Love Takes Time (Christian Romance) (7 page)

She
didn’t know if it was simply the relief of finally being able to give Ava the name
of her wedding date or the prospect of spending an undisclosed amount of time
with tall, tan, and handsome, but she was jumping for joy inside.  If she
had to guess, she would be more inclined to think it was the latter.  They
walked out of the studio door and stood talking. 

“Now
for the real test of your forgiveness.   Can I take you to dinner
this evening?”  

Chelsea
felt her skin tingle in response.  She was sure that even if she had
wanted to say no, she would not be able to.  Her mouth would have rebelled
against her and made its own decision.  His charm had already taken away
all of her inhibitions. She played it off, trying to make sure that she didn’t
look too desperate.  After pausing for a few seconds to “consider” her
schedule, she responded with a shrug.

“I
think that I’d enjoy that.”

“Great!
 I have a few things to take care of today. Obviously you have your hands
full with your students today.  How about around seven o’clock at Chez
Henri?”

Her
eyebrows crinkled and she looked up.  She knew she’d heard of the place
somewhere before. 

“Chez
. . .  Henri . . . Chez Henri.  Wait do you mean the place downtown?”

“That’s
the place.”

“Whoa. 
That is way out of my normal dining experience. “

Chelsea
had heard of the place but had never been there before.  It was 
way 
out
of her budget.  She didn’t mind having a little money spent on her though.
 From the looks of things, the other day, he certainly could afford it.
 She nodded her head in agreement while mentally trying to decipher why
such a fine specimen of a man would want to spend dinner with her in the first
place.  She was baffled by it--but she was willing to find out.  She
looked at him when she thought about something. 

“It’s
not formal wear is it?  Because I have nothing in my closet that’s really
super nice looking.” 

“I
mean it’s dressy but not anything too outlandish.  A nice evening wear is
fine.  If you don’t have anything, I can have something prepared for you
at a boutique downstairs and you can pick it up.  My treat.”

She
giggled at his quick solution to the problem but she wasn’t going to let him
buy her dress.  All she could think of at that moment was pretty woman and
even though Julia Roberts is totally beautiful, she wasn’t looking to play that
role. 

“That’s
thoughtful of you but I don’t think I should have you buying clothes for me on
our first date.  Well technically this would be even before our first
date.  I’m pretty sure I have a dress that should work.  If not, I
have a best friend that most definitely does and we’re close enough in size to
make it work.”

“I
hope that didn’t offend you.”  He asked her.

“No. 
Not at all.”

“Good. 
I just don’t want anything to happen to stop this evening.  I’ve been
looking forward to this chance since the other day.”

He
looked around and then pointed to her bag as he started walking. 

“That’s
your bag right?  I remember it from the other day.”

She
let out a slightly confused affirmation.  He’s a pretty aware guy to have
noticed and remembered the bag she had worn in all of the turmoil the other
day.  Her phone was sticking out of the small pocket in the side where she
always kept it.  She watched as he grabbed the phone and began to tap the
screen.  His phone beeped.  

I
really should put a password on that.

“There.”
 He said, before handing her phone to her.  “I have your number and
you have mine.  Now I just need to do this.  Smile.”

Before
Chelsea knew it, he had taken her picture and created a profile for her on his
phone.  

“
Ooooh
no.  I look like garbage right now. You cannot
keep that picture.  It must be deleted immediately.”

“No
can do.  Besides, I think you look more attractive right now than you can
imagine.  I want this image of you to be the one I see every single time
you call me, which I hope happens a lot in the future.  Besides, I want
something to remember you by between now and dinner.”

“Right.
 Well if I’m really as pretty as you say, then you wouldn’t forget so
easily.  That means you don’t need it.”  She retorted, playfully
swatting his arm and noticing how well built he was.  She hoped her
surprise did not show.  

“True.
 I doubt I would forget your face in a million years.  I definitely
won’t lose it in a few hours.  Let’s just say I was being selfish then.”

“Selfish….Ok.”

For
a moment they both stood in silence, smiling at each other until one of her
students shouted to her for direction.  She acknowledged the child with a
wave.

“Well,
I do need to get back to my students now.  I’ll see you tonight.”

“Great.
 Call me when you’re ready.  I’ll be on the other side of town before
our date so I’ll send a car to pick you up.  One of our drivers will be
calling to get directions from you, and before you say that it isn’t necessary,
it is.  I’d prefer to be there to pick you up myself but I’m not going to
take a chance making you wait now since I worked a yes out of you.  I’ve
been looking forward to this night for far too long to leave you to some random
taxi driver.  I can’t wait to see you tonight Chelsea.”  

Ryder
winked at her, did an about turn and left her to her students.  If she
wasn’t mistaken, he had a huge smile plastered all over his face. 

***

Ryder
had just gotten to the restaurant and was speaking to the maître d’.  He
was thankful at least that he called ahead and had the table reserved. 
All she had to do was give them his name and they would escort her to his VIP
section. 

“Ah,
Mr. Chatham.  Your guest is waiting for you
now
sir.”

Darn
it.  She’s already here.

“Thanks
David.”

Ryder
was upset with himself for running late; unfortunately, work could get that way
sometimes.  It was about fifteen minutes after seven p.m. when he rushed
into the back room of the restaurant and saw her.  She was sitting at his
regular table looking around while twisting her hair carelessly. 

He
took a minute to study her from afar before approaching.  She was stunning
in a black cocktail dress that was beautiful on her.  If this was her not
having anything to wear, then he couldn’t wait to see her when she was 
really 
made
up.  He was convinced then that she was more perfect that night than she
had been on the few occasions when he had seen her before.    

Her
skin was smooth and flawless, conveying both youth and the work required to
take good care of one’s appearance.  Her face finally fell upon him and
the corners of her lips turned up in a demure smile when their eyes met. 
He strode over and she stood, embracing him in a light hug.

“I’m
so sorry I am late.  Did you have to wait for a long time?”

“Nope. 
Actually I just got here a little bit ago.  Literally I just sat
down.  If you’d gotten here five minutes earlier, you would have been
waiting on me instead.” 

“That’s
a relief.”

She
smiled at him and he thought she looked as excited as a kid in an amusement
park. 

“Ryder,
this place is nice on a ridiculous level.  I didn’t know how nice it is
until I got inside.  Then there’s the service.  All I did was gave
them your name and their eyes lit up.  Next thing I know, they are
treating me like I could do no wrong while they brought me around here. 
Who would have imagined that a restaurant this nice would still have a special
section?  You must have some kind of reputation around here.”

“Well
I do come here enough.  This is where we bring the clients that are 
really 
full
of it.  I want to say thank you for waiting around for me even for that
short time.  I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t.  Probably
would have cried myself to sleep.  That’s a sad sight I tell you.”  

He
heard her soft laughter as he stepped behind her to help her with her
chair.  

“You
expect me to believe that a self-assured guy like you would be sitting at home
on some fancy, expensive couch boohooing?  No way buddy. 
Plus
even if I did want to leave, then I’d have to find a
new date for the wedding so I’d be stuck anyway if I wasn’t already looking
forward to tonight, which I am.  Maybe even more than you.”

“Oh
I highly doubt that being a possibility but I’m glad to hear you wouldn’t have
left.  I haven’t cried since the first time I saw
Mufasa
die in 
The Lion 
King.  No that’s a lie.  I did try making a
chicken dish a few weeks back.  “

“It
was that bad?”

“No. 
I’m a very good cook thank you.  It was the onions.  They take me
there every time.  By the way, don’t worry about the wedding.  A
promise is a promise so even if tonight’s date is not the undeniable success
that I know it’s going to be I stand by my promise one hundred percent.
 Plus, going to the wedding with you simply guarantees me at least a
second date so either way I come out a winner.”

“Good. 
Now I won’t spend the rest of the night worrying.  I’ve already told my
best friend about you so you 
have 
to be there now or else I just look like the lonely
desperate girl that lies.”

“I
wouldn’t want that at all.  By the way, before I say anything else, I
would be remiss if I didn’t stop and tell you just how amazing you look
tonight.  I mean really perfect.”

He
liked when she blushed.  Even more, he loved when she tried to hide the
smile that he’d worked out of her.  She was doing that right then. 
Little did she know it but she was setting herself up for a major cheek workout
every time she tried not to smile because it made him want to make her do so
even more. 

“Thank
you Ryder.  I figured if I was going to come to one of the most expensive
restaurants in New York City that I at least needed to get a little dressed up.”

“Well,
if this is a little dressed up, I don’t know if these eyes are ready for what
I’d see if you were to really try.”

“Oh
stop it!  It’s not like you don’t see pretty women everyday as a world
jaunting stock broker.   And look at you.  I don’t know if this
is lost on you, but you don’t look too bad yourself Ryder.”

“Wait.
 Rewind for a second.  Now I’m a ‘world jaunting stock broker’?
 I don’t mind that at all but the part about the pretty women, who let
that slip?  It was supposed to be an industry secret.  Now they will
probably kick me out of the old boys’ club and my Friday nights will be
perennially free from dates.  Unless I can figure a way to get a pretty
young lady to help me out with that. Any ideas?”

“I’ll
work on it.”

***

Ryder
had momentarily left the table to go to the men’s room.  It was funny
because part of her didn’t want him to leave, even for two minutes. 
Chelsea was enjoying her tête-à-tête with him.  It had been ages since she
even remembered what it was like to have a man show real interest in anything
with her outside of her body.  Her usual were the guys who tried to hit on
her because she was a waitress and they thought she would be easy or the ones
who asked her if she could move like that all the time or just on the dance floor.
 

None
of those men held her attention long.  Ryder was a different kind of guy
from the start though.  He was a gentleman in every definition of the word
yet he didn’t let his respect make him boring.  Even better, she could
tell that he was probably as attracted to her as she was to him, but he didn’t
let that physicality dominate.  She liked that he was in control of
himself, and intelligent enough to know how to treat a lady.  It was going
better than she expected.