Morgan took her time getting ready for dinner. Twice now, she’d scrapped outfits as unworkable: Her first choice of dress had been far too formal, while the second attempt had looked more like she was going to a picnic rather than to dinner. What was the right look, then? Something simple but beautiful? The classic but flirty little black dress? Maybe with a delicate red shawl, but that meant altering her makeup again, and there were still shoes to decide on…
“You know, Morgan, dear,” Grams said as she walked into the bedroom and saw the cyclone of clothes and shoes and makeup, “for someone trying hard not to attract Brian, you seem to be spending a lot of time getting ready for this.”
“It’s a fancy restaurant. I should look nice. And you know I’ve always taken forever to get ready to go out.”
“But you don’t usually change your mind about how you want to look. That’s something you’ve always known. Who you are. And what you want.”
Before she could reply—or admit to her grandmother that she was becoming more confused by the day about what she truly wanted, Brian or her career, the city or the island—the doorbell rang. Emily had already let Brian in by the time Morgan headed downstairs.
When she saw him, she paused on the middle step and just stared, because he looked amazing in a suit and tie. “You look great,” she said, her voice doing that breathless thing she’d almost gotten used to hearing come out of her mouth around him.
“You’re always so beautiful, Morgan.” He clearly didn’t care that her grandmother and sisters and Michael were all within hearing distance as he told her, “You’ve taken my breath away.”
She couldn’t get her feet to move, not when all she could think was, Don’t you know that you take mine away, too?
He didn’t say anything more, just moved up the steps to where she was standing on trembling legs and held out his hand for her. When she took it, she felt the sweet jolt of electricity run all the way through her, continuing even as they walked in silence out to his car.
Seeing her interns in the backseat, she had to work really hard to pull herself together as she greeted them and complimented them on their outfits. Tad had cleaned up well in his suit, and Natalie looked wonderful, the slightly geeky would-be scientist left behind for the evening, revealing a radiant young woman.
It had been a few years since Morgan had been to the Waterside Room, but it was still a truly magnificent establishment. The single, long dining room had a view out over the ocean, the lights of Seattle visible in the distance, and there were candles on each table.
“Ms. Walker,” the maître d’ said, “it’s such an honor to have you here tonight.” At the same time, strangely, he looked a little worried as he added, “I’m terribly afraid, however, that I was not able to accommodate your request in full at such late notice.”
She couldn’t stop her face from falling. “You don’t have a table for us?”
“We have two tables for two, but not one for all four of you.” Despite how apologetic he obviously was, he also felt that he needed to remind her, “This is the most sought-after restaurant on the island.”
“It’s fine,” Brian said. “We can split up.”
“Split up,” Morgan started to protest, “but—”
Brian nodded over to where Tad and Natalie were completely wrapped up in one another with Natalie laughing softly at something Tad said, while Tad’s fingers tentatively brushed Natalie’s arm.
“Okay,” Morgan said, even as her heart raced at the thought of being alone with Brian at a romantic table for two. “Separate tables will be fine, thank you.”
Once they were seated, Brian said, “You must go to places like this a lot in the city, don’t you?”
“Not as often as people think. Mostly when I do, it’s because some TV executive wants to impress someone, or a client is feeling generous.” In other words, not because she was having dinner with an incredibly handsome man that she was desperate to kiss. Yes, there had been fancy dates in the city with other men, but those dates had never felt right, and there had never been that spark, that special connection.
Only with Brian.
“The zombie movie you worked on was on TV last night,” Brian said.
“What did you think?”
“Honestly? The makeup was great. But the acting?” He grinned and told her, “It almost turned me into a brainless zombie myself.”
Morgan laughed, loud enough that a few people turned to see what was so funny. Generally, people in the industry were either careful about saying how great everyone’s latest projects were or were tearing them apart out of jealousy. Whereas Brian had simply given her his honest—and funny—opinion. She’d always loved that about him.
She still did.
They talked about an email he’d gotten from his mom about a man she was dating, about his work at the high school, about her sisters and grandmother, and then, before Morgan knew it, their appetizers were removed and their main courses were being set down. The meal seemed to be passing by in the blink of an eye. Just her and Brian sitting close to one another while she listened to his voice in the soft twilight of the restaurant, never wanting the perfect evening to end.
She was getting sucked in again. Wanting to be with him all the time. Wanting to feel his arms around her. Wanting to be able to lean in to kiss him without ever having to stop.
“Ms. Walker, Mr. Russell, I’m sorry to interrupt, but I wanted to be sure to give you the check for both of your tables.”
Morgan looked up at the waiter in surprise. “But we haven’t even finished our main courses.”
“I’m sorry, but I thought you might be in a hurry to get out of here.”
That was when she looked up and realized all of the other diners were either standing up and putting on their coats to leave or had already left. “Why is everyone going so fast?”
He pointed out the window at the heavy rain that was blowing against the windows. “The fire department has issued a storm warning to all local businesses and residents. They’re concerned about flash floods and would like everyone to get home safely as soon as possible.”
When, Morgan wondered, had the faint drizzle turned into such a heavy, repetitive drumroll of water, sending water flooding down the glass? She’d been so engrossed in the storm of emotions that Brian had sent spinning inside of her that she’d never even noticed there was a storm raging outside, too.
“We should get the kids home before it gets worse,” Brian said as he got up from the table then held out her chair for her to stand, too.
Morgan knew that she should have been terrified about what a storm like this would do to her newly planted garden and the damage it would surely do to the dream she had worked so hard to build up. But even after they’d dropped off the kids and Brian took her home, hugged her tight then told her everything was going to be okay before he went back to his own house, all she could think about was him.