Spend My Life with You. Donna Hill

wrong?” she asked breaking his trance.

      He blinked and gave a slight shake of his head. “No, I’m sorry. I guess I was staring.”

      Lee Ann shifted in her seat.

      He put down his glass and released a tight breath then leaned forward. His voice was low when he spoke. “Listen, I’m going to be honest because I like to be clear and up-front right from the beginning.”

      She nodded and waited for the shoe to fall.

      “I rarely date. I don’t have time. Because of my choice of careers, it’s hard to have a lot of downtime or privacy. And coming from the family that you do, I’m sure you can understand that.” He paused, started to speak then stopped and started again. “What I’m trying to say is I don’t know what’s going on in my head, and I know we’ve only met and you don’t know any more about me than a stranger on the street. But I want to get to know you—Lee Ann the woman, not Branford Lawson’s daughter. And I want you to get to know me, Preston Graham—the guy with student loans, dishes in the sink and a Lab retriever named Rocky.”

      The tension that she felt burst into effervescent bubbles of laughter. “So, besides dirty dishes, student loans and a dog named Rocky, what else do I need to know about you?”

      The afternoon went by much too fast, but over a light lunch of grilled chicken salad, several glasses of wine and raspberry sorbet for dessert, they talked and laughed and talked. Lee Ann discovered that they were both avid joggers. Preston was delighted to learn that Lee Ann was captain of her debate team in college and had also majored in political science. He was devoted to his mother, she to her father. His favorite book was James Baldwin’s Another Country; hers was Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights. They both loved New Orleans jazz and boasted about their collections. They were angered, appalled and frightened by the devastation along the Gulf Coast resulting from the catastrophic BP oil spill and the still unresolved devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina.

      Preston took his last satisfying spoonful of sorbet. He glanced around Treme’s and noticed that the clientele had changed several times since their arrival, and early dinner patrons were starting to drift in.

      “I’m thinking they’re going to actually ask us to leave if we don’t do it on our own,” Preston quipped.

      Lee Ann ducked her head and took a cursory glance around, catching the eye of their empathetic waitress. “I think you’re right.”

      He signaled for the waitress, who brought the bill. Preston paid the tab and ushered Lee Ann out into the sweltering early evening. It was almost after four.

      “I didn’t know it could take that long to eat a salad,” Lee Ann joked. She slipped on her wide, dark sunglasses.

      “Neither did I, but I enjoyed it.”

      She glanced at him as they walked to the parking lot. “So did I.”

      “Where are you parked?”

      She pointed to her beloved car.

      His brows rose in appreciation. “Very nice,” he said, drawing out the two words.

      “What about you?”

      “The blue one over there,” he said with a lift of his chin.

      Lee Ann turned her gaze in that direction. “Oh, you mean the Jaguar over there,” she said tongue in cheek.

      Preston grinned.

      “We’ll have to swap rides one day. I’ve always wanted to get behind the wheel of a Jaguar.”

      “Anytime you’re ready.” He walked her to her car and waited while she opened the door.

      She turned to him, and her heart did that thing again in her chest. “Thank you for a wonderful afternoon. Really.”

      “I’m glad you said yes. And if you’re not busy tonight, I hope you’ll say yes to doing something fun. There’s a concert in the park. It starts at seven. Then the after-dark movie. It’s always pretty good, something old and in black-and-white.”

      She blinked away her surprise. “Tonight? I… Yes, I’d like that.”

      “I’ll pick you up at six-thirty. Will that give you enough time?”

      “Sure, if I leave right this second.”

      They both laughed.

      “I’ll see you soon.”

      Lee Ann got in her car. Preston closed her door and waved before walking off to his. She sang off-key all the way home.