The relief and happiness that went through me were unprecedented.
He didn’t just say ‘oh cute dog’ and walk past her. He stopped, put down his bag, and met her on her level. Rosemary gave me a tongue-lolling grin as he ruffled her fur, which was all the approval I needed.
Lawson stood up and brushed off his knee, then looked at me and grinned. “She’s gorgeous.”
I was pretty sure my smile was about to break my face. “She is.” I couldn’t help myself. I walked back across the veranda, down the steps to where he stood. I held the storage tub on my hip with my left hand and used my right hand to tilt his face up so I could press my lips to his. Soft and warm, lingering for a moment. “And so are you.”
His cheeks coloured and he ducked his head. Even the tips of his ears went red. It did all sorts of wonderful things to my stomach. It stirred even better things in my groin. “I better check on dinner.” My voice was gruff so I cleared my throat. “Please, come inside.”
Lawson followed me in. My house wasn’t anything fancy or big. The living area consisted of one room that was my lounge room at the front, dining room at the back, kitchen at the side. There was a doorway off the lounge room that became a short hall for three bedrooms, one bathroom, and a laundry. It had timber floors, pale yellow walls, and the kitchen was kinda old. I guessed the decorating types these days would call it retro or country chic. Rosemary trotted over to her bed in front of the unlit fire and lay down.
I headed straight for the kitchen, sliding the plastic tub onto the far end of the dining table on my way. Lawson put his laptop next to it and stood at the kitchen counter. He eyed off where I’d set the end of the table for two, wine glasses and candle included. He smiled. “You have a lovely home.”
I collected the tea towel off the kitchen bench and gave him a quick smile. “Thanks. It’s old, but she’s got that old-home charm. I love it.” I opened the oven door and took out the dish of bubbling lasagne. I carefully slid it onto the stove top so it could cool a bit. “I hope you like lasagne and salad.”
“Perfect. And homemade? I’m impressed.”
“So, the second date might live up to the first yet!”
He chuckled. “It’s off to a very good start. Though I’ll let you know my full assessment when I leave.”
It was hard to tell if he was joking because he smirked when he said it, but knowing him, I fully expected him to tell me what I did right and wrong. “If there was going to be a test, I would’ve made dessert.”
He looked right into my eyes, almost daring in a way. “I’m sure you can improvise.”
He wasn’t talking about food.
It made my heart skip a beat and sent a warm thrill through my balls. “I’m sure I can.”
He licked his lips and smiled. “So? Should we look over the maps before or after dinner?”
“After.”
I took the green leafy salad from the fridge, uncovered it, and spritzed it with dressing before dishing up a decent square of lasagne onto two plates. He carried them to the table, I carried the salad, then grabbed the bottle of red wine I’d bought on my way home, and set it between our plates. I pulled out Lawson’s seat and lit the candle while he sat down and got comfortable. “This is very lovely,” he said.
“Thank you.” Using the tongs, I scooped out a portion of salad onto his plate, then mine, and then poured his wine first. “Did you get everything done you wanted to this afternoon? You were transferring something to your laptop?”
“Yes. I know most people detest data entry, but I don’t mind,” he said. He took a small mouthful of lasagne and chewed and swallowed appreciatively. “This is very good.”
“It’s my Nonna’s recipe.”
“Nonna?” he asked. “Is your family Italian?”
“On my mum’s side. My dad’s side came here with the convicts.”
Lawson smiled and sipped his wine. “My family’s about five generations Australian. Before that we came from England and Ireland.” He ate another forkful of lasagne and hummed as he swallowed it down. “Tell me about Rosemary.”
“She’s almost three. I got her when she was about eight weeks old. Full of mischief but the brightest eyes you’ve ever seen. Smart as a whip. Smarter than me, anyhow.”
“And her name?” he asked. “Rosemary isn’t a very common name for a dog.”
I had to finish my mouthful before I could speak. “There’s a thicket of rosemary that runs down the side of the house. The day I brought her home, she ran straight for it and I couldn’t get her out of it. She’d roll in it, lay in it, chew it. And I couldn’t pick a name for her, but every time anyone would pick her up, they’d say, ‘oh, rosemary,’ so it kinda stuck.”
He smiled as I told my story, then nodded over to where she was asleep in her bed. “She’s very spoilt.”
“One hundred per cent,” I agreed. “She normally comes out into the field with me. If I have a day where I’m out and about in the national parks, she’s usually sitting right up beside me. If I hadda known we were gonna be out all day, I would’ve brought her along.”
“Next time then.”
“Will there be a next time?” My heart stopped while I waited for his answer.
“Do you not have work to do?” he asked, but he smiled as he spoke.
“Of course. But like I said, helping out on a conservation study is work-related. If you’re busy doing your thing, I can do my own reports and data collation when I’m out. Take photos of vegetation, soil reports, water levels, check on some known animal habitats, check fencing, that kind of thing.”
“Okay.” He nodded. “I’d like that very much.”
Again with the belly somersault. “Me too.”
We ate our dinner, of which Lawson devoured everything in front of him. When his plate was clean, he leaned back and patted his stomach. “Wow. Compliments to the chef and to your Nonna. That was delicious.”
I grinned proudly. “Secret is in the ricotta.”
“I look forward to seeing what you can do for Date Number Three.”
I raised an eyebrow at him but could feel the smile spreading on my face. “I thought you were waiting until you were leaving for your full assessment.”
He rolled his eyes. “I think we both know there will be another one. I wouldn’t mind seeing Rosemary again.”
I scoffed. “Thank you very much. I’ll never doubt where your affection lies again.”
He chuckled, then sipped his wine. “So tell me, why are you single?”
Right. Straight to the point.
He narrowed his eyes at me. “You are single, aren’t you? Because the likelihood of a third date balances precariously on your answer.”
“I am most definitely single,” I answered. “As to why… well, the last guy I was seeing lived in Hobart, and the commute didn’t work for him.”
“Oh.”
“And the guy before that lasted only two dates. The first date, we had dinner in Launceston. That went okay. Second date, I invited him here. He got as far as the gate before Rosemary started to growl. That was the end of that.”
“Dogs are outstanding judges of character.”