Page 116 of Falling for the Grumpiest Protector

"May have?"

Cal laughs. "He called yesterday and asked me to save the best table."

Maddy's eyebrows rise. I look at Cal.

"You have somewhere else you need to be?"

"Absolutely."

He grins and walks away.

Maddy turns to me.

"The best table?"

"Market research."

"Of course."

"Very serious business."

"I'm beginning to understand that."

The best table turns out to be near the windows overlooking the orchard behind the restaurant. I pull out Maddy's chair.

"Thank you."

I take the seat across from her.

Dinner starts easily. That's the thing I notice most. There's no awkwardness about the other night, no careful avoidance of what happened between us. Just Maddy. We're talking, laughing, enjoying each other.

Our waiter brings water. We order a bottle of wine and dinner, and somewhere between the first pour and the bread basket, I stop paying attention to how much time is passing.

By the time our food arrives, she's told me about Noah trying to convince Helen that a frog he found needed to live in their bathtub, and I've told her about Jack nearly backing a tractor into the pond during our first year at the farm.

"He did not."

"He did."

"What did you do?"

"I watched."

She laughs. "You could've warned him."

"He knew the pond was there."

Cal has sent out trout for Maddy and herb-roasted chicken with crispy potatoes for me. Maddy takes one bite of the trout and pauses.

I watch her.

"That good?"

She nods.

"Really good."

"Cal knows what he's doing."