“Do you know what you want to order, or do you need another few minutes?”
“I’m good,” said Sylvie. “I eat here a lot.”
“Me too. Go ahead.”
As she ordered, his mind was on what she’d said. In the interest of full disclosure.
I should go ahead and tell her about the ring, he thought. Get it out of the way. He tugged out the box, fisted it in his hand beneath the table as he reeled off his order. By the time the server left, he’d already forgotten what he’d asked for. Because he was nervous again, Everett picked up the wine and sipped.
“So, I guess this is the part where we do all the get to know you stuff,” said Sylvie.
A subject change. Should he defer the confession or go with the flow of the conversation?
“Are you from the area?” she asked.
Everett shook his head. “My family is based in Seattle. We used to come out here every winter to ski. I loved it so much, I moved here when I finished school.”
She scooped up some cheese dip. “What’d you study?”
“Law.”
“Oh, so you’re an attorney?”
“Not most of the time.”
There was that flicker of a smile again. “What sort of job do you have where you don’t practice but some of the time?”
Maybe a discussion of his philanthropy could work its way back around to the ring. “I work for a non-profit here in town. New Day?”
“I’ve heard of it,” she said with a nod.
“We help the unemployed with interviews, placement. Help get them suitable clothes and such. Set up living arrangements for those who’ve hit on hard times and need a leg up. Do a lot of work with families. And I whip out the law degree for some pro bono work from time to time, as the need arises, since sometimes those hard times are a direct result of some legal snarl up.”
“What a wonderful job.”
“I love it. It’s really rewarding, finding ways to help people. Kind of addictive, in fact.”
“Well, if you’re going to have an addiction, one that’s for the benefit of humanity seems like a pretty awesome one to have.”
Everett jerked his shoulder in a shrug. “I’ve done some pretty crazy things in the name of helping folks.” The box in his hand felt hot. Or maybe that was his hand sweating.
Now or never, he thought. Get it out there.
~*~
Wow, what a guy, thought Sylvie. If she could’ve written up a request for a man as polar opposite from Neal as it was possible to get, she was pretty sure the answer would be Everett. How incredibly wonderful was that?
“You know, for the record, I’m really glad I changed my mind and came tonight,” she said.
He smiled at her. “Hang on to that thought,” he said.
What a strange thing to say.
“There’s something I wanted to give you.”
“Okay…”
Everett lifted his hand, laid something on the table. His expression was tense, an odd mix of some kind of anxiety and…maybe hope. Sylvie felt an answering wisp of unease unfurl and had the strangest desire not to look. Because she knew that whatever he’d put on the table was going to change something, and she’d just decided she liked where they were.