If he told her about the dinner date tomorrow night she’d be over the moon but he wanted to keep it to himself. As it was, David felt like a traitor to his own emotions for agreeing to join April for dinner, because that would only be encouraging the friendship. And on a more personal level. Nothing good could come of it. She was so different to him, but his brain and his heart were in the biggest fight of his life. He found himself losing ground no matter how hard he tried to keep a handle on it. He refused to give his mother false hope when he had no idea of what was happening himself. This could end very badly. The possibility of things going well didn’t even enter his head, so focused on what he thought was already mapped out for him.
Chapter Thirteen
David stood at the bottom of the stairs and held the box of chocolates in his hand. Would she like them? It’d been hard to decide what to bring and in the end it’d been a rush decision. He’d agonized over flowers and wine, both of which were bad ideas considering her profession and the reason he was invited for dinner in the first place.
Which didn’t leave much in the way of a hostess offering when he thought about it. Chocolates it was. Stop procrastinating and knock on the door!
He grabbed the stair railing and skipped up, his heart pounding, Oscar right beside him tugging on his lead. Before he got halfway, the door opened and April appeared with Hamish beside her. “Hey, David. How nice to see you.”
She leaned on the top post and grinned, a warm and inviting smile that encouraged him more than it should have. When had be become so needy that a smile would make him feel as though his day was now fulfilled? Since April Moore had come to town, that was when.
“Hello.” He thrust his hand forward feeling like a bumbling fifteen-year-old trying to impress a girl. “These are for you.”
She moved down a couple of steps to take the offering and Oscar pushed his way up to meet Hamish. “Thank you, that’s so sweet.” Hamish leaned down to smell the smaller dog, excited he’d found the smell that hovered around David’s feet.
“You’re welcome. Ah, were you going out? Am I too early?” He might have been a little early but he didn’t think it would matter since she lived over her business.
“I was but we don’t have to go anywhere if you don’t want to. Hamish looked in need of a break so I was going to take him to the lake and let him run along the shoreline. Do you feel like stretching your legs or would you rather not?”
“That would be nice. I haven’t been there for, oh, I don’t know, since yesterday I guess. I think Oscar would love it. Mind if I grab my running shoes?”
She grinned and handed him the dog lead. “Sure but can you hold him for a minute while I put these inside and we can go.” April ducked back upstairs and through the door.
Hamish looked into his face from the higher step, his doggy breath rolling over David’s cheeks. “You and I need to get along, big fella. That means keeping that nose of yours in the right places. Understand?”
In response, Hamish blinked and nudged his hand with a wet nose. David patted the big head, grateful his trousers didn’t suffer this time.
April came out and bounced down the stairs, her patchwork overalls swishing around her legs. “Just look at you two. Becoming friends, that’s so sweet.” She scurried past them, grabbing the dog leash out of David’s hand. “Get your shoes and let’s go. We can do a fast walk there and a leisurely one back, give my leg a good work out. Get the heart pumping.”
He watched her sprinting away and, forgoing his running shoes, hurried to catch up with her. Oscar pulled on his leash desperate to keep up with the big dog loping beside April with his long legged gait. They cruised past the coffee shop, the Lake Hotel, and almost jogged across the road. For a little thing, she could move fast when she put her mind to it. By the time they got to the shoreline, David was just hitting his stride.
“I love this view.” April unclipped the leash from Hamish’s collar and let him run down to the water’s edge.
“It’s pretty special, isn’t it? I try and get out here most mornings. Oscar loves it. For an older dog, he took to jogging with a vengeance.” He stood and looked across the water, then clipped off the lead and let the little dog run after Hamish.
“They’re so cute. Friends already.” April laughed, her joy shimmering across the water. “I like it here, David.” She slipped her hand into his and his heartbeat increased. “I like being with you, too.”
Gosh, where did that come from? “Really? Ahhh, thank you.”
She put her hand on his back and rubbed it around in circles as if she was trying to soothe him like a cranky child. “Honestly, I love how you react to what I say. I’m not trying to turn you into a hippie like me. I know how people look at me and see ‘weirdo’ and that’s fine. I like being who I am.”
“I like you, too, April. I think.” He tilted his head and gazed over the water before coming back to look at her. “I’ve never met anyone like you and it’s all rather refreshing to me.” Even if it scared him to death at the same time. “But I have something I have to tell you.”
“So serious.” Hamish
