Chapter 3
DANIEL
F or the first time in my entire life, I fussed over my appearance. I actually looked up a fancy way to knot my tie, following along with the video six times before I got it perfect.
On the way back to Prairie’s house, I managed to swing by the florist to pick up a tiny corsage with a red rose and some white flowery bits around it. Mrs. Giovanni assured me that it was the perfect gift for a date to a Christmas ball.
Since I had barely dated in my life, I took her word for it gratefully. Even though I knew that by sharing with her that I was escorting someone to the dance, I might be the talk of the town in less than an hour.
By the time I was at the door, I needed a slow breath to steady myself. Prairie answered my knock in seconds as if she’d been waiting for me.
She was a vision. The top of her long strawberry hair was spun up in a complicated twist, with the rest gently curling around her shoulders. Whatever she’d done to her makeup made her lovely eyes dominate her beautiful face.
The elegant dark green gown skimmed her mouthwatering curves perfectly, with just enough cleavage to knock the air out of my lungs.
Prairie blinked up at me as I stared at her, and I forced myself to shake my head. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to stare. I’ve honestly just never seen a woman as beautiful as you are.”
It was adorable that my compliment made her blush. “Maybe it’s cheesy, but I got you this,” I said, holding out the corsage.
Her eyes lit up. “I was just thinking that this dress was too dark. It’s perfect.”
She took it from me, then realized she couldn’t quite angle her hands to pin it on, which made her blush a bit more. “Um, could you help me?” Her sweet, light voice was already my favorite sound.
“Of course.”
Somewhere in the back of my mind it registered that I was going to remember this moment standing in her front foyer forever.
In order to pin the flowers on, I had to slip my fingers inside her dress, just at the top of her chest, nearly at her shoulder.
Although it wasn’t exactly inappropriate, the feeling of my fingers against her soft skin made my craving for her intensify to the point that I honestly wondered if I could control myself throughout the entire night.
After the corsage was secure, I dragged the backs of my fingers slowly along her collarbone, studying the way her eyes sparkled.
“Thank you,” Prairie said softly. “Just let me grab my coat.”
I took her arm to escort her to the truck, holding her hand as I helped her step up and slip into her seat. Once we began driving, I asked, “So, I heard that you were studying art? What was that like?”
I glanced over to Prairie’s sweet smile. “It was amazing. I just love to paint, and being surrounded by other people with the same strange urges was really something.”
“Urges?” I said with a chuckle. “As in, painting is a compulsion?”
“Yes,” she laughed. “An addiction. From realism to abstract to whatever suits the mood.”
“What do you plan on doing here in Holly Valley?” I asked.
“Don’t know yet,” she shrugged. “I mean, I don’t have many expenses since I’m living with my parents. They’ve told me to just relax for a month and think about what sort of job I might like.”
I looked over and caught her frowning. “Until then, I’ll be keeping busy working on the farm, I guess.”
“I take it farming isn’t your style?” I asked.
“I don’t mind the hard work,” she said quickly. “Or getting dirty. It’s just that I’m a bit short, with no upper body strength. So I’m pretty useless.”
“You’ll just have to find out what you’re good at,” I said.
“Is that how it happened for you?” she asked. “You’re a woodworker, right?”
I shook my head, taking a right into the downtown area.
“Yes. Dad started teaching me woodworking when I was really young. He needed help in the factory, and has always been adamant that most of the work should be done by the family. I worked there for years before he decided to expand, and my brothers and I were sent to manage the showrooms in different cities.”
I quickly explained how the furniture arrived in pieces, so we still had to assemble and stain everything to order. We had arrived at Nora’s by the time I finished.
“It’s not fancy, but the food is amazing,” I said, before running around to open her door.
“I’m sure it’s wonderful,” she said. As I took Prairie’s hand to help her climb down, my heart lurched at the way her fingers felt against mine.
I continued holding her hand on the way into the restaurant, and she didn’t pull away.
By the time we were tucked away at a corner table talking about music and movies and books, I felt like my life had completely changed in just the past few hours.
As if everything in my life had been leading me to this moment, speaking with the woman I clearly belonged with.
I’d always thought that love at first sight was a silly idea that you saw only in the movies. Seeing men change themselves completely just to keep a woman happy didn’t seem logical.
But now that I was sitting close to this precious young lady, her knee rubbing against mine, my fingers darting out to tuck her hair behind her ear…my life had changed in an instant. I would do anything to make Prairie happy.
I was already falling so hard for her that I didn’t know what was going to happen when I hit the ground.