Chapter 7 #2
Slowly, he straightened in his chair. “All I wanted was to have a simple dinner with Nora. Nothing overly romantic. Nothing that was going to put pressure on either of us. And somehow, now the entire resort knows—along with our friends who live eight hundred miles away—and I’m suddenly feeling a ton of pressure. ”
No one said anything for several long moments.
“You’re right,” Maisie said. “We thought we were being helpful. Like I said, we all really adore Nora, and we were excited at the thought of the two of you getting together and wanted to make the night special for her. She’s had some really crappy experiences with guys, and we just felt like her agreeing to go out with you would be… you know…a good thing.”
“Yeah,” Lexi chimed in. “A way for her to see that there are good guys out there. That they’re all not creeps.”
He looked up at Connor, who simply shrugged. “I don’t care what you do, but if it were me, I’d always go for a more private setting. The restaurant is a family place. It’s loud, kids are running around, and it’s not really conducive to a date. But if you don’t care about that sort of thing…”
“No, no. You’re right. It would be nice to have some privacy. Less chance of there being witnesses to me screwing things up.”
There was a collective groan and Milo was about to ask why when Connor explained.
“Why do you do that, huh? For such a smart and successful guy in business, you’ve got zero confidence in your personal life.
I know you tend to let your work consume you so you don’t have an active social life, but you’ve never mentioned anything going so heinously wrong that you need to hide. So, what gives?”
Raking a hand through his hair, Milo let out a long breath, hesitating to say anything in front of Lexi and Maisie. Unfortunately, he knew they’d just find out eventually. Because at the Lakeview Harbor Resort, gossip didn’t travel; it checked in, unpacked, and made itself at home.
“What am I even doing?” he asked miserably. “What right do I have asking Nora out? The woman had to come and rescue me, for crying out loud! I should run in the opposite direction and avoid her, not plan a romantic dinner with her.”
No one said a word for several long and awkward moments.
“Do you want to know something that most women find sexy but rarely admit?” Lexi asked. And if Milo wasn’t mistaken, Connor’s head snapped around so fast he should have whiplash.
When he shrugged, she continued.
“Vulnerability,” she said. “Sure, a strong, confident man is sexy too, but when you find a guy who doesn’t pretend he’s something else? Someone who’s almost brutally honest about what he perceives as flaws? Yeah, very sexy.”
“Seriously?” both he and Connor said in unison.
“Oh, absolutely,” Maisie agreed. “You’re looking at this situation the wrong way.
Although…I get it. We all have insecurities, and most of the time, no one can talk us out of them.
But Nora’s not focused on the fact that you needed to be rescued, okay?
She’s focused on getting to know a guy who she likes and respects. ”
That really didn’t do much to encourage him.
It wasn’t like she was focused on getting to know a guy she was physically attracted to.
You like and respect your accountant or your doctor.
But it sounded a little lackluster when describing the person you were going on a date with.
“Look, either you’re going to do this or you’re not,” Connor said, interrupting his thoughts. “Personally, I think you’re freaking out over nothing.” He stood. “And I’ve got the menu covered. I’ll be there to prepare it myself at 7:15. Whether you’re there or not.”
“You’ve got this, Milo,” Lexi whispered as she got to her feet and followed Connor out the door.
“I agree,” Maisie said with a smile as she stood up too. “Believe in yourself. Taking one little risk—breaking out of your comfort zone—can lead you to something amazing.”
And with a little wave, she walked out the door, leaving him feeling a little better about tonight.
But not much.
Nora stood in front of her closet as if it had personally betrayed her.
She shoved hangers aside with mounting irritation, the metal clacking together in protest as one impractical outfit after another slid past her fingers.
Athletic shorts. Resort polos. More athletic shorts.
A hoodie she refused to apologize for. Apparently, at no point in her adult life had she prepared for the possibility of going on a date with a millionaire tech guru.
“This is ridiculous,” she muttered, yanking a dress off the rack and holding it up like evidence. Too fancy. She wasn’t trying to impersonate someone who owned throw pillows. The next option was worse—too short, too stiff, too not her . She shoved it to the back of the closet with a scowl.
She leaned her forehead against the closet frame and sighed. She wasn’t fashionable; she was functional. She owned clothes meant for early mornings, lake water, hiking up a mountain, and mild disasters—not candlelit dinners with men who probably know what the word bespoke means.
Somewhere in the chaos, a familiar realization set in: Milo hadn’t asked her out because of what she wore. He’d asked her out because she was herself.
Still.
She shoved the hangers aside one more time, squinting. “I swear to God,” she told the closet, “If you don’t give me one reasonable option, I’m wearing jeans and calling it quits. It’s not like he’s going to show up wearing a tuxedo, right?”
The closet, unsurprisingly, did not respond.
In the end, she wore jeans.
But with a cute top that still had the tags on it, which she found tucked away in the bottom drawer of her dresser.
It was white and flowy and off the shoulder.
It looked like it could be dressed up or down, and after she put on a pair of large silver hoop earrings and a simple silver necklace, she decided she looked… softer, more feminine.
“Probably because I also put on makeup,” she murmured, studying her reflection. Most days she didn’t bother with it because she was outside all day either hiking or running or on the water. Makeup wasn’t practical, but tonight felt like a good excuse to wear some.
A date.
She was seriously going on a date.
The last time she’d gone out on one was…
“Yikes. When was it?”
The fact that she couldn’t remember simply told her it had been too long.
Was she nervous? Sure. But they were going up to the lodge where they hung out every single day. It wasn’t like he was jetting her off to Manhattan or Paris or something.
Then why did it feel like she had dozens of butterflies fluttering around in her belly?
That was easy; this wasn’t just a casual dinner between friends.
Even if it was just up at the lodge.
This was a date with a man she found attractive, a man who openly admitted that he was attracted to her. It didn’t matter that he didn’t remember saying it; once she confronted him about it, he didn’t deny it.
And here they were.
The knock on her door made her jump, her hand resting over her racing heart.
“Okay. I can do this. He’s just a guy. Not a millionaire. Just a regular guy.”
Sliding her palms along her thighs, she slowly made her way to the door, letting out a long breath before opening it.
He stood on her small porch looking devastatingly handsome.
And nervous.
Glad I’m not the only one…
His dark hair desperately needed a cut, but the casual disarray looked good on him. His jaw was slightly stubbled, and the khakis and button-down shirt were his standard look. And yet tonight, it looked a little nicer.
Or maybe I’m reading too much into this…
“Hey,” she forced herself to say and realized it came out a little harsher than she intended. Laughing softly, she shook her head. “I mean…hi.”
He smiled back. “Hi.”
It was too early for crickets, and yet that’s what she swore she heard in the silence.
“So, um…should we go?” she asked, reaching for her small purse.
“Sure.” Milo took a step back, and when Nora stepped out onto the porch to shut the door, she felt his hand rest on the small of her back.
It felt nice.
They turned and stepped out onto the path. The air was starting to cool, and she shivered slightly.
“How was the rest of your day?” she asked as they started walking. “Did you figure out why that panel was blinking?”
“I did. It was just a loose connection. Someone had banged into it and it knocked something loose and didn’t want to own up to it. Easy fix.”
She started to veer to the left toward the lodge but noticed Milo veering to the right. “Um…”
He stopped and faced her. “Okay, slight change of plans.”
“O-kay…”
“And if this makes you uncomfortable or if you think it’s dumb, don’t be afraid to say so.”
That made her laugh softly. “I think we both know that I typically speak my mind.”
He laughed with her, his hands sliding into his trouser pockets. “Very true. So…we’re not eating dinner up at the lodge. Lexi and Maisie sort of suggested that it might be nicer to eat someplace quiet.”
She wasn’t sure what to say, so she waited for him to explain.
“So we’re eating in one of the cabins.”
“Really?” she asked skeptically, hating how she had misjudged him. When was she going to learn that nice guys don’t exist? You say one nice thing to them, and they think you owe them something. Like sex.
Dammit.
When she met his gaze, he looked wildly uncomfortable.
Good. That made two of them.
“I can tell by the scowl on your face that this isn’t acceptable,” he quickly said.
“I’m just now realizing how it sounds and what you must be thinking.
” He muttered a curse. “They thought it would be more…you know…romantic than being up in the restaurant with loud families and kids running around, and that we’d actually be able to have a conversation if we ate somewhere else.
And honestly, that’s what I want. The chance for us to have an actual conversation. That’s it. I swear.”
Her gaze narrowed like she was trying to decide if she believed him.