Jill smiled into his shoulder and nodded. They'd handle it together and then deal with the us part of the equation. It had a nice ring to it.
"Okay," she whispered into his shoulder and he pulled back slightly to peer at her.
"We are going to deal with the us part though, Jill," he reassured her solemnly as if she might think he was just putting her off. "We have something special here and my year is up. My divorce is final and I'm now free to pursue you like I want to."
Jill smiled at his expression, and then whispered, "It's about time. Pursue away."
Nick grinned and then kissed her again before saying, "We should get moving."
"Yes," Jill whispered, settling back in her seat and doing up her seatbelt.
Nick started the engine and then pulled out of the parking spot, but Jill wasn't paying attention. Her gaze had dropped to the dress she wore and she was examining it with surprise. It was a simple black cocktail dress. Simple, classic, stylish, and tasteful.
"This is nice," she said with surprise.
Nick grinned. "Don't sound so surprised. I happen to have good taste."
"Sorry," Jill laughed, then added uncertainly, "but isn't it a bit dressy for a casual afternoon party?"
Nick shook his head. "The first part of the party is casual but then most people will leave and at about eight pm my sister is having a dinner party."
"Oh." Jill managed a smile. "Then it's perfect. You have good taste."
His eyes caught on her lips briefly, and then he cleared his throat and turned his attention back to the front as they pulled out of the parking garage.
Jill found her eyes slipping over his mouth and hands, recalling their moments of passion and decided to distract herself. She said, "It was nice of your sister to hold a party for the parade people."
"There was nothing nice about it," he said with a wry smile. "Sue started out having the party for the people she and her husband work with at the psychiatric hospital. But when she found out about you, she told me to invite you along. I pointed out that it might be uncomfortable for you to have our first date be a party with my family, so she opened it up to everyone in the parade too." He shook his head, then went on, "The afternoon is an open party with drinks and snacks for employees of the hospital and parade members, and then at eight it's a proper sit-down dinner with her, her husband, my brother and his wife, and us." He cast her an apologetic glance. "Sorry about that."
Jill merely shrugged. She already knew from their talks that his sister and her husband were both psychiatrists and that his brother was a policeman with a baker for a wife. In fact, she knew a good deal about his whole family and even many of his friends. They'd talked a great deal these last six months. The sister arranging things to meet her didn't surprise her so much as the fact that the woman knew about her. Nick had been talking about her to his family.
"What did you say that made her want to meet me?" she asked curiously.
Nick was silent so long she didn't think he would answer, but then he admitted, "That I was pretty sure you were the one."
Jill blinked. "The one?" she echoed faintly.
Nick didn't respond until they reached the first set of lights. Braking then, he met her glance and said quietly, "We've been friends for six months, Jill. I know everything about you. The only thing I didn't know was whether we'd be sexually compatible…" He glanced to the light and back, and then added, "Of course. It's pretty obvious now that won't be an issue."
Jill flushed, but merely smiled and reached over to squeeze his leg. This day was turning out to be more than she'd ever expected. All she'd hoped for was being asked out on a date and possibly a first kiss. She was getting much more than that. It was as if the last six months of their lunches and platonic friendship had been dating without it actually being called that, and without kissing or anything else. Now they were moving ahead at an amazing rate. From friends, to almost lovers and being "the one."
She shook her head with amazement. If it weren't for John Heathcliffe's antics this would be the most perfect day she could imagine.
"Here we are," Nick announced and then blew out a whistle. "It looks like we're the last to arrive. We'll be lucky to find parking anywhere nearby."
Jill didn't comment, but was just recalling that she was barefoot when Nick said, "By the way. There are shoes in the bag too."
She glanced at him with surprise and then caught up the bag from where it lay discarded on the floor and retrieved a pair of dressy black shoes. Her eyes widened with surprise as she noted the size.
Nick grinned. "I own a shoe store, love. I can guess a shoe size at a glance and am usually right."