Chapter 9
Aknock on her apartment door had Molly smoothing her sweater dress down.
She quickly glanced in the mirror to check her makeup before pulling the door open.
Eli stood on the other side with a bouquet of tulips.
His hair had been cut and neatly styled with his beard trimmed.
She wanted to rake her hands through it so badly.
Instead, she clenched her fists at her sides.
He smiled and looked her up and down. “Molly, you look incredible.”
A blush crept up her cheeks. “Thank you.”
“These are for you.” He handed her the bouquet, and she closed her eyes while she inhaled. Flowers were one of her favorite things about spring. The fresh blooms and color coming alive after a dark winter. It would always be her favorite season for that reason alone.
“Come in.” She opened the door wider for him to follow her inside as she walked to the kitchen and put the flowers in a vase. Eli remained near the door, but his eyes tracked over the entire room. Having someone in her space felt weird. It had been a long time since she had had that.
Back in Denver, she had her own place, but was rarely home because of her demanding work schedule. It all felt like a waste—having a lavish apartment that she couldn’t even enjoy.
Moving to Storyville had been a tremendous change. Not just because she was in a small town away from everyone she knew. And not because she was in a completely new job. It was because she had a smaller place; she was home more, and she never took her work home with her.
Except to think about Eli.
“Shall we?” Eli held out his arm, and Molly took it, walking with him to his car.
He pulled the passenger door open, and after she sat, he closed the door behind her before making his way around to the driver’s side.
Once he slid onto the seat, he looked over at her and smiled. “I thought we’d head to Rousseau Paradis for dinner. Have you been?”
She shook her head. “No, but I’ve heard it’s good.”
“It’s fantastic. After dinner, we could go to the rooftop club and grab drinks as well, if you’d like.”
“That sounds great.”
Eli put the car in drive and headed down the street.
If he hadn’t mentioned it all being for appearances, she would have thought it was a real date.
Bringing her flowers and opening her car door in front of her apartment wasn’t part of the deal.
With just the small glimpses, she knew that whoever ended up with him would be one hell of a lucky woman.
If only it could be her.
Eli parked the car and then ran around to her side, opening the door for her and offering his arm for her to take. She wrapped her fingers around his elbow and walked beside him.
It was Molly’s first time stepping inside the local hot springs resort. Tourists were everywhere. As they walked toward the restaurant, she got a peek at the hot springs and knew she would need to come back to check them out.
They were seated quickly since Eli had a reservation. Then they looked over the menu in silence. Molly kept herself busy reading the descriptions of every item just to avoid making small talk. But after the server took their orders and their menus, she had no choice but to talk to Eli.
Why was she so nervous? This wasn’t like her. Never had she been on a date with someone and worried about getting to know them. She could usually carry a conversation with the best of them.
But this felt different. He was different. She still felt like she was trying to impress him, but knew that was an irrational thought. She didn’t need to impress him. They were out as friends and couldn’t be anything more. At least not without her quitting her job.
“So,” Eli said, folding his hands in front of him on the table. “What brought you to Storyville?”
It wasn’t a real date, and she hadn’t expected date-like questions.
“Oh. Um, I don’t know. It seemed like a town where I could catch my breath and enjoy life. Somewhere that was away from city life.”
Eli nodded. “You’re from Denver, right?”
“Yes.”
“What kind of work did you do there before moving here?”
She thought back to her job. She had worked for her parents’ company.
It had been grueling. Not because her parents owned it, and not because they had insane expectations of her, but because the job itself was exhausting.
Her parents didn’t expect anything different from her than they did from anyone else in the office, so it wasn’t unfair treatment. She just didn’t enjoy it anymore.
“I worked in business. Analyzing data and helping companies grow.”
“Interesting.”
She smiled. “Is it?”
“Yes. It’s just not what I expected.”
She knitted her brows together and watched him. “Didn’t you already know that?”
“No. Was I supposed to?”
“Well, you interviewed me after all. Didn’t you read my resume?”
A blush crept up Eli’s neck, and a smile tugged at the corner of her mouth.
“So you didn’t read it.” It was a statement. The clear guilt on his face was all the answer she needed. She giggled and leaned forward. His embarrassment was the cutest thing she’d ever seen.
He was trying to push it down; that much she could see.
“Tell me. Were you doing interviews with just anyone? What if they didn’t pass the vibe check?”
He laughed. “Then I wouldn’t hire them.”
“But why waste your time interviewing someone without knowing if they’d be a good fit for your company?”
“Honestly? You work for Katie. Yes, you work for me since I also own the bookstore, but the interviews and selecting candidates were her decision. Not mine. She reviewed the resumes, but being in a small town, there weren’t many applicants. I was only in the interview as a second opinion.”
“I see.”
“Luckily, too. Otherwise, who knows how Lauren would have acted. She might have gotten the job if it had just been Katie interviewing her.”
Molly’s eyes widened. “Is that why she hangs around? She met you in the interview? Or have you known her your whole life?”
“No. Actually, I had never met her prior to the interview. I have no idea why she latched onto me, but her interview was just awkward. She was obsessed with me right off the bat and asked inappropriate questions as if she were interviewing me.”
Molly giggled. “Can you imagine if she had been hired?”
Eli sighed. “I can’t even joke about it. It would have been terrible.”
Their food was brought to the table, and they both ate in silence. It wasn’t until both of their plates were almost empty before Eli spoke up.
“Is your family still in Denver?”
Molly nodded and finished chewing the food in her mouth before swallowing and taking a drink of water. “They are. It’s just my parents. I’m an only child.”
“How did they feel about you moving here?”
“Fine. They didn’t have too much of an opinion on it.” She shrugged. “They understood why I wanted to go, but I think they hope I’ll come back to take over the family business. I’m worried I’m disappointing them. They haven’t spoken to me much since I left.”
She knew answering that question would open a whole can of worms, where she needed to explain, but with Eli it felt different.
She didn’t mind telling him all about her life.
For so long she felt judgment from people around her who knew who her parents were.
They were powerful in Denver, but even if Eli knew them, she didn’t think he’d judge.
“Have you tried talking to them about it?”
She shook her head. “No. They’re busy.”
He tilted his head. “Obviously, I don’t know them, but I’m sure they’d love to hear from you.”
“Maybe,” she said softly. Not talking to her parents had been harder on her than she let on. It weighed on her to think she was disappointing them.
“What kind of business is it?”
She smiled softly, thankful he had changed the subject. “They run the business analyst company I used to work for.”
Eli leaned back in his chair and studied her. “Do you plan to go back eventually?”
Molly would love to say “yes” to that question. To be exactly what her parents wanted and to take over their company. But her heart just wasn’t in it. Right now, her heart was in Storyville, working for a cafe.
It was what her body needed: a break.
“No. It’s not for me, and I’m enjoying the slower pace here.”
In the short time she had been there, Storyville was becoming her home, and she had no intention of leaving.
The date had been going well. Molly was a fun person to talk to.
She was incredibly intelligent and far too smart to be working in a cafe, but he understood why she wanted to do something else.
He took his work home with him far too often.
Constantly worrying about selling enough books to pay the bills and keep them afloat stressed him out.
He could usually lose himself in a book to forget for a while, but it always gnawed at the back of his mind.
After their dinner, they went to the rooftop bar. The retractable roof was currently open to the night sky. A gas fireplace was lit in the center of their table, putting off enough heat to keep them warm.
“It’s so beautiful here,” Molly said. “I love that I can see the stars so clearly.”
Eli watched her staring up at the sky with a soft smile on her face.
“Molly?”
“Hmm?” She met his eyes, and he wanted to reach across the table and take her hand, but the fire hindered it.
“I want this to be a real date.”
She furrowed her eyebrows. “A real one?”
His throat felt as if it were thickening, and he had to swallow to clear it. “Yes. I want this to count as an actual date. Not just one for show. Or we can have a redo, and I’ll do it properly.”
“I’m pretty sure you’ve already done it properly. You brought me flowers.”
He smiled. “You deserve them.”
She blushed. “I think I’d like that. Going on a real date.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.”