Noah scowled and arched his eyebrows. “Are you gonna make it?”
She sucks in a breath. “Yeah, yeah. I’ll make it. I am really sorry for laughing, but know I wasn’t laughing at you.”
“Well, you weren’t laughing with me because I wasn’t laughing.”
“C’mon. There is humor in this. Maybe just a little?”
His shoulders slump and the corners of his mouth lift ever so slightly. “I guess so, but when you’re living through it, there is no humor. Believe me.”
Em began giggling again. She holds up her hands. “I’m sorry. I’ll stop.”
Standing, he holds a hand out to Em. “We’ve got to get you back so you can get ready for your dinner.”
Em places her hand in his. Her heart opens like the bloom of a rose, feeling the warmth of his hand along with the callouses. She doesn’t pull her hand away when they begin the walk back up the boardwalk and wants to skip like a small girl, but doesn’t.
“I’d like to see you tomorrow. Maybe dinner?”
“Can you afford to be away from the center tomorrow? And what about church on Sunday?”
“I have an assistant at the center. I prepared for Sunday early because I wanted to take you to dinner tomorrow night. Are you free? Daisy can be our chaperone if you’d like since you don’t really know me.”
She’s dated. This isn’t the first man to ask her out, but it’s the first she has truly wanted to date. It makes little sense considering how little she knew of him and about him. “I’d like to have dinner with you tomorrow night.”
He squeezed her hand. “Good. Do you want Daisy to join us?”
She raised her head. “No. Just tell me where we’re eating along with the timeframe, and I’ll share it with her.”
“I thought we could go to the steak house over on the marina side. The food is fabulous as is the service. Reservations are for six.”
Her heart slammed against her ribs, matching the bass rhythm from the music pouring out of the shops they passed on their way back. “It sounds wonderful. Where should I meet you?”
“Does the lobby where you’re staying work? Say five forty-five?”
“That works. I’m looking forward to it.”
“I’m glad. I’ve been looking forward to seeing you again since our last meeting. I am glad you called.”
They reached the location where they met earlier.
Noah turns to face Em, grabbing her other hand. “Thank you for a wonderful afternoon.”
“No, thank you. It was wonderful.”
He squeezes both of her hands. “I’ll wait here until you’re inside. Until tomorrow night then.”
She isn’t sure how she reached the inside of the casino, but when she turned around to see him again. He’s gone. She rides the escalator to the second floor and heads to the elevator banks to reach their room. She’s got a date. Tomorrow night. Thank goodness Ruby helped her pack.