He was going to take her to one of his favorite spots—the Grotto. It was a beautifully situated Mediterranean restaurant steps away from Pelican Bay Harbor. If you were seated by one of the big bay windows you were fortunate to dine with a stunning view of the harbor in the distance. Afterwards, they could walk on the marina and check out the shops.
Frankly, he could sit on a hillside and look up at the stars with Lorelei or watch paint dry with her. As long as he could be around her, Daniel would be over the moon.
When Daniel picked up Lorelei he was immediately buzzed in to her property. She was right there at the front door waiting for him. He swallowed past the lump in his throat and greeted her warmly. She looked lovely in a cream-colored dress with a lovely peach shawl slung over her shoulders. For once Dan
iel didn’t feel tall. With heels on, Lorelei was a match for his height. He liked it. It made it easy for him to look in her eyes.
“Where are we headed?” Lorelei asked once they were in his car and well on their way to the restaurant.
“Have you ever been to the Grotto?”
“I haven’t,” she said, turning toward him with a smile, “although I’ve heard it’s one of the best restaurants in town.”
“I agree,” he said. “What I like best is the location. The food is great, don’t get me wrong, but I love the ambiance and the close proximity to the harbor.”
“It sounds lovely, Daniel. I love being close to the ocean. One of my dreams is to have a home right on the beach. Someday,” she murmured, a dreamy look etched on her face.
Daniel wondered why Lorelei hadn’t made this particular dream come true. He hated to jump to conclusions, but judging from her luxurious home she could well afford a beach house. Once they arrived at the restaurant, Daniel drove over to the valet parking area and waited for the valet to come to the car to collect his keys. Daniel walked around to the passenger side and opened the door for Lorelei, gently taking her hand and helping her out of the car. They walked in to the restaurant and were immediately seated by the waitress, who knew Daniel well enough from his previous visits to know he preferred sitting on the patio to benefit from the spectacular harbor view.
As they walked out on to the patio, Daniel couldn’t help but notice the number of eyes that followed along with them. He knew without a doubt they weren’t looking at him. It was a little bit disconcerting to have that type of attention trained on you. He wondered how Lorelei was able to death with it so gracefully. She didn’t appear to be affected by it at all although he knew it had to bother her a little bit based on the comments she’d made that day on the beach.
When they reached their table, Daniel stepped forward and pulled out a chair for Lorelei. She took a seat, the filmy fabric of her hem swirling around her legs as she did so. She looked elegant and summery.
Daniel sat down across from her. A sweet-smelling candle sat between them on the table. A hint of vanilla wafted in the air from the candle. He didn’t know a whole lot about romance, but the ambiance seemed fairly romantic to him. He didn’t want to clobber her over the head with it, so he appreciated the subtleties.
“I don’t know how you do it, Lorelei. You’re so calm, cool and collected with all the gawking and stares from the public. I’m not sure I could get used to that.”
She wrinkled her nose. “I haven’t always felt calm about it. I’ve had to learn techniques for dealing with it because at times it has given me a great deal of anxiety.”
He leaned across the table and impulsively grabbed her hand in a comforting gesture. “I’m sorry. Feelings like that are hard to control. But, if it makes you feel better, a lot of people deal with anxiety.”
“I had a really bad experience which led to those issues. It’s not really something I can control, but hopefully someday I’ll be able to.” Her voice was full of strength, but he couldn’t help but sense a little uncertainty emanating from her eyes. It told him a lot about Lorelei and the things she kept hidden under the surface.
“Anything you’d like to talk about?” he asked, curious about her past experiences. Matter of fact, he wanted to know everything about her. Her past. Her present. Her favorite color and all the things that made her smile.
“Maybe someday, but not right now,” she said, a smile lifting up the corners of her mouth. “I don’t want to ruin this special evening.”
“I promise you, there’s not a single thing you could do to ruin this evening. I’m really happy you accepted my invitation.”
“Me too. Thanks for asking. So the fact that we’re on a date…it’s not a conflict?” she asked, with a look of slight strain etched on her face.
“Because I own DD studios?” he asked. She nodded without saying a word. He got the feeling she was seeking assurance of some kind from him.
“I don’t think so. You don’t report to me directly even though I hired you. I’m not your direct boss.”
“But you do own the company.”
At that moment a waitress approached their table, taking their drink orders then suggesting a few appetizers for them to nibble on. Daniel deferred to Lorelei who selected fresh calamari for them to share while Daniel ordered them each a Sangria.
Daniel frowned at Lorelei. He hoped she wasn’t backing away from anything they might be building. He didn’t want to scare her away by telling her, but he hadn’t been this interested in a woman in a very long time. And he really didn’t want these feelings to end. Even though they scared him a little bit, he also felt on top of the world.
“Are you afraid people will think I hired you because we’re together?”
“No,” she said with a shake of her head. “We both know that wasn’t the case. We didn’t even know each other when you hired me.” She made a face. “Matter of fact,” she said, wrinkling her nose, “I’m not sure you even liked me the first time we met.”
Daniel chuckled. “I wouldn’t say I didn’t like you. I knew you were drop-dead gorgeous but I was looking at you from a business standpoint. I overthought everything because the project is so important to me.”
“I think I understand. I get really nervous sometimes when I get a really big modeling gig or contract. I start questioning everything. It’s really strange but I still feel like an imposter sometimes, like I’m waiting for someone to say I’m not really top model material.”