Page 108 of Lost Hours
“Because I didn’t ask them.” She peered into his eyes. “I didn’t want to hear them admit it aloud and put a rift between us. Besides, I didn’t need them to confirm your story. I believe you. Completely.”
His heart soared. “So you’re okay with our past, and we can move forward?”
“I’m not only okay with it, I can’t wait to start dating.”
This was too good to be true, and he had to know why in order to believe it. “What changed?”
She chewed on her lower lip. “I spent the last few days in prayer, which I have to admit I didn’t do back when you left. I was very much like Dr. Osborne. I let my anger get to me. But I finally asked God to help me release my anger and trust you.”
“What will happen once your family knows we’re dating again?” He locked gazes with her. “They’ll ask about me. Ask if it’s a good idea to date a man who ‘abandoned’ you. You’ll have to confront them then.”
“Maybe so.”
No. More than maybe. “I can’t help but believe they’ll think I told you what happened, and they’ll feel the need to defend themselves.”
She stepped closer to him. “Maybe it’ll all come out in the open. I don’t know. But I’m of the mindset that it will be what it will be. I have to live my life as I see fit, and I don’t need to stir a hornet’s nest. I just need to let things lie. If they want to bring up the past, then we’ll discuss what actually happened.”
He looked around. “I wish there wasn’t a crowd here and you weren’t in uniform so we could seal our new relationship with a kiss.”
“You’ll have to be patient.” She smiled up at him. “I’m on duty until six, but then if you’re agreeable, I’d like to have dinner, take a turn around the fairgrounds, and go to the fireworks with you.”
Of course he would say yes. They’d lost so much time when they could’ve been together, and he would never get it back, but they could begin fresh tonight.
“IfI’ll have dinner with you?” he asked so loudly the people nearby turned to look at them. He lowered his voice. “You know I will. Our past is all behind us, and we can move forward.”
“Yes,” she said. “I like the sound of that. Our past is behind us, and we have a promising future together.”
He could barely keep his hands to himself, so he shoved them into his pockets. “Should I pick you up at six or do you want to meet me somewhere?”
“I like the thought of you picking me up for our first real date.” She fixed a flirtatious smile on him. “Do you know where I live?”
“Um, yeah, maybe I figured that out.” He chuckled.
“Then see you at six.” Her laughter trailed behind her as she walked through the crowd, greeting people as she disappeared from view.
A moment of anxiety hit him. No, she was just disappearing from his view, not from his life. Never that again.
Mina peered at her reflection in the full-length mirror in her bedroom while Abby and Reece looked on. She rarely dressed up. Any formal affairs she had to attend lately were due to her job, and she just made sure she wore a fresh uniform.
She especially didn’t often wear dresses, but Reece found out about the date and dragged Mina aside to ask if she had anything special to wear. Mina confessed she didn’t, and Reece insisted on providing a feminine dress with a top that showed off curves she rarely displayed, tight at the waist, and then yards of fabric in a flowy skirt.
Reece clapped her hands. “Perfect. Nolan won’t know what hit him.”
Abby raised an eyebrow. “More likely he won’t recognize you at all.”
Reece swatted her hand at Abby. “Don’t be such a goof. Of course he’ll recognize her. He’s in love with her. How can he not know who she is? Especially when she smiles at him, which we both know she’ll do once she sees him all dressed up too.”
Mina hadn’t known they were working with him too. Or maybe they weren’t. He knew how to dress up from his work. After all, she first saw him in a tux this week. How much dressier could he get than that?
Oh, man. She was totally out of her comfort zone. She turned to look at Reece. “Are you sure this is a good idea? He’s never seen me looking like this. If he wanted a blingy girl, then he would’ve fallen for one instead of a maverick like me.”
“We can be both,” Reece said. “Or at least I like to think I’ve managed to do both.”
Mina stared at the slender woman who had always looked like a model to her. “Um, Reece, I think you fall more on the feminine side of the spectrum.”
She smoothed her hands down her sleek navy dress. “You could be right. It’s all those years of modeling in college. It’s hard to unlearn some of the things I was taught twenty-four/seven.”
“Honey,” Abby said. “It’s not just that, it’s in your DNA.”
