Chapter 10
CHAPTER TEN
It had been a long, long, long time since June had gone out on a date, but she found that she enjoyed the primping aspect of getting ready.
It had been ages since she’d gone all out like this, with the whole hair, makeup, and outfit thing.
She dressed up a little to go out to the open mic nights, of course, but a date was different.
It was the date part of going on a date that made her feel so nervous.
The last time June had gone on a first date, she’d been fifteen years old, and the sum total of “getting ready” that she’d done was swiping on a new coat of lip gloss in the girls’ room before walking to the donut shop that had been around the corner from their high school.
She and Keith had bought a dozen donuts and shared them, something that gave her a stomachache just from thinking about it now.
But at the time, it had been a pretty perfect first date.
Captain’s Crest was a great deal nicer than Denny’s Donut Hole, though, and June didn’t actually own strawberry lip gloss any longer. So her ritual did look a little different these days.
Her blonde hair didn’t hold a curl for very long, but with enough hairspray, her cute hairstyle would last through dinner, although she would have to forgo wearing a hat.
She pinned back a few pieces with a sparkly clip that she’d purchased for a New Year’s party a few years before, which she’d had to skip when Benjamin had come down with a bout of the flu and which she hadn’t taken from the packaging in the years since.
And she’d taken the short break between house cleanings today to dash over to Diana’s shop to find a dress that would suit both the occasion and the weather.
Diana had hooked her up with the perfect green sweater dress that was about two shades deeper in hue than her eyes, but only after pointing her finger threateningly at June.
“If you do not send me a photo of you all dolled up, June Caldwell,” she’d said menacingly, “we will be having words.”
June swiped on a coat of lipstick in a raspberry hue, blotted, and then dutifully sent a grinning selfie to Diana, hitting send on the picture without even looking at it, lest she start to scrutinize her appearance too much.
DIANA: Too gorgeous! Your country star isn’t going to know what hit him!
JUNE: He’s not *my* country star.
JUNE: But thank you.
Diana sent back a string of emojis that all had hearts for eyes.
June tucked her phone into the handbag that she’d borrowed from Diana’s well-stocked closet, rather than undertake the expense of purchasing a new one for herself, then took a deep breath to steady herself.
Putting herself out there in a romantic context was daunting, but there was something about Levi.
She’d really liked the way he’d openly apologized to her when confronted with his teeny tiny lie.
June knew, mostly from Diana’s tales of her experiences with online dating, that many men would have avoided taking responsibility.
But not Levi. He’d apologized, and then offered an explanation that contextualized his behavior enough that she didn’t worry that he would hide the truth again.
She was still nervous, but the way that he’d taken responsibility for his actions reassured her.
Even so, June was skilled at winding herself up into a proper freak-out, and she was getting started on another good one when her doorbell rang.
June jolted, then laughed a little at herself for getting so caught up in musing that she hadn’t even noticed the time slipping away.
She grabbed her purse from the chair, the little impractical one that did not contain so much as a single kids’ snack, threw on her nicest woolen jacket, and opened the door.
She caught Levi in the middle of huffing into his hands for warmth, and even in the slightly silly posture, he looked…
“Wow,” she said. “You look really nice.”
He had looked handsome enough the other night at the bar, and again when she’d run into him at the grocery store, but she realized now that she hadn’t yet seen him when he was trying to look handsome.
Tonight though, he’d put in effort. His tousled hair still fell over his forehead a little, but in a way that June could see that he’d put some product into it to make it look just that slight bit nicer.
He’d shaved too, so there was no more of that shadow of stubble on his cheeks, and though June had liked him with the faint growth, she liked this too. He looked polished.
That polish might have made June’s nerves surge anew, might have reminded her that he was a successful country star that could probably date anyone he wanted, while she was a small-town single mom who worked all the time to make ends meet…
But it didn’t. Instead, it felt flattering, like he was telling her that she was someone worth dressing up for.
There was a slightly awkward pause in which Levi didn’t respond, his hands still halfway to his mouth. Then his gaze dipped down to his hands, and he chuckled, wincing awkwardly at himself.
“Sorry,” he said sheepishly. “I just got distracted because you… you’re the wow, June.”
She grinned, biting her lower lip lest the expression grow too broad and give her away.
“And you’re not quite ready for this weather, are you, Mr. Southern Boy?
” she asked, joking to lighten the mood.
She liked what she knew of Levi, but she didn’t want to get in too deep too fast, and the way he looked at her like she really was remarkably beautiful made her feel warm in a way she didn’t want to confront quite yet.
“Ma’am,” Levi said with an exaggerated version of his drawl, tipping a hat that he wasn’t wearing.
It made her feel good that he was going along with her shifting toward the more casual conversation, like he was okay with her setting the pace.
“I rightly reckon that I’ve never felt quite so Southern as when I came up to this here Yankee winter. ”
His silliness made her laugh.
“Is the winter Yankee?” she asked. “I thought it was just the people.”
“Anything can be Yankee if it inconveniences a Southerner,” he said in his regular voice, his accent far more subdued but not absent. “Therefore, I say yes.”
“All right then,” she said, chuckling. “Let’s get you into the car before you turn into an icicle.”
“Does that happen to people?” he asked in mock horror. “Goodness, woman, c’mon then. I wouldn’t be nearly as good a dinner companion if I was frozen over.”
He offered her his arm, and June was touched by this show of solicitousness. They headed to Levi’s truck, and June teased him about how his car even seemed Southern, which led them to a conversation about all the differences from his hometown and Magnolia Shore.
“Well, actually, that brings me to a good point,” Levi said as he drove them through the dark streets. Few people were out, given the cold, but they passed a couple of joggers and someone walking their dog. “You work at the diner, right?”
“I do,” June confirmed.
“So tell me: why are there no shrimp and grits on that menu? A man sometimes just needs some shrimp and grits!”
June laughed at his vehemence.
“Well, this might shock you, but they don’t actually let the waiters plan the menu.”
“But you must have an in,” he said pleadingly. “Tell me who I need to talk to. Or bribe. I’m not above bribery in this matter, June!”
By this point, she was laughing so hard that she had to clap a hand over her mouth.
“I’ll see what I can do,” she promised.
He pretended to wipe sweat from his brow as though this was a near miss that he’d avoided in the last moment, although of course it was only just starting to get warm in the truck.
The only part of the cab of the truck that was actually hot was June’s cheeks.
It was… really sweet, the way he treated her job like it was important, like it mattered.
June wasn’t ashamed of her work as a waitress or a house cleaner, of course.
They were honest jobs that let her put food on her son’s plate.
But some people definitely acted as though she was lesser because she worked in service roles.
It was nice to know that Levi wasn’t like that.
They arrived at Captain’s Crest, which was bustling even on a Wednesday night. Levi had called ahead and made a reservation, however, so they were quickly shown to a table in a private corner in the back of the restaurant.
“Here’s one thing I have to say I prefer about small towns,” Levi said as they opened their menus.
“I called the other night, after you agreed to our date, and they had no problem getting me in. In Nashville, if you wanted a table at a restaurant this nice, you would need to call a month in advance.”
“Even with your celebrity status?” she teased, raising a brow at him over the top of her menu.
He laughed, shaking his head at her.
“Man, I open up to a pretty woman about my deep, dark fears and she uses them against me!” he said in mock affront.
“Sorry,” she said, but they were both laughing.
“Is life feeling a little more level now that you’re out of the public eye all the time?
” she asked. “I mean, feel free to tell me to mind my own business if that’s too personal, but I admit that I’m curious.
I’ve never been famous, you see,” she added with a sly smile.
He smiled back, although there was something contemplative behind it.
“A little,” he said. “I mean, I’m definitely starting to feel more like my old self.
But, also, yesterday I went out for a walk, and an older lady waved at me, and I almost dived into the bushes to avoid her like I was in some sort of ‘hapless spy’ movie.
Then I realized she was just being friendly. ”
June laughed at this image but then she narrowed her eyes.
“Wait a minute. Was this older lady stylish, with a cute short silver haircut, and wearing a very bright scarf?”
Levi blinked. “Um, yes, actually. How did you know that?”