Mr. Big(45)

“My goodness, you look so beautiful tonight! Look at you! That dress is… well… it fits you perfectly. It’s really beautiful, but then of course, I expected no less. I just didn’t know you would look this good!” he gushed over her and for a moment she liked hearing it, it gave her some confidence, but then he kept going and it made her feel like he was overdoing it just a bit too much.

“You look nice too,” she told him, glancing over his jacket and button up shirt with a tie. She hadn’t been to Hastings herself yet, but she was fairly certain that he was just a little bit underdressed. He seemed not to have noticed, and she thought it best that she didn’t say anything.

She picked up her handbag and walked out of the door, closing it behind her. Logan reached for her hand and for a split second, she wanted to pull her hand away from his, but then she realized that she ought to give him a chance; give him every chance, at making their date a good one, so she gave him her hand and he smiled down at her happily.

She watched the city out of the window as he turned out of the parking garage for her building. She genuinely hoped that it would be a good night for them.

“I saw that it’s a little warmer right now than it normally is for this time of year,” he said casually, glancing at her with a smile.

She blinked and paused as she turned to look back at him while he drove. “Yes, it has been a bit warmer. I like it, but I’m concerned about global climate change. I wonder about the effects of what unseasonable weather will do to the planet. Do you worry about that?”

He shrugged. “Oh, I think about it here locally. I’m not going to have to wear winter clothes as far into the spring as I usually do. That’s about all the thinking I’ve done on it.” He chuckled and drove and she frowned slightly and looked back out of the window.

It was quiet for a long moment and he looked around and sighed. “There’s so much traffic tonight.”

She looked out of the front window and sighed quietly. “It looks like it,” she said in agreement.

“I thought about taking the train, but I just can’t stand public transportation if I don’t have to use it, plus, I didn’t think you’d be too impressed if we did. I like to make a good impression.” He gave her a wink.

She tried not to frown again. “Well, actually, the public transportation system in this city is one of the best in the world; I mean, there are sometimes delays with the trains, but it’s certainly a lot better for the environment to take public transportation when the opportunity is there. I wouldn’t have minded,” she said as lightly as she could.

He shrugged. “That’s all right. I don’t like it. Besides, what is my one vehicle going to do to the environment? Nothing. It’s just one vehicle. Mine isn’t going to tip the scale.”

She bit her tongue. She wanted to tell him that if everyone thought the way he did, it would be so much worse for the environment, but if everyone who thought that way realized how much of a difference it would make, they would understand that each single drop of rain makes the rainstorm. Each drop counts. She looked out of the window instead and folded her arms over her chest.

There was another long silence that he decided to break. “I went to lunch at a café today. I haven’t been there before. I don’t think I’m going to go back. The food was all right, but the service was not what I would have wanted it to be.”

She drew in a long deep breath and let it out slowly. “Where was it?” she asked, trying to be conversational.

“Oh, it was over on 72nd street. Just some little hole in the wall. I probably won’t go back.” He didn’t say anymore after that and she wondered what his point was. She forced herself to remember that he might just be being nervous around her, and perhaps he didn’t know what else to say. She found herself comparing him to Alexander, and she knew she shouldn’t, but Alexander and she had shared long conversations on several topics, and not once was any of them ever mundane.

They pulled into the parking area for the restaurant and he walked with her holding her hand again. She told herself that it was romantic, though it didn’t feel that way to her. She was still thinking about it when they walked into the entrance and she heard a familiar voice and looked up to see Alexander Daniels standing a few feet away with a beautiful woman at his side.

Alexander was dressed in a tailored suit and he looked, as he always managed to when he was out, like a James Bond hero. The woman who was with him was just a few inches shorter than he was, with dark brunette hair that was carefully styled and pinned up around her head. She had porcelain skin and big, warm brown eyes. Her features were classic and elegant, and she reminded Mia of Audrey Hepburn in many ways. She was wearing a navy dress that covered most of her, while leaving her arms bare. In her hands was a beautiful bouquet of flowers, and Mia felt her heart stop when she saw all of it.