Speaking of which... “Why aren’t you out shooting down a river on a kayak or climbing a cliff today?” she asked. “Isn’t that what people in Colorado do on the weekends?”
He chuckled as he held open the door to a sleek, black sedan. “I’ve been known to haul out the kayak on the weekends or do a bit of rock climbing. I think we should start with hiking though. I was going to take you up into the mountains today, but we’ll start with a relaxing day. Next weekend, you’re heading up to the Rockies with me.”
He closed the door before she could protest, and again, she had to laugh. The man definitely liked getting in the last word. Not that she was going to argue with him. She really did want to head up into the mountains and find out what all the fuss was about.
Looking around, she realized that this wasn’t his Jeep Wrangler. The leather seats on this beauty were buttery soft and amazingly comfortable. She didn’t recognize the logo on the steering wheel.
“What kind car is this?”
“It’s a Tesla. All electric. I prefer to drive this around town, but it wouldn’t work too well going off road when I get up into the mountains.”
With a press of the button…nothing happened. No sound at all. But the dashboard lit up like a Christmas tree!
“It’s beautiful,” she sighed, thinking that this vehicle suited him perfectly. It was sleek, powerful-looking, subtly luxurious but without the pretentiousness of some of the more expensive models. “No Ferrari for you?”
He shook his head. “Nope. They are great to drive on the open highways, but I prefer a more environmentally friendly approach for driving around town.”
He took her deeper into the city and parked near…the train station?
“We’re having lunch at a train station?” she asked, surprised.
“I noticed that you prefer healthier foods and there’s a great place in here that serves excellent food that isn’t filled with grease and cheese. You’ll love it.”
A warm happiness bubbled up inside of her chest. The last guy she’d dated had become irritated with her when she’d ordered a salad at his favorite pub. He wanted her to have a burger with him, as well as some fries and a beer. Years ago, she would have loved that kind of a meal. She’d have smothered the fries in malt vinegar, added a bit more salt and dunked every wonderfully greasy strip of fried potato into a mound of ketchup. Probably even ordered a second slice of cheese for the burger, just to make it extra delicious.
Now, the idea of all that grease and salt made her stomach ache. She indulged in a burger occasionally, and even enjoyed the meal. But that was only an indulgence. After discovering exercise and eating cleaner foods, her life had truly transformed.
That made dating a bit more difficult though. Men might ask her out, but then argued with her about her food choices. When that happened, she stopped going out with them. She wasn’t going back to that old life. Not for anyone!
When she picked up the menu, she was excited by some of the options. Most were even vegan, with loads of vegetables served up in creative ways. “Oh, this looks amazing!” she gushed, eager to try so many of the items on the menu, it was hard to narrow it down.
“What are you going to have?” he asked her, not even looking at the menu.
Tilting her head, she beamed across the table at him. “I have no idea what a squash blossom is, but I’m going to try the pepito salad and find out what a squash blossom tastes like.”
He laughed as well. “A squash blossom is exactly that. It’s the flower that forms on the plant right before the squash or zucchini starts to form.”
They put in their order, he ordered the swordfish, and Reid was enchanted. “You’re going to love that salad.”
“You’ve had it before?”
“I’ve had just about everything on the menu at one point or another. This is one of my favorite restaurants because they change things up so often. They also find different ways to serve foods that we eat all the time, so it’s creative. Plus, the restaurant gets almost everything from locally sourced farms.”
“That’s nice. I love restaurants that support the local economy.”