With his hand on the small of my back, we make our way inside. He leads us to the hostess, and she tells us the wait is only about ten minutes, so we decide to stay.
“Laken?”
Turning to look over my shoulder, I see Grady and Charlotte. “Hey.” I smile and wave.
“Fancy seeing you here,” she says with a smirk.
“Gray.” Grady nods at Grayson.
“Looks like we all had the same idea.” Grayson laughs.
I want to look over at him to see if he’s nervous that we ran into his friend and mine or if he’s as calm as his voice makes him out to be. He doesn’t remove his hand from the small of my back, and I’m taking that as a good sign.
“This is new,” Charlotte says, pointing between us.
“First date,” Grayson explains.
“Interesting,” Charlotte muses.
“Jackson, party of two,” the hostess calls out.
“You want to join us?” Grady offers.
“Nah, maybe next time,” Grayson answers.
“Thanks, though.” I wave at them. I wait until they walk away with the hostess to turn and look at Grayson. “That didn’t take long.” I smile.
He leans in close, his lips next to my ear. “Knew it would happen. I have nothing to hide, Laken.”
I nod and turn back around. His close proximity has rendered me speechless, and even if I could form words, what would I say? You haven’t dated since losing your wife over three years ago, so I thought you would want to ease into this? It’s not my place. Only Grayson knows how he feels and if he’s ready to date. From his actions and the fact we’re standing here because he asked me to dinner, I’d say he’s ready.
Or at least he’s getting there.
“Davis, party of two.”
“That’s us,” Grayson speaks up.
“If you’ll follow me,” the hostess says politely.
With his hand still on the small of my back, we follow behind our hostess, who seats us at a back booth, hidden away in the corner of the restaurant. “Thank you,” I tell her as I slide into the booth, as Grayson slides into the other. I expected to be nervous, but I’m surprisingly not. I’m comfortable with Grayson. I don’t care who else is here that we might know. I don’t care if we happen to run into a few familiar faces. All I care about is that right now, I have his full attention and he has mine.
Chapter 12
Grayson
Our meal has long since been finished, and we’ve both declined dessert, yet here we sit in this back corner booth of the restaurant, neither of us ready to leave. Tonight has been… incredible. Laken is not only drop-dead gorgeous, but she’s also easy to talk to, kind, smart, funny, and she’s just… a breath of fresh air for me. For all of my nerves tonight, she eased every one of them. As we sit here talking about anything and everything, it’s as if we’ve been close friends for years.
“I guess we should go,” she says, looking around the restaurant. “They probably want to clean up and go home.”
“If we must,” I sigh dramatically, making her laugh. Sliding out of the booth, I offer her my hand, and she takes it without hesitation. The parking lot is pretty empty as we make our way to my truck. I open the door for her, and she climbs inside. Her hair falls over her eyes, and I reach out to tuck it behind her ear, just as I did earlier today. “Laken—” I start but have to stop to swallow hard. This is a big deal for me. “Tonight, thank you for making this so easy. You’re incredible, and if I forget to tell you later, it’s been a long damn time since I’ve felt this… relaxed. That’s all thanks to you.” Before even I realize what I’m doing, I lean in and press a kiss on her cheek. “Buckle up,” I whisper before pulling back and closing her door.
I take my time walking around the front of my truck. Why? Because I want to kiss her. Before I lost my wife, it was only ever her from the time I was sixteen years old. And now… Laken. I can’t explain this pull I feel toward her, but I’ll be damned if I don’t want to explore it. Explore her.
The drive home is much more relaxed than the drive to Billings. Not that it was awkward; we’re just more comfortable with one another after a night of talking about anything and everything. Reaching over the console, I lace her fingers with mine. “Earlier today, I went to the cemetery.” I don’t know why I say it, but it feels good to get that confession out in the open. It’s not like I’m cheating. Hell, this is our first date, but I don’t know. I guess I just need her to know.