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Once we ended the call and said our goodbyes to Jared and Cassie, Chance and I found ourselves alone in our hotel room. "I have an idea," he said, sitting on the edge of the bed.
"I'm sure you do," I said, walking up and putting my hands on his shoulders.
"Since we find ourselves in the city for the night, let's have date night. No talking about business or the museum or any of this mess. Just a fun night out in the big city."
I sank into his lap. "That's a great idea. I could use some fun." We got lost in each other, until my phone bleeped. I pulled it out and looked at the screen. "It's Mr. Smith," I said as I stood up and walked around with the phone at my ear. Mr. Smith had been contacted by the fire department as he was the emergency contact listed on the tax papers on file with the county. The cabin and outbuildings were fully insured. He expressed his sympathy for the loss of Renee's belongings and said he'd be in touch if I needed to sign anything.
Chance and I agreed to work until five. That was the cutoff time we agreed to for date night. We made flight reservations and regrouped on where'd we'd left things with Hairy's, the guide business, and the plans for the museum.
At five, I closed my laptop and enjoyed a long soak in the tub, before primping for my date. There wasn't much of anyplace to go to in Wilkins' Gap. We spent most of our evenings at home together either working on things or watching movies. It was nice to actually go out. Chance had talked to the front desk and made reservations at a local steak house.
XXX
Seated at our secluded table for two, it really did feel like a date as Chance reached for my hand across the table, and we gazed into each other's eyes in the candlelight until I giggled. "I'm sorry. I guess I've reached my romance quotient for the night," I said.
"I certainly hope not," Chance said. "We have all night for romance."
"OK, but when were back in our room, it's our kind of romance, not this caricature of what Hollywood says should be romantic."
"Not sure what you're getting at."
"I find you romantic. The way you hold me. The way you kiss me. I don't need candlelight and linen table clothes."
"Good to know. I don't need it either, but I can enjoy it."
"Yeah. Me too," I said, trying to sound more upbeat than I felt.
"Let's talk about the future," he said, as we pulled bread from the basket of warm rolls on the table.
There was nothing but silence. "OK. Is something wrong, Em?"
"I just can't figure out what to talk about. We've been focused on getting the business reorganized so we can spend more time together. That's what we wanted for the future, but we can't really talk about that if work talk is off limits. Plus, I guess I'm just finding it hard to figure out how to have a future with this threat hanging over our heads." The tears threatened to fall, and I dabbed at the corners of my eyes with my napkin.
Chance stood up, walked around the table, and knelt down beside my chair. He put his arms around me. "I love you, Everly. We'll make this work, I promise."
The waitress picked that moment to arrive with our entrees. She set them down and left without a word. I appreciated that.
"I'm OK. Sorry for ruining date night," I said.
"You haven't ruined anything. After what you've been through the last few days, no one could blame you for being a little upset or a lot upset."
I got myself under control, and we enjoyed the rest of our night.