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She was beginning to enjoy their routine
and his company. He was much deeper than Sam and much more
interesting. Maybe she just liked her men dark and brooding.
Sometimes Jamie was that way and sometimes he wasn’t. She kind of
liked that. It made him a little more intriguing.
    After the workout Jamie asked, “Hey, how
would you like to go to dinner with me this evening? We can go
ahead and tell Mom not to expect us this evening.”
    Her first impulse was to say no. She wanted
to go down and meet Patrick after dinner, but another part of her
warned her not to get too close to the mysterious man she had met
on the rocks. Maybe she would be better off cultivating an interest
in Jamie. There seemed to be something a little dangerous about
getting involved with Patrick.
    “I think that would be a good idea,” she
said. “I really need to get out of this house for awhile.”
    When they went to breakfast they told Sally
to put two less places at the table for dinner. Then Emily went up
to the third floor to work.
    “Good morning,” said Rebecca. “You have dark
circles under your eyes. Didn’t you sleep well?”
    “It’s the strangest and most exciting thing.
I found some old letters that came from the storage room
downstairs. They are love letters and are very passionate. I read
them until late last night. I still have some to go; I just
couldn’t stay awake any longer.”
    “I would like to read them as well, when
you’re finished. I wonder who wrote them.”
    “That’s the thing. None of them are signed.
It seems like whoever wrote them and who received them were both
living in the house. The letters speak of their lover coming to
them in the night.”
    “I’m intrigued.” Rebecca said.
    “Me, too. During some of my free time, I
think I’ll explore the room some more and see what else I can find.
I would love to research this whole thing. I love a good
mystery.”
    “Let me know what you find out.”
    Emily got to work on her regular duties as
well as finishing up the planning of the party. She was so tired at
the end of the day that she almost told Jamie she would have to beg
off their date tonight. But then she decided not to. She hated to
disappoint him, and she really did need some time away from the
house. She was determined not to think about Patrick tonight when
she was with Jamie.
    She dressed with care that evening. At
breakfast, she and Jamie had discussed where they wanted to go and
they had decided on a really upscale restaurant in town. So she was
dressing up. It was kind of exciting because she hadn’t gotten to
wear many of the nice things Rebecca had bought for her. She chose
a maroon satin dress with broad straps and a low v-neck. It had a
lace tie around the waist and the hemline was about two inches
above the knee. She knew she looked great in it. She left her long,
dark hair down, which is the way she liked it best, and she knew it
was the most flattering.
    When she came down the stairs to meet Jamie,
and he looked at her, there was a gleam in his eye that made her a
little uncomfortable. Maybe she shouldn’t have dressed this way.
She didn’t want to lead him on, and she had a feeling he might have
feelings for her. But maybe she could learn to care more for him,
too. She would make the most out of tonight and see how it
went.
    “You look great!” he said. “Everyone in the
restaurant will be envious of me.”
    She smiled at him. “Jamie, you’re
exaggerating.”
    “No, I most certainly am not! Are you ready
to go?”
    They rode in his bright red Camaro to the
Lakefront Restaurant. It was situated beside a large lake, and they
were able to get a table by a window looking out over the water.
Emily decided on Parmesan crusted tilapia and Jamie ordered a
steak.
    “Would you like wine with dinner?” asked the
waiter.
    Jamie hesitated, then said. “Emily, if you
want to order a glass of wine, that’s fine. I don’t drink.”
    “I don’t drink either. I’ll have