nodded. “I’ll pick you up at Strickland’s.”
“That sounds good,” she said.
“I look forward to it,” he said and walked away.
The next day, Cecelia donned her nicest jeans, a new sweater and a peacoat as she tromped down the stairs to wait for Bill. Nick met her halfway down the steps and looked her up and down. “Where are you headed?” he asked.
“I have a date,” she said proudly.
Nick checked his watch. “It’s kinda early.”
“Maybe he’s eager,” she said.
Nick frowned. “Don’t let him be too eager. Don’t let him—well, compromise you,” he said.
“Compromise?” she echoed. “I’m not a teenager.”
Nick scowled. “Well, you’re no loose woman either.”
Cecelia met his gaze. “Are you calling my morals into question?”
“Not really, but—”
“No buts,” she said, waving her hands in dismissal. “Go get your dinner from Melba or some other woman. I have plans for the evening.”
Nick stared at her. “Hmm.”
“Hmm, yourself,” she said in return. “Good night.”
She stomped the rest of the way down the stairs and took a seat on the sofa in the sitting room. One minute later, she stood and began to pace.
At four thirty-five, Bill appeared at the front door of the rooming house. “Hey,” he said with a dimpled smile. “You ready?”
Hoping this date would turn out well, she smiled in return. “I’m ready. What’s the plan?”
“I thought I would take you to the grocery store so you could pick out what we would have for dinner,” he said as they walked away from the rooming house.
“Um,” she said, because she couldn’t think of anything else to say.
“Yeah. I’ve heard you’re a good cook, so this way, you and I can get the best food around,” he said.
“Oh,” Cecelia said, feeling a shot of disappointment. “I hadn’t thought of that.”
“Well, you seem like a practical girl. You’re a handyman and a cook.”
“Oh,” Cecelia said, feeling a sinking sensation in her stomach.
“You can cook our dinner then do a little cleaning.”
She blinked at him. Disbelief rippled through her. “Clean?” she echoed.
“Sure. If you can cook and fix a pipe, then you can clean.”
Cecelia could only stare at him in surprise.
“Yeah, and after you clean, maybe you and I can spend a little time in the sack,” he said with a wink.
Cecelia counted to five. Ten was far too long. “No way,” she said. “Never in a million years.”
“Hey, I’ve heard I’m pretty good in the sack,” he said.
She turned away and headed back to the rooming house.
Furious, Cecelia stomped the entire way to the Strickland’s. She stomped up the stairs to the door and prayed she wouldn’t run into anyone who would ask questions.
She was so blind with anger, she walked straight into a hard male body.
Cecelia swore under her breath.
“Whoa,” Nick said. “What’s happening?”
“Nothing,” she said. “Absolutely nothing.”
“I thought you had a date,” he said, looking at her curiously.
“You were wrong. I was wrong. This wasn’t a date,” she said, trying to conceal her fury.
“What do you mean?” he asked.
“I mean, this was not a date,” she said. “No date,” she repeated.
“But,” he said, “this was going to be your dream guy.”
“Shut up,” she said. “There is no dream guy. At this rate, there’ll never be a dream guy for me.”
“Are you sure?” he asked. “That sounds kinda drastic.”
“Very sure,” she said as she stomped up the steps to her room, slamming the door behind her.
Cecelia was so upset she didn’t know what to do. She’d been hoping that this date with Bill would turn out well. It wasn’t as if she was in love with him, but she just needed a little encouragement. She needed to feel attractive. She needed to feel that it was possible for a man to want her.
Tears sprang to her eyes. Her frustration grew at the overwhelming emotions racing through her.
A knock sounded at her bedroom door. “Cecelia,” Nick said. “Are you okay?”
She sniffed, swiping at her tears. “I’m fine,” she said. “Just fine.”
Silence followed, and she took a breath.
“You don’t sound fine. Let me buy you a burger at the Ace in the Hole. You need to get out.”
Cecelia glanced around her room and felt as if the walls were closing in around her. Maybe she should go with him. She was certainly in no mood to stay in her room all night.
“Come on. Sit down and tell me all about it,” Nick said to Cecelia after he’d finally talked her into joining him at the bar on Saturday night. “I’ll buy you a beer and a burger.”
Cecelia shot him a deadly look that might have made another man wince, but Nick had known her too long for that. “A beer isn’t going to make this better. I don’t like beer that much, anyway.”
Surprise rippled through him. “Oh, really? I wonder why I never noticed.”
“Because it would take too much effort to notice, and I’m apparently not worth the effort,” she said with a frown.
“Whoa,” he said, lifting his hand. “No need to club me. I’m on your side, remember?”
Cecelia shook her head, clearly contrite. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have come. I’m not good company for anyone at the moment. I need to shake off this funk. Maybe I really should be making more firm plans to go back home.”
Nick hated it when
