“Don’t let me stop you,” Gregory held up his hands, “actually, it’s a good thing I ran into you, Diane. Although, I do seem to keep running into you, don’t I?”
“That does appear to be a bad habit of yours,” Diane quipped.
“I suppose it does. I’m certainly not complaining, though.”
Diane didn’t know what to say to that. He was certainly flirting with her again. And it was not as shocking as Diane thought it would be. She actually liked it, and this was shocking to her.
“As I was saying, I’m glad I ran into you.” Why did his voice have to sound so smooth and buttery? “I was wondering if you fancied going out to dinner.”
It took a moment for Diane to realize what he had just said. Her mouth fell open.
“I…what? What did you say?”
“I didn’t think you were deaf, Diane.” He tilted his head to one side. “Although you are quite adorable when you’re stunned, I have to admit.”
Diane didn’t know how to respond to that. He was asking her on a date? Dinner with him? She should be telling him absolutely not, and yet she was unable to get the words out.
“So?” Gregory pressed. “How about it? There’s a lovely little place on the edge of the lake just outside Cascade. I could take you there.”
“But…why?”
“Why what?”
“Why me?” Diane licked her lips. When had they suddenly gone dry? “Why would you be interested in me at all?”
Gregory looked like he was considering the answer for a moment. And that smile of his just made her insides wobble. Diane hoped that she didn’t end up on the floor when her legs finally gave way. A simple smile like that shouldn’t be making her react in such a way. That had to be sinful, surely?
“Because I like you, Diane,” Gregory said.
“You don’t even know me.”
“But I would like to get to know you. And going out to dinner would be a perfect way for us to get to know each other, properly!”
He did have a point. But there was still so much wrong with it, and he had to know that. She should be telling him no and walking away. Although she was very tempted to actually run instead.
She shuffled back, bumping into the shopping cart and sending it sliding across the aisle. It knocked into an elderly woman going the other way, and she stopped with a gasp as her cart was knocked to one side and hit the shelves. Diane cringed and grabbed at her cart.
“I’m so sorry!”
The woman arched a delicately-curved eyebrow at her. Diane couldn’t even look at her former schoolteacher. Of all the people she had to embarrass herself with, why did it have to be the cantankerous old bat?
With a sniff and a shake of her head, Mrs. Moran stuck her nose in the air and walked off. Gregory watched her go with some bemusement.
“She looks like she’s got a stick up her backside,” he commented.
“Don’t talk like that!” Diane hissed, “she’s a respected member of the community.”
“And she’s also someone who makes you squirm as a grown woman.”
Diane really wanted to get out of there. She was almost tempted to just leave and not do the shopping. She gripped the handle of the shopping cart.
“Look, Mr. Benjamin….”
“Gregory, please. I feel very old when I’m called Mr. Benjamin.”
Oh, she could not call him that. To Diane, that felt far too intimate.
“Mr. Benjamin, I’ve got a lot to do. What can I do to convince you to leave me to get on with my day?”
“How about say you’ll go to dinner with me, and I’ll leave you be. For now.”
That ‘for now’ held a lot of promise. Something started throbbing between Diane’s legs, and she tried to squeeze them together without it being too obvious. What did this man have over her that made her feel like a puddle of goo?
“It sounds like you’re blackmailing me.”
“I like to think of it as coming to a business arrangement.”
“Business arrangement? How does that work?”
“Well, this town has a population of less than a thousand…”
“It’s called a rural city,” Diane corrected him.
Gregory didn’t seem to hear her.
“Anyway, there are a lot of tourists and people coming up here for vacation, and even though I’ve had the office here for a while, I don’t really know everything about Cascade. I could use some help from a local,” he gestured at her, “you’re a local. Perhaps you can tell me everything I need to know.”
Diane narrowed her eyes.
“I thought you said you wanted to get to know me more.”
“We can do that at the same time. Whatever you’re comfortable with.”
“Are you going to leave me alone if I say no?”
Gregory crossed his arms and tapped a finger to his lips as if he were thinking.
“Probably not. I don’t want to harass you, but I know what I want when I see it. I’m a businessman, after all.”
“And…, what do you see that you want?”
“Do you need me to answer that question?”
Diane didn’t think she needed to. Not with the way he was looking at her. He found her attractive, although Diane couldn’t think why; she wasn’t exactly his type. But he was clearly not going to give up.
And, if Diane was completely honest, she liked the idea of having someone take her out for dinner. It could be fun. Although she would have to do it without her father knowing about it. Not easy when they lived in a place with less than a thousand people, however.
“Okay.”
“Okay, what?”
Diane rolled her eyes.
“Fine, I’ll go to dinner with you. But let’s do it other than in Cascade. I don’t want this getting back to my father.”
Gregory chuckled.
“You’re ashamed of me already?”
“This isn’t something to joke about, Mr. Benjamin.” Diane smoothed her hands on her thighs, wishing that they weren’t trembling. “There’s a place in Donnelly further along the lake road that’s really good. Growler’s Pizza Grill. How about there?”