Making Me Believe (3 page)

“Once a Yankee, always a Yankee,” he teased. “Did you have to show
them your green card when you started your job?”

“You’re one of those, are you?” she asked, referring to native Texans who
tended to think that everyone from any other state was a foreigner.

“Yes, ma’am, I’m proud of it too!” he grinned.

She laughed. Looking out the window she realized they were headed north on highway 360 and had left Arlington behind. “Where are we going? I figured you’d take me somewhere in Arlington.”

“Nahh. I found this great little place up in Grapevine. I figured I’d take you
there. I get more time in your company that way,” he said.

“Okay,” she answered. “You said your mom stayed home with ‘us’. How
many brothers and sisters do you have?”

“It’s just me and my kid sister, Sarah. She’s married and has a little boy.
They live here in Arlington. How ‘bout you? Any brothers or sisters?”

“I’m an only. My mom always wanted more, but it just didn’t happen.” She
knew her mother had been disappointed in only having one child, and she’d really been torn up when Rose had decided to stay in Texas when they moved back home. They remained close, though.

“So were you a typical spoiled only?” he asked.

“I don’t think so. I mean, my parents made sure I knew that I was the center of their world, but I didn’t get everything I wanted whenever I wanted it. They expected me to work hard and get good grades. I had to get summer jobs in high school, and they expected me to get a scholarship to pay as much of my way through college as I could.”

“Sounds like they raised you right,” he said with a grin. “That’s the kind of
parent I plan to be someday.”

“I’m so glad you approve,” she said sarcastically. She did note that he
wanted children. That was definitely a point in his favor.

He laughed and said, “You should be! I’m the most important man in this
truck!”

“You sure are!” She grinned. “How did work go today?”

“It was good. I think we should be done within the next couple of weeks, and that thrilled the client. I’m ready to move on to other projects,” he said.

“What do you have in the works?” she asked.

“Just some more houses. I think that’s going to be my niche. Custom homes. I have no desire to design the cookie cutter homes that you find in every neighborhood.”

“How long have you had your own business?” she asked.

“My dad was an architect. When I graduated, I worked with him for a couple of years, and then he retired, and I took it over. It’s been mine for about four years now. Some of the guys who have been there forever still think of me as the boss’s kid.”

“Does that make it tough?” she asked. She couldn’t imagine having to
constantly live in her father’s shadow.

He shrugged. “I guess it did at first, but now it’s no big deal. They always
do what I say, and that’s what matters when you get right down to it.” He pulled the truck into the parking lot of a small restaurant.

He ran around the truck to open her door for her, taking her hand and
helping her down. “Those manners your mama taught you seem to have stuck,” she said.

“They better have! She’d take after me with a wooden spoon if they
hadn’t,” he said with a grin.

“Are you afraid of your mama?” she asked with a laugh.

“Every smart southern man is afraid of his mama. You never outgrow having to listen to her. Never,” he said seriously.

He opened the door for her, and they went into the restaurant. He’d made
reservations and they were led to a corner booth. He waited until she slid into one side, and then he slid into the other.

“I’m glad you’re not one of those who thinks we need to sit on one side
together. That always looks weird to me,” she said.

“I think so too,” he told her quietly. “Besides, I want to be able to watch
your pretty face as we talk.”

She looked down at her menu, a little flustered by the compliment. “What’s
good here?”

“The steak is great. I haven’t bothered to try anything else, because it’s a
steak place, and it’s Texas. If you get the chicken, you’re liable to be run out of town,” he told her.

“I think I’ll have a steak,” she said with a laugh.

“I think that’s a fabulous choice,” he told her with a wink.

The waiter was there then asking for their drink orders. “I’ll just have
water,” she told him. “No lemon, please.”

Alex asked for a sweet tea, and as the waiter walked away he asked,
“What is it with always putting lemon in people’s water anyway? I mean, if you want lemonade, you order lemonade. Water should be just that. Water.”

“No kidding! That’s a major pet peeve of mine. I hate lemon in my water. I
don’t understand why people want it, or why restaurants expect everyone to like it that way,” she sighed. “I like water. Plain boring old water.”

He reached out and took her hand in his. He slowly rubbed his thumb over
her palm. “I assume hand holding before marriage is okay?”

“I can make an exception, just this once,” she returned with a smile. She
felt a tingle shoot through her. She knew most girls thought handholding was boring, but she’d done so little of it, that it was actually exciting for her.

The waiter came back with their drinks, and they ordered their meals. As
soon as the waiter walked off, he stood and pulled her to her feet. “Dance with me, Rose.”

She followed him onto the dance floor going into his arms for a slow
country song. They danced together in silence. He had one hand holding hers, and the other was at her waist. He rested his cheek against the top of her head as they slowly swayed to the music, not talking, just enjoying being close.

He was a good dancer, and it was easy to follow his lead. She enjoyed
being held by him. He held her just right. He wasn’t trying to hold her so close that it felt like he was trying to force her to have vertical sex with him, but he wasn’t holding her at arm’s length either.

After the song ended, they returned to the table. The waiter had brought
their salads, and they talked softly while eating.

Rose had seldom been with a man that she felt this comfortable around.
There was a definite attraction, but he was so laid-back, that it was easy to just be in his presence and talk about anything and everything.

She learned that he was thirty to her twenty four. He enjoyed putting on
work clothes and helping out with the construction side of things on the job at times. He went to his sister’s house every Sunday evening for dinner.

He liked his brother-in-law and enjoyed spending time with his nephew.
After they’d finished their meal, they shared a piece of cheesecake with raspberry sauce. She enjoyed the intimacy of sharing a dessert with him. He fed her the last bite, because his Southern manners wouldn’t allow him to eat the last one himself. They danced to a couple more songs, before they headed back out to his truck to make the twenty minute drive back to the north part of Arlington.

“What did you think of my favorite restaurant,” he asked once they were
back on the highway headed south.

“I loved it. The atmosphere was perfect. We were able to talk without
yelling, but it was still a fun place. I don’t think you could have picked a better place,” she told him.

“What did you think of your steak?”

“It was fabulous. It was perfectly tender, and they actually cooked it right. I give it two thumbs up.”

He grinned. “I’m glad you liked it. We’ll have to go back there sometime.
Assuming that you agree to go out with me again,” he said.

“You haven’t done anything that would make me say no yet,” she replied.

“I like that ‘yet’ like you’re waiting for me to do something really stupid,” he said.

“I thought you would,” she laughed. “So far, no man has disappointed that
yet.”

“What big plans do you have for tomorrow?” he asked.

“Oh, probably finishing the novel I’m reading. I might go nuts and get my grocery shopping done for the week,” she said.

“How would you feel about taking a nice long walk up at River Legacy
Park?” he asked.

“That sounds like fun. I could go for that,” she said, secretly pleased that
he wanted to see her again so soon.

When he pulled up in front of her apartment, he got out and opened her
door, holding his hand out for her key. She set the key in his hand, and he unlocked her door for her. “Do you want to come in for a drink?” she asked.

“I’d love to,” he responded, following her into the apartment.

She got him some tea from her fridge and grabbed herself a glass of water.

She sat next to him on the couch, and they talked a while. He told her
some funny stories about some of the guys at work, and she talked about some of the crazy investors that she talked to on a daily basis. Many of them treated her as if she needed to worship at their feet because of the money they had with her company. She was glad the investors couldn’t see her face as they spoke.

After about thirty minutes, he stood up. “It’s getting late. I should get
home. I’ll be back around noon tomorrow to pick you up, if that’s all right.”

“Noon is fine,” she told him. “Do you want me to pack us a picnic lunch?
We could find a good spot to stop and eat during our walk.”

“I’d like that,” he said. She walked him to the door, and he leaned down
and gave her a quick peck on the cheek. “I’ll see you at noon.”

“Good night,” she said, as she closed the door softly. She leaned back
against it and let out a breath. She had never had a date like that. He had been absolutely polite and hadn’t tried anything. She wasn’t sure if she was glad that he respected her, or disappointed that he hadn’t at least tried to kiss her. She could fall for Alex if given half a chance.

Chapter 3

Rose packed a picnic lunch of sandwiches and some individual bags of
chips along with some cookies she baked that morning. She included several bottles of water, and packed it all into a backpack that they could carry along on their walk. The knock on her door came at exactly noon, and she opened the door to find him standing there.

She handed him the backpack with their lunch in it and grabbed her jacket.
She would probably only need it for the first few minutes of their walk, but she could always tie it around her waist if she got too hot.

After they were settled into his truck, he asked what she’d fixed for lunch.
“Nothing exciting,” she answered. “Just some turkey and pimento cheese sandwiches and some chips. Chocolate chip cookies for dessert.” She was missing something. She knew she was. “Oh! And some bottles of water in case we get thirsty.”

“Did you make the cookies?” he asked.

“Actually I did,” she told him. “Don’t ever expect it again, though. I only bake when I feel like it. I felt like it this morning.”

“I expect nothing from you,” he said. “I just enjoy your company. If you
hadn’t wanted to fix a lunch, I’d have run through a fast food place for us.”

She grinned. “You’re starting to get to know me already, aren’t you? I’m
nothing if not unpredictable.”

He laughed. “Well, you were there when you said you’d be there, so that
was predictable.”

“I can stand you up next time to prove my point, if you’d like,” she offered
with a smile.

“That’s okay. I’d prefer to not be stood up,” he said.

He held her hand as they walked through the park. The path they walked on was tree-lined and paved. They had both walked it multiple times over years of living in Arlington. As they walked, they talked about the things they saw along the way.

Finally, they reached the end of the path overlooking the Trinity River. It
was a nice day for March, and they’d run into a lot of other people along the way. It had been a wet winter, so there was actually a decent amount of water in the river. It would be dried up by the end of summer if they had a normal summer.

“Do you want to eat here, or find a spot off in the woods on the way back,”
he asked. The area they were in had some concrete benches that would be fine for eating, but there were some areas off in the woods that were similar, but more private, on the way back.

“Let’s find a spot in the woods if you don’t mind,” she responded. “I like the
feeling of seclusion in the middle of the city.”

“Okay,” he grabbed her hand again as they turned and headed back.

A few minutes later, they found a trail off the main path and followed it to a concrete bench. “Is this good?” she asked.