14. Seven-Course Meal with a Side of Romance
CHAPTER 14
SEVEN-COURSE MEAL WITH A SIDE OF ROMANCE
DAISY
I f there was ever an afternoon when I’ve just gone through the motions, it’s today. I’ve been at the register taking orders and making small talk with customers, and I can’t recall a single face I’ve seen all afternoon. I couldn’t tell you what regulars came in or what faces I’d never seen. It seems that my mind can’t be on anything other than Ollie .
Well , Ollie and the clock. Because I’ve been counting down the minutes until I am off work and can go find him, and those minutes are crawling by like a sloth on sleeping pills.
Then , at two minutes past five, I look up when the bell on the door sounds to see Ollie . My heart is a helium balloon and my whole body feels lighter. The look on his face is one of joy, hopefulness, and I don’t even know what else, but it’s making my heart beat faster and a smile spread across my face.
“ Nora ?” I say as I take off my apron and set it on the shelf under the register. “ Can you cover for me for a minute?”
I go around the counter and into the lobby. Ollie is dressed like he always is—a short-sleeved button-down, slacks, and dress shoes, yet he looks different somehow. Something has changed.
Ollie’s smile seems to grow the closer I get to him, and all my questions about whether he’s interested in me or not are answered by that look on his face. He is taking me in like I’m a double shot of espresso after an all-nighter. I instantly know he’s here to ask me out on a real date. One that doesn’t include espionage.
He opens his mouth like he wants to say something and then hesitates. So , like I told myself I would, I jump in and say, “ If it makes asking me out easier, just know that I’m going to say yes.”
One corner of his mouth pulls up into a smile. “ I was considering the best way to convey to you how much simply seeing your face makes me happy to my core. And then I was going to ask you on a date.”
I chuckle and can’t stop grinning. “ Okay , I’ll take that, too.”
“ What do you say to a date tonight? We can go to the fall festival and look at all the things we missed yesterday, and we can do it without suits trying to find us. Maybe even get something more than a pumpkin cookie to eat. You know, an actual dinner.”
“ Dinner and also a pumpkin cookie?”
Ollie grins the cutest grin I’ve ever seen. “ Yes . A whole bag of them.”
I practically dance over to the counter, grab a napkin, and reach around the register for a pen. Then I write my address on it and give it to Ollie . “ We close at six, and then we clean up. Pick me up at seven, and we can walk over to the festival together?”
He smiles. “ A date it is.” He glances down at what he’s wearing. “ Since I’m dressed eerily similar to what I wore yesterday, I’m going to go home and change into the most fall clothes I’ve got, which so happens to be a sweater my grandma knitted for me. Something tells me that you’ll like it.”
Curiosity about Ollie’s grandma-knitted sweater is just one of the things that has built anticipation for this date. By the time Ollie knocks on my door—at seven o’clock, sharp— I can barely wait to fling my front door open. The sweater he’s wearing is mocha-colored and is the most precious thing I’ve ever seen.
I let out something that sounds partially like a laugh as I check it out. I grab both of his arms and hold them out so I can get a good look at it. There is a big tree with fall leaves knitted right into it, and it covers most of the front.
It’s got so many details, too, like squirrels hiding nuts in the tree and an owl peeking out from behind some leaves. A fox is curled up at the base of the tree, nestled among fall leaves. Pumpkins are scattered on the ground, and a small family of hedgehogs scurries near the tree’s roots. The details are also knitted, or crocheted, but they’re on top of the tree, making it seem three-dimensional.
Prince Charming is checking it out along with me, barking like he’s trying to tell us all the things he’s seeing, too. “ I love every single bit of this. Your grandma is one cool lady.”
Ollie grins. It takes a confident man to wear a sweater like this in public, and I realize that confidence is what’s different about him.
I might have thought about bringing Prince Charming with us, but I wore him out at lunch and then Ruthie wore him out some more. He’s excited to see Ollie , but he’s exhausted. So I give him a hug and take him to his bed before telling him that I’ll see him later.
When we get to the festival, we head toward the food trucks and booths first. As Ollie learned yesterday, I’m starving by this time of day.
“ So , what are you in the mood for?” He asks.
“ Do we have more than seven food trucks or booths here?” I do a quick count. “ Yes ! Okay , do you want to play Seven Course Meal ?”
I can tell by the look on his face that he’s never played. Which makes sense because it’s not a real game— Laurel and I made it up as kids. But still, he grins and says, “ Absolutely .” And he does look like he absolutely wants to play. It makes me excited for two reasons. One is that it has been so long since I’ve had someone who I can have fun with like this.
And two, because it’s making Ollie smile more than I’ve ever seen him smile.
“ Okay , this is how it works,” I tell him. “ I pick a food truck or booth, and then you choose one thing from their menu that seems interesting to you. Anything at all. It can be a main dish, a side, a drink, a dessert—whatever. Then you choose the next place and I pick an item. We keep going until we’ve hit seven places and have seven items. Then we’ll take it over to those picnic tables and make a meal out of the items we got whether they naturally go together or not.”
I can think of plenty of guys I’ve dated who, if I proposed something like this, would have emotions that ranged from amused to annoyed to confused. This is the first time I’ve ever got an excited emotion from someone. It makes me even more excited myself.
Eventually , we make it to the picnic tables with our arms full of food after more laughing than I’ve experienced in a while. I swear, being around Ollie just makes me happy. Ridiculously happy. All -is-right-with-the-world happy. And based on the looks on his face, I’m doing the same for him. A live band is playing not far from where we are, and community and excitement surrounds us. It’s a perfect night.
Ollie dips a fried pickle into the spicy ranch dipping sauce, then looks surprised at the taste. He doesn’t seem to hate it, though. In fact, he has a second bite, so I think it’s a winner. “ I applied for a new job at my firm today.”
“ Oh , yeah?” I say, prodding for more information. Then I take a big bite of one of the chicken and waffle bites drizzled with maple syrup and try not to moan at how good it is.
He nods. “ It’s for an opening in the Risk Management team. If I get the job, I’ll be analyzing what risks might be involved for our clients when they are considering buying another company or making a change in the way they do things.” He chuckles. “ I’m pretty sure I was made for this job. I’ve got a certification and everything.”
“ You’ve got a certification in not taking risks?”
Ollie laughs a big rumbling laugh and I love it. “ Well , when you’re as good at it as I am, they have to acknowledge it. So I am officially a Certified Risk Manager .”
“ Okay , in all seriousness, that is awesome. And you think you’d like the job?”
“ I do. And I’ve worked in other teams with several people who are now on the Risk Management team, and I got along well with them. I’ve talked to the team leader several times, too. He’s a really good guy. I like him. I applied during lunch, and it was maybe thirty minutes later when I got a request from the team leader over Risk Management . He asked me to meet with him for an interview on Monday . He said that he’s heard so many good things about me, was hoping that I’d apply, and that he thinks my skills are being under-utilized where I am.”
I’m so happy for Ollie that I’m practically bursting. We’re sitting side by side on the bench, so it’s easy to wrap my arms around him in a hug and say, “ I hope you get the job!”
He gives me a really good squeeze back. Then he picks up one of the mini tacos, topped with salsa and guacamole, and says, “ The thing is, I wasn’t going to apply at all. I didn’t think I was good enough. I figured maybe I would apply in another year or two.”
I raise an eyebrow in question, then take a drink of the hot apple cider spiced with cloves and cinnamon sticks.
“ Then I thought about you saying my name begins and ends with ‘win,’ and that you believe in me. You sounded like you knew what you were talking about, so I just acted as if you were right.” He grins and then takes a bite of the taco.
A smile spreads across my face. “ I helped you summon the bravery to apply?”
He nods as he smiles, and it’s the most beautiful smile I’ ve ever seen.
We eat pumpkin spice funnel cake, grilled cheese on cinnamon raisin bread—which is unexpectedly delicious—and chocolate-covered bacon because how can you pass up chocolate-covered bacon? When we finish everything, we put our garbage in the trash, and then I lead him toward the artisan booths and say, “ Okay , well, I need to tell you something you helped me to do.”
We aren’t even all the way to Ryleigh’s booth when she calls out, “ Hey , future booth partner!”
Ollie’s head whips around to look at me. “ You decided to do it?”
“ I did. And I’m going to do it my way, not the way that I’ve always felt like it had to be done.”
“ I am so proud of you,” he says, in the most earnest way possible. I don’t know when the last time was that someone told me they were proud of me, but I didn’t know how badly I needed to hear it until now.
And then he wraps me in a hug and swings me around like he’s congratulating me because I won the lottery or something. And honestly, I kind of feel like I did.
We go around and check out all the booths, stopping at every one that catches the attention of either of us. After we see any booth where they did something that gives me ideas of how I want to run the one I’ll share with Ryleigh , he lets me talk through it all. And not like he’s just humoring me. Like I’m opening his eyes to a whole new world .
I also open his eyes to the world of pet clothing. And now, we are the proud owners of matching crocheted hats with little poms on top. One for Roi and one for Prince Charming .
When the sun sets and the booth owners start closing everything up, we head over to the stream that runs through the south part of the park. We set the bags with our purchases on the ground and stand under one of the red maple trees, holding hands, and watch the stream for a few minutes as it gurgles by.
I can feel Ollie’s eyes on me, so I turn to him. “ What are you thinking about?” We are just inches apart. Close enough that I can feel his warmth.
“ I was thinking that I’m grateful for Tad .”
I raise an eyebrow. “ Sketchy -accountant, pain-in-your-rear, annoying coworker Tad ?”
Ollie chuckles. “ That’s the one. If he hadn’t been involved with shady clients and doing shady things for them, we wouldn’t have had the spy thing. And if we hadn’t spied together, I’d probably still be too nervous to ask you out.”
“ So ,” I say, placing a finger on his chest, circling the moon on his very detailed sweater, “we should send him a thank you card. Something heartfelt. Oh , I bet we can still catch the owner of that handmade cards booth. We can get one with extra glitter. Maybe even talk her into selling us an extra packet of glitter to pour inside.”
“ Absolutely .” Ollie clears his throat. “ Dear Tad . Thank you for your alleged criminal behavior. It has really improved my love life. ”
He puts his hands on my hips and I revel in the feel of them there. I respond by sliding my arms up to his shoulders, my fingers playing with the collar of his sweater. “ And here I thought Prince Charming and Roi deserved the credit since they orchestrated our meet-cute. I mean, if Charm hadn’t chased Roi up that tree, none of this would’ve happened.”
“ True . Thank you notes for them, too.”
“ We do have the beanies we can give as a thank you.”
“ I’m not convinced that Roi is going to see that as a gift as much as Prince Charming will. I might have to offer it along with some treats. But , as much as Tad , Prince Charming , and Roi had a part to play, I think we are missing the real MVP here.”
“ Oh , yeah?” I raise an eyebrow. “ Who else are we sending thank you notes to?”
He smiles the cutest smile. “ The Coffee Loft’s spiced chai. And the barista who makes them. I’ve always liked it, but I swear that when you make it, it tastes better.”
“ That’s because I make it with love.”
“ I knew it! I’m convinced it was your master plan all along.”
I laugh. “ Yes . I’ve been seducing you with spiced chai lattes. It just took a lot longer than I thought it would. ”
“ But it did work.”
“ Please tell me I’m not going to have to wait for another spy mission for you to kiss me.”
Ollie chuckles. “ Nah . I’ve done the risk assessment already, and I’m going to recommend moving forward.”
“ I love it when you talk accounting to me. Am I the client in this metaphor? Because I accept your recommendation. But instead of ‘shaking on it’ or a thank you note for my alluring chai lattes, I’ll take your lips right here.” I tap my lips with a finger.
Ollie wraps one arm around my back, pulling me close, and cups the base of my head with his other hand and I sink into him. Then he presses his lips to mine. The touch is somehow both soft and firm at the same time and sends so many sparks of happiness and contentment and excitement and peace coursing through me at the same time. I link my hands at the back of his neck and try to soak in everything Ollie is as our lips move together.
There are sounds of people in the distance closing down the fall festival and getting the bonfire going, yet it feels like we’re all alone at the edge of the park, kissing to the sounds of crickets chirping and the stream gurgling. I can’t imagine anything more perfect.
I had thought that our kiss in the middle of the fall festival with people all around had been so great because of the excitement of the danger and the fact that we were kissing as a way to hide. But that wasn’t it at all. Everything that made that kiss amazing—and this one even more amazing—is because it’s Ollie .
Eventually , he breaks the kiss and trails his fingers along the side of my face and on my neck, and I close my eyes, soaking in the feel of it.
I am a kite, and right now, I am soaring so high in the sky. And I know that I am tethered exactly where I should be.