Glancing up to ask Emmitt what he planned to order, I found him studying me instead of the menu. I rolled my eyes and reached across the table to pick up his menu and wave it in his face. He laughed, took it, and finally opened it.
Our server wore a crisp, white shirt under a black vest and matching black tie. He was politely formal when he came to ask if we wanted a fresh drink before ordering. Emmitt ordered another one, but I asked for water, instead.
It was no surprise when Emmitt picked the biggest steak on the menu...and appetizers.
Relaxed by the glass of wine, dinner had progressed pleasantly, but nervousness had crept back in toward the end. Our ride home remained quiet, and I didn’t mind. I doubted I could maintain any form of intelligent conversation. My focus was on what would happen at the end of our date. Would he finally kiss me?
The crunch of gravel under the tires announced our return. He parked the truck near the porch and got out to open my door. Although it wasn’t far to the ground, he offered his hand to help me down.
“Did you enjoy yourself?” he asked as he closed the door behind me.
Had it not been for the very exposed feeling I’d had throughout dinner, I would have been able to answer with an honest yes. Instead, I tried for vague.
“I think it will take a while before I’m comfortable leaving my brothers.”
We walked inside the quiet house. It wasn’t yet past nine, and I thought the quiet odd, but Emmitt didn’t appear concerned.
Nervous anticipation filled me as we walked upstairs. He opened my door for me, and I didn’t know what to expect next. Would he come in with me? Would he try kissing me? My heart did a crazy stuttering beat at the thought. I wasn’t sure what I wanted. I turned to face him.
“Thank you for tonight. Let me know if you want to go shopping with Nana again. You have amazing taste.” His gaze slid my length again, but he remained in the hallway.
“I think I’ll be fine for a while. Besides, I prefer shorts and tshirts. Your tshirts are the best.” Usually, because they hung to mid-thigh and covered me well. It didn’t hurt that they smelled like him too.
He handed me his jacket, and I watched as he pulled his sweater and t-shirt off over his head. The jacket almost fell from my hand. Emmitt, shirtless in the sun, was breathtaking. But this...I swallowed hard. If I appealed to him half as much as he did to me, I understood why he’d kept looking at me all night.
Seeing him in just dress pants made my knees melt. He handed me the white cotton shirt still warm from his body and reclaimed his suit jacket.
He stepped close. “I’ll give you my shirt whenever you ask.”
Clutching the shirt to my chest, I stopped breathing for a moment.
He grinned slightly. “So there’s no misunderstanding, we’re officially in the dating phase of our relationship.”
I nodded dumbly, glad we were officially ignoring my friendship talk now.
He hesitated there, standing toe to toe with me, consuming my space and air as I gazed up at him, held in his spell. Then he shook his head, leaned in to brush his lips against the side of my neck, and left me with a racing heart.
His clarification of our relationship hadn’t helped. When he announced we were dating, I’d expected—assumed—a kiss would follow. On the mouth. Instead, I stood staring at his closed apartment door in confusion and more than a little disappointment.
I spent the remainder of the evening dressed in his shirt and sitting in the kitchen as I researched for the next day’s premonition. I wasn’t sure if Emmitt had told Nana my secret or not.
Chapter 14
An overcast, but dry, Sunday marked the end of our fifth week of freedom. My energetic brothers raced outside just after breakfast. As usual, they left the door open behind them. I didn’t follow this time. Instead, I finished some last minute research while waiting for the actual premonition.
When I heard Emmitt’s door open across the hall, I perked up but didn’t look away from the tablet. So I wasn’t surprised when he spoke from my doorway.
“Good morning.”
I swiveled on the stool and smiled at him. “Morning.”
He leaned against the doorframe. His wet hair lay in disarray as he slowly blinked at me.
“Didn’t you sleep well?”
He shrugged. “Coming down for breakfast?”
I looked at him in surprise. Usually he already knew if we ate. I figured his sense of smell helped with that. Granted, we’d eaten cereal this morning, which I didn’t consider very aromatic, but the bowls still sat next to the sink.
He caught my glance at the dishes and smiled self-depreciatively. “Sorry. I’ll see you downstairs.”
Watching the empty doorway an extra moment after he left, I wondered if he wasn’t feeling well. I glanced at the clock. Twenty more minutes to kill.