15. Casey
Chapter Fifteen
CASEY
“Leo said what?” Luna’s eyes were wide.
Josie waggled her brows with her smile. “I have known for months that Leo is into you. All he needed was the opportunity.”
I’d filled Josie and Luna in on the therapy situation, which they both thought was absolutely hysterical. Josie thought we should let our therapist know the whole story. I’d also told them what Leo said on the phone.
“You deserve this,” Josie said after she took a big gulp of her coffee.
“You think?” I prompted.
Luna was checking on a batch of donuts and glanced over her shoulder. “Everybody deserves love.”
“Luna speaks the truth.” Josie nodded solemnly.
“I think calling it love is getting a little ahead of it. Leo said he uses coffee and donuts as an excuse to see me. That doesn’t mean he’s in love with me,” I explained.
“Maybe you’re not ready to admit it could be love, but I have a feeling,” Luna said as she pulled a tray of donuts out of the oven.
“Let’s do a tarot reading,” Josie said.
Luna enjoyed doing tarot readings for us. For reasons I couldn’t quite explain, it always made me a little nervous. I was afraid I would mess up what the universe was casting out for me, or I would miss the signs. Sometimes, life felt like a highway where I often took the wrong exit.
Before I could protest, Luna whipped out her tarot cards. Seeing as the café wasn’t open yet, I couldn’t find much of an excuse to dip out. Next thing I knew, she was explaining to me that the Knight of Cups card I’d drawn represented passion, romance, and emotions.
Leo came into the café later that morning, and Josie did a terrible job of hiding her glee.
“Josie!” I hissed when Leo turned to say something to Tate, her fiancé.
She winked, but blessedly, she toned it down a little. All the while, I found myself tongue-tied around Leo in front of other people. It wasn’t supposed to be happening this way and I didn’t even know what to do with the anticipation and fizzy joy I felt inside when I saw him.
Before I knew it, Friday rolled around. I thought I legit might have a meltdown over how ridiculously excited I was about our dinner date. The days flew by because the café was wildly busy.
“It’s like this every spring,” Janet explained. “There are tourists who think they can beat the rush. Instead, they start the rush.”
I made so many variations of coffee drinks, my brain blurred. When I left that evening to walk to my apartment, a light drizzle started. I could hardly see the mountains through the mist and clouds blanketing the area.
The sarcastic, cynical corner of my brain decided now was the ideal time to make me question everything.
Just wait until Leo really gets to know you. This is just a honeymoon phase. Plus, don’t forget you still have to figure out what to do about Nathaniel. Maybe Leo is willing to be your fake fiancé, but at some point, reality will strike.
Thanks, anxiety.
“Shut up,” I said out loud in my bathroom while I was toweling off after a shower. Much as I loved the smell of coffee and fresh baked goods, I didn’t want to smell like them all the time.
I began to obsess about how I looked. “Maybe I should wear makeup,” I said to my reflection. Followed with, “Oh, my God, get a fucking grip.”
When my cell phone vibrated from where it sat on the bathroom counter, I nearly jumped out of my skin. Leo.
“Hey!” I practically yelped.
The sound of his low chuckle rumbled across my nerve endings and sent heat spinning in a swirl in my belly with tingles scattering throughout my body.
“I was wondering if I should pick you up,” he said.
“Uh, sure,” I finally said. I hadn’t really thought that through. “Where are we going?”
“I thought we could go out to the new Fireweed Winery restaurant.”
“Sounds perfect!”
Slow your roll . My brain rolled its eyes at me.
There was no chill to be had. I sat across from Leo at the restaurant, fiddling nervously with my napkin. My body felt like a pinball machine gone haywire with sparks and tingling nerves.
Just when I thought I’d forgotten how to have a regular conversation with anyone, much less Leo, our waitress arrived. She went over the specials and pointed out the favorites on the menu before telling us she’d check back soon.
“Casey?” Leo prompted.
I lifted my eyes to his. “Yeah?”
“You okay?”
I looked into his eyes and all my anxiety tumbled out in a long run-on sentence. “I’m nervous and I don’t know what to think and it’s raining and I wasn’t sure if I should wear makeup and none of this is what I expected and I don’t know what you’re going to think and you’re a single dad and I don’t know how to talk to my parents about what happened with my sister and it’s all just crazy and I’m overwhelmed.” Thank God I needed to breathe because that was the only reason I managed to shut up.
When my words ran out, Leo was quiet before he reached across the table, clasping both of my hands in his strong, roughened grip. “It’s okay, Casey.”
“It is?”
His smile was warm. The anxiety spinning like an out-of-control wheel in my chest finally started to slow.
He nodded, squeezing my hands. “I’m nervous too.”
I bit my lip, feeling sheepish. “So you don’t think I’m crazy?”
“Absolutely not.”
I let out a deep sigh. “Okay, well, that’s good.”
“You’re beautiful. If you wear makeup, I’m sure you’ll still be beautiful, but it doesn’t matter. I just like you.”
I wasn’t sure whether to laugh or burst into happy tears. I blinked, considering that crying in the middle of a restaurant right now was the least chill thing I could do. I managed to take another breath. “I like you too.”
When his eyes crinkled at the corners with his smile, my heart thumped along. It felt as if someone had flung the windows open, letting sunshine and a warm breeze into my heart. By the time we finished dinner, it was pouring rain outside.
I peered out the windows beside our table. With it being spring, the days were stretching longer. It was still light out, even though it was getting late.
I glanced across the table at Leo. “I’m still not used to these long days. I had to get used to short days in the winter and now it’s the other way around.”
When he grinned, my belly did a little flip. It was ridiculous how easily I reacted to him. It didn’t take much—a smile, a crinkle at the corner of his eye, and my hormones were off to the races.
“You’ll get used to it,” he said.
“Long days or not, it’s pouring out now,” I pointed out.
While we’d been eating, clouds had thickened in the valley. The light drizzle had turned to heavy rain. He followed my gaze. “Let’s go.” He’d already taken care of the check and we’d gotten some chocolate raspberry mousse pie boxed up.
When we got to the entrance, I glanced up at him. “I didn’t wear my raincoat.”
He shrugged out of his jacket.