Henry picks me up from Lovebird Café Friday evening just as the rush is starting. I hate to leave my employees alone, but I know that they can handle it. Still, leaving my restaurant during business hours, especially when it's packed full of customers, makes me feel like my sister when she had to leave her son with a babysitter for the first time.
I almost cancel, but Henry comes in through the back door (aided and abetted by Alex, of course) to my office, grabs me, and basically drags me away.
"They're going to be fine. You need to learn to trust them," he says as he drives his nice red Buick out of the small employee parking area behind the building. "If they need you, they have your phone number. Just leave your phone volume up and trust that they'll call if they need you for something."
Once I've adjusted my phone, I clasp my hands together on my lap. Henry must notice that I'm fidgeting nervously still, because he reaches over and grabs my left hand with his right. He holds it gently on his leg, brushing his thumb over the back of my hand.
I slowly relax. Henry is right. Everett and Alex and all of my employees are incredibly capable. I usually spend the whole evening locked in my office working on paperwork anyway. My absence will hardly be noticed, I'm sure.
Once I get my thoughts off the restaurant, I realize that I have no idea where we're even going or what we're doing. Henry told me to dress nice, so I'm wearing a pretty blue dress with white lace around the edge of the loose sleeves and the knee-length, flowy skirt. The high waist has a pretty white ribbon around it. It's simple, but elegant, especially with a pair of white, lacy wedge heels. With my hair up in a smooth bun, decorated with pearls, I feel very classy.
"Where are we going?" I ask, looking at Henry. Now that I'm not freaking out, I take the time to study my date. He looks sharp in a dark gray suit, pale blue button-up, and black dress shoes. His blond hair is smooth and combed away from his face, showing off his blue eyes and strong jaw.
"It's a surprise," he answers, shooting me a quick smile.
I pout for a moment, then smile. "You look really nice. Sorry I didn't mention it sooner. I think my restaurant-mama anxiety is finally dying down."
He laughs. "Restaurant-mama. That's a clever way to put it. There's nothing wrong with being a little worried. This is your first time away from your baby after all." He winks at me and I giggle. "You also look great," he adds.
We settle into comfortable conversation for the last few minutes of the drive. When Henry pulls up to a large, dark building, I stop talking and look around. Well, this is sketchy. We appear to be at a large abandoned warehouse. I look at him for a moment and find him watching me with an amused smile.
That's when it hits me. I did exactly what Everett has been constantly telling me not to do. I put myself in yet another dangerous situation with a man I really don't know all that well and no one knows exactly where I am or what time I should be back.
As I'm starting to panic, Henry's smile turns into a frown. "Hey, are you okay?" he asks.
I shake my head and look at him. What is he planning to do with me? Can I escape? Maybe I can call someone for help if I'm really quick.
He must realize where my thoughts are going, because he grabs my hands in his. "Lacy." His grip is gentle, not angry. He sighs. "Stay here. I'll be right back."
He leaves me alone in the car and I pull out my phone to call for help. Before I can, I see the windows light up. The warehouse is not actually as sketchy as I thought. It's clean and in good repair. It might not even be abandoned. I turn to open my door and find Henry there, pulling it open for me.
He's wearing a sheepish smile. "I just realized how creepy this must have looked, driving up to a dark warehouse with a man you hardly know." He shakes his head. "You'd think a private investigator who is constantly warning women not to get into situations like this would know better." He holds out an arm. "You don't know me well enough to trust me, but I'm asking you to give me a chance. I just wanted somewhere romantic and private and this warehouse belongs to a friend who owed me a favor."
I feel my racing heartbeat slow a bit and take a few deep breaths before carefully placing my hand on his arm. He escorts me inside like a proper, old-fashioned gentleman, and I look around in awe.
Henry has created a romantic little area for us to eat. Hemmed in by stacks of crates, there is a small table set with the classic white tablecloth, a couple flickering candles, and a vase of flowers. It has two places set with nice dishes. Something smells delicious and my stomach grumbles. I haven't eaten anything since lunch earlier with Everett and Mr. Edmundson.
"What do you think?" Henry asks quietly. I look over and find him watching me intently.
"It's perfect," I answer with a big smile.
He leads me to one of the seats and pulls my chair out, then sits opposite. He pulls a box onto the table and brings out boxes of yummy Indian food.
"How did you know I love Indian food?" I ask, watching as he dishes up a large serving on my plate.
He shrugs and laughs. "I honestly just guessed. I know you love food, so I figured you probably appreciate the depth of flavor in Indian food."
"Well you're a good guesser."
The meal passes quickly. We eat the delicious food and chat. I learn about his family, who are all scattered around the country, and how he got into private investigation. I talk to him about my family and about starting Lovebird Café.
When we finish our dinner, he pulls out cheesecake from one of my favorite bakeries. He truly has thought of everything. I can't help but compare this to my best date with Jeff. It was probably when Jeff took me to see my favorite football team play when they had a game near us. It was fun, even though he was on his phone most of the time. And I had to basically force him to take me. . .
I pull my attention back to Henry. After dessert, we sit and talk a little longer, then he stands and holds out his hand. "Would you like to dance?" he asks.
"Dance?"
He smiles and blushes a little. "Yeah. I thought it might be nice." He turns and gestures behind him to an opening in the crates. I look through and see a larger space cleared with lights strung up.
Taking his hand, I stand. "I'd love to."
We walk onto the dance floor and he presses a button on a small, blue CD player. Music begins playing and we get into slow dance position. I'm quickly impressed by how well he dances. I took some ballroom dance classes in college, and with his help, I'm able to recall the steps of a few classic dances.
Time passes quickly and one dance turns into more than I care to count. We talk some, but mostly just focus on the dancing, moving together gracefully around the room, occasionally laughing together when one of us misses a step.
The mood is interrupted by a loud sound and I jump out of his arms and dash back to the table, where I left my purse with my phone. Pulling it out, I find Alex's name on the screen.
"Hello?" I answer.
"Hey girl! How was your date?" she asks.
"It's not over," I answer quietly.
"For real? Oh man. I thought you'd be back by now. I'm sorry!"
"What?" I look at the time. How is it so late? The restaurant closed nearly 45 minutes ago. I still have a couple things to finish up before Everett's party tomorrow. I sigh. "I should get back. And I'll tell you everything tomorrow."
"You'd better," she answers.
We end our call and I look at Henry apologetically. "I should probably get back to my car."
"Yeah," he agrees with a sheepish smile. "I didn't mean to keep you this late, I just lost track of time."
"We both did," I answer, placing a comforting hand on his arm.
We don't talk much on the way back to Lovebird Café. I'm worried about getting everything ready for tomorrow and Henry also seems very caught up in his own thoughts. He keeps tapping the steering wheel distractedly.
When we arrive, he meets me at the front of the car. I give him a hug and suddenly wonder if he's going to try and kiss me. We did just have a wonderful, comfortable romantic evening. I look up at him and find him staring at me intently. He bends down and gently presses his lips to mine.
Our kiss is interrupted almost as soon as our lips touch by a familiar voice. "Lace! It's about time you got back!"
"Everett!" I pull out of Henry's arms and look at my head chef, my cheeks burning with embarrassment at being caught in such a personal moment. He doesn't say anything, though, and I wonder if he even realizes what he just interrupted.
When I notice that he's glaring at Henry and getting very tense, I quickly jump between them. "What are you doing here?" I ask.
"I was waiting to make sure you got back alright," he growls, still glowering past me at Henry.
"Well, as you can see, I'm back safe and sound. You can head home."
He snorts. "Right. Like I'm going to leave you alone with Casanova this late at night."
I clench my fists. "What I do and who I do it with are none of your business!"
"Of course they're my business! You're my boss!"
"And work ended an hour ago! Outside of the restaurant, you have no say in my life! I can date who I want! I can kiss who I want!" I shout.
Everett marches up to me and scowls. "Has he been kissing you?" he asks in a quiet, dangerous voice.
I roll my eyes and put my hands on his chest, shoving him back. "I don't have to tell you!"
He shakes his head and returns his glare to Henry. "You don't even know him," he says. "Tonight was only your second date and you left with him in his car to who-knows-where."
Remembering my fear when we first pulled up to the warehouse, I hesitate. Everett's words hit too close to home for me to brush him off. Still, while I appreciate his concern for my safety, I can't let him think that he gets to control my life.
"As you can see, I am fine. I am a big girl and I can take care of myself. I appreciate your concern. I appreciate your hard work. But I am not going to continue allowing you to act like you have a say in my life when you DON'T." I turn my back to Everett and walk to Henry. Giving him a quick hug, I apologize. "This wasn't how I hoped our date would end," I say with a frown.
"It's okay. I'll call you tomorrow," he says. "Let me know when you get home safe." He peeks at Everett, then, with a slightly gloating smile, places a soft kiss on my cheek. He puts his hand over the spot he kissed and says, "Don't let him bowl you over. He's not the type to get violent, is he?"
I shake my head. "No. I can handle him."
He smiles softly at me. "I'm sure you can. In fact, I doubt there's anything you can't handle." He drops his hand and gets in his car, waving as he drives out of the parking lot.
I turn back around and find Everett facing away from me. I walk up to him and place a hand on his arm. I can tell from his relaxed muscles that he's no longer fuming. He turns and looks at me with a sad smile.
"I really made a jack wagon of myself, didn't I?"
"Yeah, you really did."
He sighs. "I promise I'm taking anger management classes. I haven't struggled this much since high school."
"What's got you so wound up?"
"I wish I knew. I'm just so angry all the time. And unfortunately, you seem to be bearing the brunt of my temper."
"Well, better me than the other employees," I answer. His frown deepens and I can tell that he's really upset about how he's been acting. I put my hand back on his arm. "I really do enjoy working with you, and I appreciate that you're concerned about me. I admit, it was stupid to go with Henry tonight without having a plan."
"He didn't hurt you, did he?" Everett's frown begins to morph back into a glare.
"No, no, he didn't hurt me at all." I rush to reassure him. "He treated me great and was a perfect gentleman. But I will be more cautious until I get to know him better. I'm a big girl, and even if I don't always make the best decisions, I need to experience and learn things for myself."
"I know. My head knows that I shouldn't act like this, but the rest of me isn't listening so great."
"Well, we'll both try to do better, okay?"
"Deal. Thanks Lace."
He wraps me in a quick hug, then walks me to my car. As I drive away, I think back over the night. It was a dream date, but for some reason, the part that stands out the most is the argument with Everett afterwards.