Free Here & Now by Melyssa Winchester, Joey Winchester Page A

into the waiting car, with me quickly on her heels.
    The way she leans into me the minute I’m in and the door is shut gives me everything I need. Any nervousness I had before Sarah came out and talked to me is gone and all I can see now as we peel slowly away from the curb is what comes next.
    An entire night alone with the girl of my dreams.
     
     

Chapter Six
     
    Cadence
     
    He thought of everything.
    From the second I stepped into the limo with Dillon it’s been just one surprise after another, none of which I went into this expecting.
    When your boyfriend tells you he wants you to dress up so he can take you to dinner and leaves it at just dinner, even if there’s this hope in the back of your mind for more, you don’t assume anything and just prepare for dinner. I should have known after being with him as long as I have that Dillon does things differently.
    It started with the limo and the five bouquets of flowers laid out on the seat across from us. Each bouquet holding a different group of flowers. There were the roses of various shapes and sizes, some bloomed and others not, lilies, tulips, carnations and the final one, my personal favorite, daisies.
    A kaleidoscope of color surrounding the dark interior of the car, and adding just the right level of heart melting to what was already there.
    When we finally reached the restaurant, the flower giving continued as we were shown to our table. Sitting in a vase directly in the middle of the small round table was another bouquet of daisies and once he had pulled out my chair and I was seated, he wasted no time plucking one from the bunch and moving around to string it through my hair.
    I wasn’t sure how I was going to handle all of this, still thinking when we left that it was more than a little over the top, but now that I’m here, it’s hard not to follow my mom’s words from before. This won’t be something I expect or need Dillon to do more than this one time, but there’s no doubt that I’m going to enjoy it.
    At least I will if I can ignore the way the other people’s eyes seem to all be staring at me.
    It’s become so obvious that after about fifteen minutes of pretending to look at a menu even though I’ve chosen what I want, I can’t handle it anymore and I finally speak up, which only makes the nervousness I feel even worse.
    Speaking in front of Dillon is easy. Speaking in a room full of people, not so much.
    “Do they have to be so obvious?”
    He looks up from his menu and with a quick look to me, he runs a scan around the room until his gaze is back on me and there’s a smile on his face.
    “Why do you think they’re looking at you?”
    “Because I’m different. I stand out.”
    “You definitely stand out,” he grins mischievously. “But not for the reason you think.”
    “Are you gonna explain what you mean?”
    Just as he’s about to explain, I raise my hand and cut him off. “And can you also explain what that smile is about?”
    “I figured the reason for my smile was pretty obvious, but okay. Since they both have the same answer, this is easy.”
    I’m glad one of us understands it because right now I can feel another pair of eyes boring into my back and with how awkward it makes me feel, I’m starting to think it’s putting the awkwardness over being dressed up and in a limo to shame.
    “They’re staring at you for the same reason I’m smiling at you, Caddy. It’s because you’re breathtaking. All of these people,” he says, motioning around the room attempting to make his point. “They’re all as stunned as I was when I saw you earlier.”
    Now I know he’s just being sweet. There’s no way he can be right about this. I’ll admit, the way the dress fits so perfectly and how soft it feels when it does brush up against my skin, I feel pretty, which a lot of times I don’t, but to have an entire restaurant full of people thinking the same thing? That’s just crazy.
    Dillon is crazy.
    Before I can respond,