“You look rather different yourself. The black curls are very pretty on you, but your natural blond hair is…stunning–” He stopped suddenly. “Are we ready? I made reservations for seven thirty.”
“Absolutely.” She smiled. At the sudden clatter behind them, Lily spun to see Bella trying to blend into the bookcase and seated on the spot previously occupied by the now missing picture of Lucas. The cat blinked owlishly at her. “You’ve made your point, Bella.” Lily laughed then cringed when she realized she had spoken out loud.
“Her…point?” Ian asked.
“Nothing,” she said, improvising quickly. “Bella was just giving her opinion on…ah…her…oh, seven thirty you said? We should probably go.”
Though still warm and humid in the early Florida evening, a constant light breeze kept the oppressive heat at bay. Down in the parking lot, Ian pressed the remote in his pocket.
When Lily caught sight of the sleek black German coupe she gasped. “This is your car?”
He opened the door for her and said “It is. I’ve had it on order; just came in this week. You’ll be the first to ride in it,” he said. He turned the key and the quiet engine purred to life. Lily inhaled deeply, taking in the luxurious new car smell and petting the supple leather seats.
Ian drove unhurriedly toward the restaurant and she found herself becoming more comfortable and relaxed. “I’m an insurance agent at my day job. We haven’t insured many of these yet,” she said, openly admiring the interior and sneaking peeks at his profile.
“It’s a new model here in the States, I’m told. I had a similar one in London,” he said.
Lily frowned in confusion. “Funny, you don’t quite sound English to me.”
His laughter was intoxicating. “That’s because I’m Irish, darlin’, but I lived in London before moving here. My home’s in County Kilkenny, to be specific. Not too far from Dublin,” he said. “On the other hand, you and your enchanting accent have to be from the Southern states.”
“Yes,” she said proudly. “One of the very few people born and raised in here in Florida.”
“It’s a lovely state. Rains a lot during the summer, but I do like the storms,” he said with a grin. Arriving at the restaurant minutes later, he hurried around to open the car door for Lily, who was charmed by the gallant gesture. On impulse, she took his arm as they walked in.
“Your table is ready, Mr. Kelly,” the maitre d’ announced, leading them to the quiet, out of the way table she had a sneaking suspicion her date had requested.
Their waiter appeared to present Ian with the leather bound spirits folder and announce the evening’s specialties. After a glance over the proffered list, Ian asked her, “Do you drink wine?”
“Yes, but I’m afraid I don’t know very much about choosing a good one,” she said, her cheeks warming.
Ian nodded and asked the waiter for a moment to look over the menu. When they had both made their entree choices, he selected a full-bodied chardonnay. “I hope you like this one. It should go well with dinner,” he explained.
The requested wine arrived within moments. Lily watched the little acceptance of the bottle ceremony with no small bit of intimidation. Pushing away the niggling thoughts of insecurity, she smiled at her dining companion as the waiter filled her glass then disappeared After tasting a sip and declaring it delicious, she took a lingering look around. “This is the first time I’ve ever been here. It’s very nice.” She glanced down at the tablecloth, puzzled. “Is this…paper?”
“It is. The waiter should be along with some crayons in a bit so we can indulge our inner child while we wait for dinner,” he said, a boyish smile crossing his face.
They made small talk as Lily continued to admire the decor. Spying the restrooms, she saw her chance for a fast status update. “Please excuse me,” she said, “I just need to powder my nose.” She and Ian rose together, then she forced herself to glide rather than run across the dining room. Once inside the ladies room, she sent Beth a text message with blinding speed:
OMG amazing–details tomorrow
Beth’s reply came back within seconds.
You better call or else LOL
* * * *
In Lily’s absence, Ian could not stop thinking about her. She was so very lovely, but there was something else too. What was it? Intuition told him he’d have to go slow; he didn’t want to scare her off.’ The first order of business would be to figure out how to get control over his rebellious body, which was responding immediately to even her most incidental touch.
When Lily returned, her surprise was apparent to see he hadn’t been kidding. Ian leaned over the top of the table, hard at work with the aforementioned crayons. He stood when she approached, stepping around the table to hold her chair for her. “Oh, that’s beautiful,” she exclaimed at the exquisite bouquet of flowers he had drawn in the center of the table.
“Thank you,” he said with a modest smile.
“I mean it. You’ve got quite a gift,” she insisted. “Have you ever thought about going pro?”
He lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “I’m an artist. It’s what I do. I paint the murals for the Castle. I was up on the scaffolding and saw you walking up to the office with the red-headed lady. I had to stop and go ask Dan who you were. When I saw you at the tent in your black wig I wasn’t sure it was really you until I saw your eyebrows.”
“That was you?” Lily asked “I remember you tipped your hat at me. I thought it was most chivalrous.” She gave a blissful sigh.
He smiled, pleased at her response. “You mustn’t say things like that, milady. ’Twill only encourage me.”
They stared at each other for a long moment but the spell was broken when their dinner arrived. Slicing into her chicken marsala Lily asked, “How long have you worked for the Castle? Did you meet the owners in London?”
Ian was momentarily puzzled then with a big smile of understanding answered, “Nepotism is alive and well at the Castle, I’m afraid. Meg Wilde is my sister.”
“I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting Meghan yet,” she explained. “I’ve only met Dan.”
Ian deftly reduced his bacon wrapped filet to bite-sized pieces and wolfed down two in rapid succession. “Dan and I have been friends since we were small. I introduced him to my sister. Don’t think he’s ever forgiven me.” He chuckled. “Do you have brothers or sisters?”
Lily shook her head. “I’m an only child.”
“I’ve got siblings to spare, so if you’re needing any, I’ll be delighted to loan them out.” Ian grinned. “Two brothers and two sisters. I’m right in the middle, and Megs is two years older than me. When’s your birthday?”
“The end of June. I just turned twenty-three. And you?”
Ian did a quick mental inventory. She was a Cancer, water sign, ruled by the Moon, strong, independent. A beautiful Queen of Cups…. “I’ll be twenty-five on the thirty-first of this month.”
Lily’s breath caught in her throat. “On Halloween? Then you’re a Scorpio. In the tarot court, you’d be the King of Cups.”
While they talked, he noticed their hands were moving closer and closer until they finally touched. The spark was tangible. Taking her hand, he gently massaged it with his fingers and when the conversation lulled, he could do nothing but gaze in her eyes. Lily was the first to look away, glancing around at the other tables. “We’re the only ones in here now. Everyone else is gone,” she said.
“I