Best Man for the Wedding Planner

At six forty-five a taxi pulled up outside and she buttoned up her coat and wondered, for the millionth time, if she should have worn shoes instead of boots. But she loved her knee boots with the skinny heels, and thought they suited the black sweater dress that hugged her curves and had a deep scoop neckline that hinted at the tiniest bit of cleavage. A long necklace took away the bareness, and she’d decided to put her hair up in a messy arrangement that she hoped looked sexy and rumpled. She’d gone for a dramatic eye with painstakingly applied liner, but an understated lip.

She’d dressed for a date—something she hadn’t done for many, many months. And never with quite as much care as tonight.

Because Dan mattered. More than she wanted to admit, but there it was.

He was waiting for her at the restaurant, standing just inside, and she caught her breath.

She wasn’t the only one who’d dressed for the date. He wore a charcoal-gray suit, perfectly fitted, with a black dress shirt and no tie. She loved that little detail about him—that he kept that top-shirt button carelessly undone. It left the hollow of his neck exposed and she wondered if she’d have the opportunity to kiss it later.

“You look beautiful,” he said quietly, reaching for her coat.

“So do you,” she replied, and decided it was true. He was beautiful. Who said that word had to be reserved for females only?

They were led to their table. She wondered if he’d somehow managed to sweet-talk them into a corner table because the room was fairly full.

He waited until she was seated, and then took his chair. The room had low lighting, with flickering tea candles adding ambience to each table. They were provided with a menu and asked for a drink order.

“White?” Dan asked. “To start?”

She nodded. “Maybe a Riesling would be lovely.”

When the waiter was gone, she let her gaze touch Dan’s. “This is so nice. I’ve never eaten here. Always wanted to, though. It’s a favorite for pre-wedding dinners.”

He smiled. “I’m glad. This is your home turf, and I wanted tonight to be special.”

“It is...whether I’d been here before or not.”

The waiter came back with their wine and poured a little in her glass for her to taste. The smooth, slightly tart flavor was perfect, and she nodded and put her glass back down so he could fill it.

“Do you want to do the dinner with pairings?” Dan asked. “It has cheese and chocolate fondue with a schnitzel course in between.”

“That sounds amazing.”

They handed back their menus, and when the waiter was gone, Dan raised his glass.

“Cheers,” he said simply, touching the rim of his glass to hers. She was glad there was no big toast tonight. She wanted to keep it simple.

“This is delicious. And could be a bit dangerous with pairings. I’ll have to pace myself.”

He smiled at her, his eyes twinkling. “You could always stay over with me.”

She simply stared, unsure of what to say, startled by the sudden increase of sexual tension between them. He chuckled, sending her a wink. “Don’t panic. I can sleep on the sofa again.”

She held his gaze for a moment, an

d then said softly, “I’m not sure you’d have to.”

The twinkle faded from his eyes, replaced by a smoldering fire that said she wasn’t alone in her feelings. She did want to be with him again. The kiss the other night had started it, but today, being held close in his arms in the sled...it had felt so right.

“Are we starting something here, Delly? And I don’t mean a fling for a few days, but really starting something. Do you want to try again?”

Her chest cramped at the sincerity in his words. It wasn’t just the attraction that hadn’t gone away. She cared for him so much. Always had. He might have hated her for a while, but she hadn’t really stopped loving him. She’d let him go because she’d loved him, not because she’d stopped. And maybe they needed to talk about that.

Their starter salads were discreetly delivered, and yet neither of them picked up their forks. Instead Dan waited for her answer, and she tried to figure out how to phrase what she needed to say.

“Dan, I...” She pursed her lips, but then decided to just be honest and let the words come. “I never left you because I’d stopped caring about you. The only thing that kept me from running back to you was the thought that I’d done you a favor by setting you free. It seemed so unfair to make you a victim to...to my illness. But it was never because I didn’t love you. And I’m starting to think that maybe I never really stopped.”

Other diners chatted and ate all around them, with the tinkling of silverware and porcelain and murmured voices. But Adele felt as if she and Dan were in their own little bubble where time stood still for just a few moments as he absorbed her words.