I quietly, almost meek-like, entered the room. Landon sits at his desk; papers spread out haphazardly in front of him. He does not say anything as I take the seat in front of his desk. Knowing he will not speak first, I clear the roughness from my throat.

“I’ve come to apologize,” I say, twisting my hands together.

Landon raises his right eyebrow then nods as if to say go on.

“I didn’t mean what I said downstairs. I don’t really think you’d force yourself on me.”

His jaw clenches. “If you really don’t feel that way, why did you find it necessary to lock your door?” He grinds out.

“You must understand the way I grew up. Sometimes the only thing between me and a man intent on harming me, was a locked door.”

His fist tighten at my words, but his eyes soften. He reaches across the desk to still my fidgeting hands. He gives me a gentle look. “I’m sorry for the way you were treated in the past. Those men had no right to cause you harm or fear. I want you to know I would never hurt you or any woman.”

“I know that,” I rasped out. “I may not know a great deal about you, Landon, but I do know that.”

He nods at this then moves back to relax more into his chair, taking the warmth of his hands with him. “I’d like to redeem that,” he says.

“Redeem what?” I ask.

“You not knowing a great deal about me. Or I you. We’re married and about to have a baby, for goodness sake. I think we should use these next three months to really get to know each other.”

My heart skips a beat. Landon wants to get to know me. Sure, he has said that before, but it was not like now; it was not truly about wanting to know me. Hesitantly, I say, “Why? What’s the point now when we’re only going to separate after the baby comes?”

Landon shrugs. “We’ll always be a part of each other’s lives. We’re having a baby together.”

No, we will not I thought solemnly. Instead, I say, “Well, how do you propose we go about this getting to know one another?”

Landon releases a heart-stopping, charming grin that showed his youth. “Dating.”

“Dating?”

“Yes, dating. Dinner, flowers, dancing, romance.”

I blush at the last one. Landon smirks again. I have never been on a date before, let alone dated someone. The thought thrills me. I shrugs. “All right, then.”

“Perfect. Let us start with dinner. What do you prefer, Italian or French?”

“French.” My stomach growls at the thought of food. Especially French food. I blush again as Landon laughs at the noise. He glances at the clock hanging on the wall to the left of us.

“It’s too late to go out tonight. How about we order take-out and watch a movie? I’ll take you out tomorrow night,” he says.

I smile, stunned. How did I manage to get two dates in less than five minutes? “That sounds perfect.”