Albie leaned in, whispering in her ear. “You’re blushing.”

“I know. It’s sad.” Kate actually loved the nerves. She loved the flutter she felt when David was close.

“It’s about time.”

He settled his hand between her shoulder blades and gave her a nudge—a push towards the change David represented. Kate didn’t have any delusions about David, at least she didn’t think she did, but he was a step forward… a risk.

David reached out a hand; it was large, rough, and warm, and as his fingers curled around hers, he leaned in to plant a gentle kiss on her cheek. It was just a brush, the faintest of contact, and her knees nearly buckled as his clean scent surrounded her. Had this ever happened with Richard? Even when they were first together, when Kate believed she was so in love with him—did he ever make her feel this much? Was she ever this aware of him? She didn’t think so.

Vaguely conscious they’d passed into the dining room, Kate felt suspended in the moment. Everything stopped, and all that was left was awareness—awareness of her own heart beating, of the blood racing in her head, of the heat churning from the center on out.

The room was practically empty, understandable since it was after nine on a weeknight. There were two other couples and a table of men who looked like they’d had a business dinner. An aria from La Traviata played in the background. It was beautiful and romantic. The table was tucked into a corner near the fireplace, and once she settled into the large wing chair, and David was safely on the other side, Kate allowed herself to breathe.

Albie brought over a basket of fresh bread and leaned toward David. “Your taste has improved.”

“I’m trying to take your advice,” David responded.

Albie gave him advice?

“So, an appetizer to start? We have a fabulous special—squash blossoms stuffed with an herbed mixture of goat cheese and ricotta, and then fried.”

“Mmmm, that sounds good.” Kate was eager to try, but David didn’t look convinced. “Doesn’t it?” she asked.

“It’s a stuffed flower.”

“A fried, stuffed flower,” Albie said. “That should appeal to your inner Neanderthal.”

“Hey!” David feigned offense and Kate hid her smile behind the menu. The banter between him and Albie was such fun. She composed herself, finally, to come to his defense.

“I don’t think he’s a Neanderthal,” she whispered to Albie.

Albie rolled his eyes. “Oh, honey, of course he is. It’s not a bad thing, but he totally is.”

With a wink and a smile, Albie left to put in the order.

“I guess I’m trying the stuffed flower.”

“I guess you are, but you didn’t put up much of a fight.”

“Not worth it, and it is fried.”

She giggled again, loving how things were so easy between them—how was this possible? “I can’t believe you invited me here.”

“It’s a strange coincidence, but it’s a good thing to have in common.”

Nodding, Kate focused on her twisting fingers, then looked into David’s warm eyes. His smile was sweet, gentle, but she knew, after watching him in his previous night’s game, he was anything but gentle. Kate wondered if she could handle being with someone so physical.

“Red or white?”

“What?”

“Wine? Would you like red or white?”

Thank God. She could use some wine. Actually she could use lots of wine. “Hmm. What are you having?”

“The red. It’s a good Chianti. Want to try it?”

The cork was out in one smooth motion and Kate marveled at how easily he moved. Everything about David was fluid and relaxed, while she was being revisited by those bats.

“I was so glad you had time to see me.”

That shocked her. Did he think she wouldn’t meet him? Seriously? “I was surprised to get the text so soon.”

“You shouldn’t have been.”

He poured the wine and raised his glass, tapping it gently against hers. Glancing around the dining room, Kate allowed herself to get used to the surroundings again. “I love this restaurant.”

“Me too. Do you come here a lot?”

“I used to. Before the divorce. I’ve missed it.”

He nodded. “Did you grow up around here?”

“Me? No. I’m a Long Island girl. I grew up in a small town called Holly Point.”

“There are small towns on Long Island?”

She grinned, thinking the only impressions David had of her home was a slab of concrete on Hempstead Turnpike where the Islanders played, or maybe the Hamptons. “Yes. They’re not small in comparison to other places, but they dot the coast, have all the small town gossip you’d expect. Some families have lived in those towns for generations.”

“I guess I bought into the stereotype.”

“Most people do. Aren’t you going to ask about the lack of accent and big hair?”

He laughed and shook his head. “No, as long as you don’t tease me when I say things like ‘aboot’.”

“Deal.”

“What brought you to Philly?”

“My husband’s work.” She stopped and bit her lip. “Sorry. Ex-husband.” Taking a breath as she adjusted to the term, Kate continued. “I’ll move home someday, but not until Laura’s out of school.”

“Laura’s your daughter?”

Kate nodded and hoped he didn’t want to know about her. She wasn’t quite ready to share, so when he didn’t press her for more, she was relieved. The explanations could wait until later.

“How did your talk go? You said it was a book group?”

Kate took a sip of her wine and nodded. “Yup. It was fun.”

“I can’t imagine writing a whole book, let alone six. It kind of blows my mind.”

Kate let the words roll around in her brain a little. She savored them, let them sink in. He was… well… he was impressed. And interested. Another little miracle.

“What do you talk about with groups?”

“Ah, usually it’s question and answer. Sometimes I get a lot of craft questions, you know, how I write, how I get my ideas… things like that. And people always want to talk about what’s coming next. I try not to give too much away.”

David smiled. “Tease.”

“I know. But if I said too much, what would be the point of reading the next book?”

“Lots. Your story, the little things that happen to the characters. The way you describe action and the setting. There’s no way you could give all that away.”

“I guess not.” She ran her fingers up and down the stem of the wine glass and while the compliments made her a little uncomfortable, she loved that he appreciated her work. Loved it. “How did the rest of the road trip go? I saw you won last night.”

“Not bad. Some of the new guys need to learn the system, but it’ll be fine. Do you follow hockey at all?”

“No, not really.” She had a feeling she’d be following a lot more if anything came of this.

“Not into sports?”

Kate hesitated. She had the perfect response to that question, but decided some things shouldn’t be shared just yet. “I wouldn’t say that. I used to be a big hockey fan. I don’t have a lot of time to keep up.”

“We should go skating sometime.”

She could feel the grin pull across her face. “I haven’t been on skates in years.”

“You know how?”

Her eyes met his and she fell right into their dark depths. “I do.”

“Damn,” he said, leaning in. “I wanted to teach you.”

A cover of a popular love song, sung in Italian, was in the background, and Kate shifted the music from the restaurant to her imagination. She could feel the fluidity of their movements on the ice, his powerful stride, her graceful one—the contrast mirrored everything about them. And in response there was a squeeze in her core and every part of her from the waist down tingled. Great. Way to stay in control.

Albie delivered the appetizer, doing his best not to interrupt, but Kate knew he was reporting back to Vinnie. She didn’t wait and dug right into the food. If she ate, maybe she’d stop having dirty daydreams about David. As she chewed, Kate looked up to see the two men watching her and grinning stupidly.