The Weight of Shadows by Alison Strobel Read Free Book Online

Italian?”
    “I do. I love it in fact.”
    “I pegged you as an Italian food girl. Have you ever been to Alfredo’s?”
    Kim couldn’t stop the smile that stretched her frozen cheeks. “I’ve heard about that place! Never been, though, a little out of my price range.”
    He grinned. “I got reservations at 6:30, so we should get there just in time.” Rick steered her around cars until they reached his blue hatchback. He opened the door for her and she settled into the cracked leather seat, relieved to get out of the wind even though the car’s interior was no warmer. He slid into the driver’s side and started the car, cranking up the heat as soon as the engine turned over. “So how was your day?”
    “Significantly better once I knew my dinner was taken care of.” She grinned and nearly burst when he laughed. I’m being witty! “Usually it’s hard working Valentine’s Day because people are getting dolled up for special dinners and it just rubs my nose in the fact that I’m not doing anything, you know?” She unzipped her jacket as the heat from her own nerves parched her.
    “I totally understand. Valentine’s Day is pure torture, I agree. Well, usually, anyway—this one isn’t so bad.” He flashed her a smile. She thawed even more.
    They arrived at Alfredo’s just in time for their reservation. Rick opened the car door for her and took her arm like he had in the parking lot. He even beat the seating host to her chair to pull it out for her. She felt like underdressed royalty.
    The waitress came and set a basket of breadsticks between them. “Welcome to Alfredo’s and Happy Valentine’s Day. Are you celebrating tonight?”
    Embarrassed, Kim ducked her head. “Oh, we’re just, um—”
    “—on our first date,” Rick finished, flashing Kim a smile.
    “How romantic!” The waitress clasped her hands. “I’ll get you an appetizer on the house to celebrate. What can I get you to drink?”
    “Do you drink wine?” Rick asked Kim.
    “I don’t usually, but just because I’ve never learned how to pick the right one.”
    Rick picked up the wine list and scanned it. “I’ll have a glass of the Barbera d’Alba, and the lady will have the Chianti.”
    The lady. Kim sat up straighter, intent on earning the title. “Thank you, Rick.”
    “You’re welcome. I hope you like it. I don’t know a lot about wine, but I know what I like, and usually other people like it too.”
    They sat in silence for a minute, and Kim began to panic. Her carefully compiled list of topics fled her memory, and she grew self-conscious under his unwavering stare. She definitely didn’t feel like a lady. More like an awkward adolescent.
    “You’re blushing.”
    Kim’s hands patted her cheeks. “Am I?”
    “Yes. I’m sorry—am I embarrassing you?”
    “No, no—I mean, I’m just…feeling a little under the microscope. I’ll be honest, I don’t go on a lot of dates. And I’m not very good at small talk. I thought of all sorts of things while I was at work that I was going to ask you, but now I can’t remember any of them.”
    He flashed a disarming smile that chased away her anxiety. “I don’t go on a lot of dates, either. In fact, the girl I just broke up with—Karen—was the first girl I’d ever dated long-term. Not that we were that long-term, but longer than just a couple dates.”
    “How did you two meet?”
    He made a face. “At a bar. Isn’t that lame? It sounds lame to admit it, anyway.” He shrugged. “She seemed sweet in the beginning, but she changed after a while. Then she started getting all…I don’t know, distant and accusing. Not attractive. And then she left me— she left me! ” He shook his head, a muscle twitching in his jaw. He took a long drink on his water and resumed. “Anyway, having been in a relationship makes it that much worse to not be in one, you know? Then you know what you’re missing.” He stared at the space between them for a moment, then sat up straighter