Chapter 5
Chapter Five
Abby answered the door after the first ring and almost swallowed her tongue at the sight before her. Ryan looked hot.
Of course she’d known he was hot, especially considering that she hadn’t been able to take her eyes off of him whenever he walked into a room.
But tonight he wore dark jeans and a black button-up, all under a thick leather jacket.
It might be cold outside, but it was sure hot in here.
Apparently, her mind was now making really bad jokes, but she couldn’t really help herself.
“You look amazing,” Ryan said softly. “Seriously amazing.”
She smiled and looked down at herself. She wore tall, knee-high black boots over her thick tights that were a criss-cross plaid.
Then she had on a nice knitted wrap dress that showcased her curves but not so much that she felt self-conscious.
She’d left her hair down in soft waves that had actually taken her a while to get right.
Her hair was sort of a fluffy mess if she didn’t handle it in just the right way. It was either not curly enough or too curly. Other days, it was a little straight, a little flat, or a mix of everything all at once.
So she had spent some time getting ready, trying to make sure that she didn’t look like a complete crazy woman when she went on her date.
Ryan didn’t seem to mind her hair or her curves, considering that she had a good amount of cleavage in this dress.
Not too much, and not too little. Just right.
Apparently, she was going to be running Goldilocks through her head during this date.
Yes, she’d dated since Max, but those two times didn’t really count in her head. They hadn’t lasted more than the one date each, and she definitely didn’t have the same butterflies she did now.
Why was she doing this again?
Ryan smiled at her. Oh yeah, that’s why.
“You look nice yourself,” she said, her voice far too breathy. “I just need to get my bag and my jacket.”
“No problem. Is Julia in tonight? Or is she off at the babysitter’s?”
Abby sucked in a breath when Ryan helped her with her coat, his breath warm on the back of her neck. He’d moved her hair out of the way so he could slide her jacket over her shoulders, and she tried not to shiver at his touch or nearness.
This was just a first date. She knew Ryan. They were friends.
She didn’t have to freak out about this.
But, apparently, that was exactly what she was going to do.
“She’s at Mace and Adrienne’s. Shep and Shea offered since Livvy and Julia are like best friends now, but Adrienne sort of drove over and kidnapped my daughter.”
Ryan snorted, shaking his head.
Abby grabbed her bag, smiling as well. “I know, the Montgomerys are a little bit insane.”
“But that’s why we love them.” She locked up behind herself and then walked out to Ryan’s car, letting him close the door behind her, even though she could have done it herself.
She kind of liked being taken care of, but maybe that was because it was Ryan. He and the Montgomerys didn’t try to take care of her in a way that said they thought she couldn’t do it on her own.
They just wanted to help. And like she’d said before, she was doing better at accepting that help. Even if it was one small step at a time. Of course, she was just going to have to keep thinking of life as one step at a time if she didn’t want to fall in love herself. It was easier said than done.
“So I didn’t actually ask where we’re going. All you said was to dress nicely casual, which is not that helpful.”
Ryan laughed. “Yeah, sorry about that. I was picking between two different places, seeing which one would need a reservation.”
“A reservation? Look at you, getting all fancy.”
He grinned at her as he pulled out of the driveway. “I can’t help it. I’m just the kind of fancy guy you think I am.”
She glanced at the tattoos peeking out from the cuff at his wrist and figured, yes, he was just as fancy as he needed to be.
“Anyway, we’re going down to that new Italian place.
Mace said he and Adrienne really like it, and they don’t take reservations.
But I called ahead, just to make sure there wasn’t that long of a wait.
So we’re good right now. There was another place that’s more like a deli that I figured you might like, but they did need reservations. ”
Abby shook her head. Colorado Springs was growing by leaps and bounds with each passing day.
New people, higher-priced homes, and new restaurants made the city feel like it was booming, even if it still felt like the place she had come to when she needed to heal.
She just wondered what it would feel like in a couple more years when they were out of space and all that was left were people and the mountains they could see everywhere they looked.
“I’ve been to that deli place, it’s not really a deli. It’s more like a harvest area where they try to tell you exactly how homegrown and farm-to-table all of the meals are. In detail.”
Ryan grinned, getting onto the highway. “Yeah, I know. Good food, but even with the reservations, I wasn’t sure that you really wanted a lecture before our date.”
“Well, at least it would give us something to talk about if things got awkward.”
There was silence.
Well…speaking of awkward.
“You know, I didn’t think of that. Maybe I should have made reservations.”
She pushed at his arm, and he grinned over his shoulder as he turned off the highway. “You’re mean.”
“You’re the one who brought up awkwardness. But, I figured we’re friends first, right? And if we can’t figure out something to talk about, we can always bring up the Montgomerys or Julia. Or keep stuffing our faces full of food so we don’t actually have to think about it.”
“I like that idea. Although I might gain ten pounds tonight if I get too nervous.”
Ryan parked and looked over her body. “You know, I’d be okay with that. Or you staying just the way you are.” He winced. “I was trying to say that you look hot, but I feel like I sort of mansplained to you about your own body. Please ignore me.”
She shook her head, laughing as she undid her seatbelt. “Well, at least we’re starting the awkward talk early.”
Ryan just shook his head as the two of them got out of the car and she met him around the front. He took her hand then, and she smiled. “Okay?” he asked.
“Okay.” And it was okay. Just because this was a first date didn’t mean that she had to overthink every single movement.
Because, in the end, no matter what, Abby still wanted to remain Ryan’s friend.
Even if this all turned to hell, and their chemistry really was just friendship with a touch of butterflies? She wanted him in her life.
She’d already lost enough, and she didn’t want to forfeit the friendship she’d already made.
Ryan squeezed her hand as they walked into the restaurant. “Abby? You doing all right?”
She nodded. “Yeah, just getting a little too introspective. Ignore me.”
“The problem is, Abby, I can’t ignore you.”
She swallowed hard as they followed the hostess to their table. Ryan said all the right things at the right times. She couldn’t help but wonder why she couldn’t seem to do the same.
She didn’t know what to say to him to explain that she really did enjoy his company. Maybe she should just say those words out loud, but she didn’t want to scare him.
She was really bad at this. She always had been. It was a wonder that Max had taken to her at all.
And…she should probably stop thinking about Max since she was on a date.
“So, do you have any food allergies I should worry about?”
Abby shook her head at Ryan’s question. “No, although I probably shouldn’t eat a whole bowl of pasta. Maybe I should add a veggie or some protein to it.”
“True, although I could probably eat a whole bowl of pasta right now. I think I was too nervous to eat all day.” Ryan winced, shaking his head. “Forget I said that. Pretend I’m all manly and confident and know what I’m doing.”
Abby grinned, sipping her water. “Thank God. Because I feel like I have no idea what I’m doing.”
“Yay, that makes two of us. Should make for some rousing conversation.”
“And if we do get that big bowl of pasta, it means we can eat more when things get awkward.”
Ryan raised his water glass in a toast, and she laughed. Maybe they could do this. After all, they were just Ryan and Abby. Friends.
And totally not freaking out, even if they were doing it together.
Maybe. “So, how was work?” Ryan asked.
They had already given their orders to the waiter and were now sipping on a nice house red wine.
It was part of happy hour, thankfully. She knew that both she and Ryan liked to save their money.
And she knew that Ryan would only have one glass, considering that he’d already told her as much.
She only wanted one glass as well because she needed to keep her wits about her.
Plus, she wanted to make sure that when she went to pick up Julia later, she wasn’t completely intoxicated.
Being a single mom wasn’t easy, but she was figuring it out.
At least, she hoped she was.
The food came, and she dug into her scallop linguine. She didn’t usually go for seafood, but it sounded amazing. Ryan got the chicken piccata with a little side of Alfredo. The fact that he had gotten an extra side of pasta just made them both laugh.
“It’s really for both of us,” he said once the waiter had left. “Just in case we say something stupid and need to stuff our faces with pasta.”
She smiled, glancing at the Alfredo. “It looks amazing.”
He looked up at her. “Everything looks pretty damn amazing.”
They dug in, talking about their jobs and Julia between bites. They didn’t talk too much about family or anything too serious. She knew that this was a decent first-date conversation and going into anything too serious would be hurtful. Maybe not for him, but definitely for her.
“So, we doing pretty good for our first date?” Ryan asked after they had been eating for a bit.