Kismet (11 page)

She ran into the house with an hour to get
ready. She fed Wolf and Oscar quickly, and then jumped in the
shower to wash the day off her body. She found herself shaving,
which didn't make sense because it was freezing outside and she
wouldn't be in shorts. She supposed she wanted to feel her
prettiest in his presence. She decided to get dressed while the
mirror defogged. Standing at her closet, she couldn't decide what
to wear.
What do women wear on dates?
She racked her memory
of what she saw others wearing on dates in the past. She was
usually a jeans (or scrubs) and t-shirt type of girl, but she
wanted to look nice for Garrett. She decided to put on black tights
and riding boots with a short, fitted grey skirt and dark blue,
cashmere sweater. Deciding to leave her hair down - which was rare
since she had to have it out of her way while working - she put on
some light make-up and inspected herself in the mirror. She wasn't
thrilled about her appearance, but she couldn't do anything about
her stature, shape, or hair at this point. She was who she was and
hoped it was good enough. She grabbed a quick snack of cheese and
crackers so she wouldn't eat like a pig in front of him. Due to her
schedule, she hadn't had anything since breakfast. Afterward, she
brushed her teeth and combed her hair one more time. It was two
minutes until 7:00 and she went into the living room to wait. She
was pacing, feeling sick with nerves.
Maybe I shouldn't have
eaten anything,
she thought as her stomach gurgled.

She
heard a rap on the front door and froze. She took a deep breath and
walked towards the door - she noted he was punctual. Wolf followed
on guard, directly behind her. She looked through the peephole and
saw the most handsome face she'd ever seen. He was looking at the
door handle as if he was willing it to open. She took another deep
breath and turned the knob, pulling the door wide.

Riley smiled at Garrett as Wolf growled and
bared his teeth. She immediately commanded him to sit; glad she had
always been the alpha and could exert great control. It was
necessary with such a huge dog. Looking back at Garrett she felt
horrible for the welcome he was given. He looked fantastic wearing
black jeans, a cozy sweater, and wool jacket. He looked like he
walked right out of the pages of a magazine and was holding a
bouquet of beautiful orange and yellow flowers intertwined with
green ivy vines.

"I'm so sorry Garrett. You weren't kidding
when you said animals didn't like you. Please come in. Don't worry,
Wolf will behave; he knows I'm alpha."

Garrett almost barked out a laugh at the
situation.
Did she seriously say she was alpha over that
gargantuan?
His little Kismet would give him a run for the
money. Moreover, she had named her dog Wolf - how ironic. He
stepped inside, closing the door behind him. She was stunning. It
was the first time he'd seen her hair not in a ponytail. The light
was bouncing off her gold and red highlights, giving her hair the
appearance of an auburn waterfall.
Beautiful
. He worked his
way down her body and saw she was wearing a fitted sweater and hip
hugging skirt with tights and boots. His mouth went dry. He wasn't
sure if this would classify as warm and comfortable, but he loved
the way she looked in it. Holding out the bouquet he said, "These
are for you, my Kismet. I hope you aren't allergic."

"They're exquisite, thank you. No, I'm not
allergic, I love flowers," she beamed. She took them and headed to
her kitchen for a vase. Wolf followed her with a constant rumbling
growl. He was not happy about Garrett being in the house. After she
placed the bouquet in water, she turned to set this relationship
aright.

"Wolf, come here. Sit," she commanded. She
placed herself between Garrett and Wolf, so she could intercede if
she needed to. "Now Garrett, will you come here please? I know
you're not used to animals, but Wolf needs to be comfortable with
you or this will be difficult. Please walk towards me confidently,
but not stiff. Loosen your body up, so Wolf knows you aren't a
threat." She held her hand out for him to hold. At least all of
this commotion with Wolf was giving something for her to focus on,
rather than the butterflies in her stomach.

He was doing his best not to laugh. Although,
he did have to admit she was handling the situation correctly. He
thought it was cute she didn't think he knew anything about
animals, if she only knew... He put his hand in hers, almost
groaning with the pleasure of it and walked forward. He did his
best to keep his wolf hidden so Wolf would be calm.

Riley shivered at his touch. "Perfect." She
wasn't sure if she meant the feel of his large, strong hand in hers
or the way he approached. She held his hand towards Wolf for him to
sniff. After he got a good sniff and Riley was sure he was relaxing
his stance, she went to grab Garrett's jacket she'd been wearing
non-stop. She held it up for Wolf to sniff and make the connection.
Then Wolf walked over and started sniffing Garrett. Riley laughed,
"Sorry, he's only checking you out. I think you guys will be fine
now."

She was right, Garrett could sense Wolf had
accepted him and wouldn't cause a problem. He had never tried to
make friends with a domestic dog, and he was surprised at how
easily she made it all happen. She had a special gift with animals.
He warmed at the thought of the power she possessed in such a small
package. Now, with the introductions out of the way, he started to
feel his nerves coming back about their evening together, and he
needed to address her clothing without hurting her feelings.

"Sweetheart, you look absolutely beautiful,
but did you get my text?"

"Text? No... What did it say?" First, she was
surprised at the endearment he used and then her brain caught up to
what he said. She was embarrassed, she'd clearly done something
wrong, and she wasn't sure what it was. Was she not dressed nice
enough for where they were going? He was in jeans, so she didn't
think that was the issue. She grabbed her phone out of her purse
and read the text. She felt a full bloom of heat on her face. She
felt so stupid. "Oh my gosh, let me go change into something else.
I feel like such an idiot. I was running late and didn't even think
about checking my phone. I'm so sorry; I hope this won't make us
too late." She knew she was blabbering, but couldn't seem to
stop.

"Don't worry about it. You look fantastic,
but you may want to change into jeans so you're warm. I'd feel
horrible if you were cold."

"It'll take me just a second." She ran into
her room and slammed the door.
Jeans, jeans, where are my
favorite jeans?
She knew which ones she wanted - they were the
only pair that fit her perfectly. Of course, they were in her dirty
laundry. Oh well, they didn't have any obvious stains on them. She
tugged her boots off, then her skirt and slid the jeans on over her
tights, figuring that would give her another layer of warmth. Then
she slid the boots back over the jeans. Yep, that'd work - the rest
of the outfit was fine. She grabbed her black and blue striped
scarf, which matched perfectly with her sweater, and headed back to
the living room.

*

While Riley rushed to her bedroom to change,
Garrett took the opportunity to look around. Her home was cozy and
welcoming. She had a galley style kitchen with white cupboards and
cream walls. Her dining table and living room furniture were white
washed wood, which sat on hardwood floors. White crown molding
topped the bluish-grey walls. He looked over at Wolf, who was still
being a bit hesitant and eyeing him with suspicion. He kneeled down
to his eye level and said, "Alright big boy, she clearly loves you
and I plan on being in her life for the long haul. She's my Kismet,
so we have to get along. I'll protect her with my life when she's
with me, if you do the same when she's with you, deal?"

Wolf seemed to understand his meaning. He lay
down on the ground and rolled over for a belly rub. Garrett
chuckled as he bent over to comply.

Riley ran down the hall and saw Garrett
rubbing Wolf's belly. She was in shock. Wolf normally wasn't a dog
that rolled over for anyone, especially with how the introduction
went. "Well, maybe you do have a way with animals after all. He
doesn't do that with anyone other than me," she said, nodding
towards Wolf.

Smiling, he nodded his head and said, "Yah, I
think I can get the knack of this." He stood up and asked, "Are you
ready to go?" He thought he was sad she had to change out of her
skirt, but the jeans she was wearing looked fantastic on her as
well. She looked good in anything.

"Yep, let me grab my coat." She opened her
coat closet and pulled out her cream wool coat. She was starting to
put it on, when Garrett walked up and helped her into it.
What a
gentleman.
His close proximity had her heart racing and she
hoped she'd be able to get through this night without making any
stupid mistakes. She headed for the door, when Garrett skipped
around her quickly and opened it for her. This was going to take
some getting used to.

"You don't have an alarm system?" He was
upset she didn't have anything other than Wolf for protection. Wolf
would help, but he wanted her safer.

"No, I'm in a pretty safe part of town. And I
have Wolf."

He didn't say anything else, vowing he'd have
her in his own house soon. They walked to the truck and he opened
the door for her. Glad he installed running boards, he held out his
hand to help her up into the bench seat.

She thanked him for his help into the truck
and snapped her seatbelt in place. She noticed his truck was
spotless. She expected it to be a bit more cluttered, but it looked
like it had just been detailed. She watched him walk around to his
side of the car and she mentally braced herself for the
evening.

He started the truck and said, "I think we'll
start with dinner and then I was thinking we could go ice skating
afterward. Does that sound good to you?" He was nervous about her
reaction, but her grin had him feeling at ease.

"It's fantastic! I love ice skating. I'm not
good at it, but I think it's fun."

"I'm not necessarily good at it either, but I
thought it'd be a fun activity and probably different than any
dates you've been on in the past." He cocked his head with a half
grin.

"Nope, I have definitely never been ice
skating on a date before," she said with a grin.
If he only
knew...

They drove about ten minutes until they
reached their destination, Lapellah. He had called ahead for a
reservation. He heard it was a great restaurant and locally owned.
When he looked online, their menu seemed to be diverse enough for
her to find something she liked. He pulled up outside the front
door and had to stop her from opening her own door. "Sweetheart,
you better get used to me opening doors for you. You deserve a
gentleman, and I'd like to be that man. Please sit tight and I'll
get your door." He jumped out hoping she wasn't so independent she
wouldn't let him care for her.

Astounded, she sat waiting for her door to
open. She didn't know chivalry still existed, and she'd gladly let
him be a gentleman for her. He had made it around the hood of the
truck exceptionally fast. He opened the door with a flourish and
held his hand out. As she started to get out, he put both hands on
her waist and gently lifted her down to the pavement. As she
descended, their eyes met and their faces came within an inch of
each other. Time seemed to slow down and she would have only needed
to lean in a fraction to brush her lips against his. Once she was
on the ground, she had to shake her head to clear it so she'd stop
gazing at him as if she were a lovesick puppy.

He clasped her hand and walked her to the
door of the restaurant, opening it for her. Her hand felt perfect
in his, her tiny fingers curling around his palm. He didn’t want to
let go. "Wait right here while I go park the truck. I'll only be a
moment."

Garrett needed to gather some self-control.
He almost took advantage of her as he helped her out of the truck.
What kind of man goes for the kiss at the beginning of the
evening?
He wanted to be a gentleman and not accost her. He
mentally berated himself all the way back to the restaurant.
Control, control, control.

He returned to the restaurant and couldn't
believe it. There she was, laughing and smiling in a conversation
with that Ryan guy. They were completely at ease with each other
and he wanted to pummel him. This was his date and his Kismet.
He will not encroach on our time together.

Walking up to them, he put his arm around
Riley, making his claim clear. His body hummed from the
contact.

Ryan held out his hand, "Hi Garrett, sorry we
didn't get to be formally introduced earlier today, what a
coincidence, huh?"

"Yah, some coincidence, I hope you don't
mind, but we're headed in for our reservation," Garrett said with a
tight smile after shaking his hand.

"Not at all, enjoy yourself, I was heading
out. Riley, I'll catch you on Wednesday," Ryan said smugly as he
turned and walked out the door.

Riley felt Garrett stiffen. She knew Ryan
said that to annoy him on purpose. She was so befuddled; guys had
never been interested in her. She couldn't figure out what was
going on and why he was so territorial. She laughed awkwardly and
said, "I hired him today. He starts working at the clinic on
Wednesday."

He resolved to not let that guy ruin their
night. He led her to the host and asked for their table. They were
led to a little booth in the corner with high backs. It was the
perfect location, where they could talk and not be interrupted or
distracted by anyone.