked it up to my overanalyzing nature. Live in the moment I told myself.

  He set his glass down and plucked a scallop from the plate between us; then he held it out to me. “I hope you like these.”

  “They’re my favorite,” I said, leaning forward and taking the scallop from him. I heard a faint groan from him when my lips closed around the toothpick, pulling the food from it. And then I saw how his eyes darkened again. I washed it down with a drink of wine.

  “Your turn,” I shot back as I held out a scallop for him. He took it, as his gaze locked on mine.

  It was wrong how sexy it was watching him eat. The way his lips puckered, the way his throat worked, his Adam’s apple bobbing, the way he licked the taste from his bottom lip. I realized then just how badly I wanted him to kiss me. In fact, I wished he would do it right here and now.

  “You have no idea how happy I am that you agreed to go out with me tonight,” he said, taking another drink of his wine.

  “I’m happy I’m here, too, Lucas.” I smiled. The best part was the date had only just begun. We still had all of dinner and the rodeo after.