Carly nodded, and her smile dimmed, showcasing a glimpse of vulnerability. “It’s true. You’re…different than the women I generally go out with.” Carly held out a hand. “In a good way. That’s why I have the nervous thing. Am I talking too much?” Carly took a deep breath.

Wow. She was serious about the nerves and seemed actually off-kilter. “Not at all,” Lauren said, finding her own confidence now that she understood she wasn’t alone. “It’s just dinner. We can get away from the theater and just hang out. Shoot the breeze. Count white guys with blue ties.”

“Are there a lot of those?”

“Too many.”

Carly nodded. “I’d like that.”

“Me, too.” A pause. “Shall we?”

“After you.”

Lauren gave Rocky a good-bye series of scratches and led the way out. Carly, to her surprise, hurried past and opened the door in grandiose fashion. Okay, Carly was bringing the full charm, which resonated with Lauren. She felt significant and cared for and was so into Carly in this outfit that every inch of her screamed for contact. Relax, she commanded every last nerve ending. She had a date to enjoy.

* * *

“Where does your mom live?” Lauren asked. “You mentioned the only child thing, and that the two of you are close.”

Carly sipped her after dinner coffee and Baileys, the house specialty at the little bistro Lauren had picked out for them not far from downtown. “She’s in Portland and works at a boutique winery owned by a really great family. They take care of her. She handles tastings and merchandise, things like that. Tangle Valley Vineyards.”

“I love that. I had no idea you knew about wine.”

“Well, she knows a lot more about it than I do. I can tell you the best places to hide in a vineyard. It was a great place to grow up. Hidden away and beautiful.”

Lauren leaned her hand on her chin. “But somewhere along the way you got the acting bug.”

She nodded. “From the beginning. I used to act out my own stories with my friends at that very vineyard. My good friend Joey and I would divide up parts. Whichever role I was given, I would always make sure to infuse it with some kind of dramatic twist not indicated in the script. My costars wanted to throttle me.”

“But knowing you, I’m going to predict they didn’t.”

Carly set down her glass mug. “No. People let me get away with too much.”

Lauren appreciated the self-awareness that came with that statement. The Carly of just a month ago would not have been so quick to admit that. “You’re lucky, if you think about it.”