***The Next Day***

Jonathan was in his office, going over some reports, when his secretary Deanne buzzed him.

"Mr. Hart, there's a lady here to see you-Callie Nichols".

"Send her in".

A few minutes later, a really cute brunette came in.

"Hello Mr. Hart. I wanted to drop this off to you from the fundraiser the other night. Here are the final reports on all of the donations and bids. And I was told you were asking about a donor-we found a few Jennifer's. The one at table 7, we believe was Jennifer Edwards. She must have been someone's plus one, because she wasn't on any of the registration forms".

"Oh, that's right. She came with Heather from accounting".

"Well, here is the form she filled out when she gave us her donation. She said here that she works at the LA Chronicle".

"Wonderful, thank you".

Callie saw herself out, while Jonathan continued looking over his reports.

***LA Chronicle***

Jennifer was in a rush to get her article done. She was in the zone and didn't want to break her concentration.

She worked through lunch, and then finally got to a stopping point when she felt like it was finished.

She placed a delivery order and started proofreading her article.

A few minutes later, Jenna, the receptionist came over to her desk.

"Delivery for you, Jennifer".

"Well, that was fast. I just placed my lunch order about 5 minutes ago".

She looked up.

"Oh, it's not lunch. Thanks Jenna".

Sitting before her was the prettiest vase of flowers she had ever seen. The vase itself was clear crystal, with a basket weave pattern. It was absolutely stuffed with purple heather, pink snapdragon, purple peonies, bells of Ireland and white foxgloves.

She stared at it for a few minutes, and then grabbed the card.

Lovely meeting you last night. Dinner tomorrow night? Call me-323.566.4278. Jonathan.

Jennifer thought for a moment and then picked up the phone and dialed a number.

"Hello, this is Heather Wilmont".

"Hey, it's Jennifer."

"Hey. How are you?"

"Great. Listen, I loved meeting your boss last night. He was so nice and charming and debonair. So, I was calling because, just now I got a bouquet of flowers, and they are from Jonathan, asking me to dinner. I just wanted to make sure you are ok with it if I call him and tell him yes".

"Of course, I'm ok with it. You should go and have fun".

"Ok, then I think I'll do just that".

"Let me know how it goes".

"Will do. I'll talk to you later".

She hung up and called Jonathan.

"Hello, Hart Industries, how can I direct your call?"

"Hi. This is Jennifer Edwards. May I please speak to Jonathan?"

"Hi Ms. Edwards. I'm Deanne Hollingsworth, Mr. Hart's secretary. He just stepped into a meeting, but he asked me to take a message if you called".

"Oh, alright. Well, please tell him that I said yes to dinner".

"Wonderful. Now, I'm supposed to tell you that if you will kindly give me or him your address, he will pick you up promptly at 6 p.m. tomorrow night. And he's also requesting that you give me your home number, just in case he gets delayed. I'm not seeing anything on his schedule that might delay him, but you never know".

"Certainly. My address is 2488 Worthington Place. Basically, it's the Crescent View Condominiums, off Wilshire, across from Piedmont Pier. I'm number 8, which is downstairs, on the right. Second entrance from the right. And my phone number is 724.4864. They aren't numbered, but I have a pink flowerpot and a purple polka-dotted doorhanger."

"I'll be sure to tell him. Thank you, Miss Edwards".

"Thank you".

She hung up and smiled, and then got back to work.

***Later that Day***

Jennifer turned in her article after having proofed it about 8 times for accuracy, and then headed back to her desk.

She tossed around a few ideas about what her next article should be about, and finally decided to write about prison reform.

She was just about to head home when she heard her boss call her name.

"Edwards!"

"Coming".

She headed to his office.

"Hey, I just read your article. It's amazing. Good work!"

"Thank you".

"I am bumping it up. Look for it in an issue this weekend".

"Wow. That's wonderful. Thank you".

"You earned it. Good job. See you tomorrow".

"See you tomorrow".

She went back to her desk and gathered her things, and headed home.

***The Next Day***

Jennifer was ready and waiting on Jonathan by 5:45. She had chosen a black cowlneck jumpsuit with red heels, and a red necklace and red hoop earrings. She made sure to spray on some of that perfume that he liked, and made sure that her makeup and hair were perfect.

She was filling her flowers with fresh water when he knocked on the door.

"Hi. Come on in".

"What a lovely condo".

"Thank you. It has served me well".

She took the flowers to her coffee table, and set them in the middle.

"Thank you for the lovely flowers. You managed to get all of my favorites".

"Great, I'm glad you liked them".

"I did".

"Well, shall we go?"

"We shall".

She grabbed her keys and locked the door behind them, and headed out.

They walked to his car and he opened the door for her.

"Thank you".

"My pleasure".

He came around and slid into the driver's seat next to her.

"So, I had figured on a nice little Italian place, up the coast. But if there's somewhere else you'd prefer-"

"No, that's fine. Anywhere is fine".

They chatted as they drove up the coast and she was so impressed by the scenic views.

He pulled them into the parking lot and parked.

"Here we are".

"It's so lovely".

"Wait till you see the inside".

He came around and opened the door for her, and then they walked inside.

It was like stepping directly into Italy. Everything was as authentic as it could have been, and Jennifer was overwhelmed and excited by it all at the same time.

"Welcome to Marchetta Ristorante".

"Hi, thank you".

"Reservations for two please, for Hart".

"Right this way, sir, ma'am".

They were shown to their table, and Jonathan pulled out Jennifer's chair for her.

"Thank you".

"May I start you off with a drink, perhaps?"

"How about a bottle of your best white wine?"

"Right away, sir".

Jennifer could tell he was nervous. She was nervous too.

"So, did you have a good day?"

"Yes, actually I did. I had a few meetings that went my way, and all day long I found myself looking forward to having dinner with you".

"How sweet. I was looking forward to it all day as well".

They perused the menu and placed their orders when the waiter brought their drinks.

"How did you find this place?"

"A friend of mine told me about it. It's the best Italian place near Los Angeles".

"It's so quaint and rustic like".

"So, how was your day?"

"Well, actually. I wrote an article about prison reform, and it wasn't supposed to be printed for at least a week yet, but my boss liked it so much that he is putting it in this weekend's paper instead of next week sometime".

"Well, that's wonderful".

"Yeah, I was pretty proud that he liked it. It was a complex and interesting article to write, too."

The waiter brought their meals, and they began to eat.

"Ok, so it's time for the twenty questions game".

"I'm down".

"When is your birthday?"

"November 2. You?"

"February 10. Favorite color?"

"Purple. You?"

"Red. Favorite meal?"

"Grilled chicken kebabs. You?"

"Grilled Steaks and baked potatoes. Favorite thing to do on a weekend?"

"Lay by the pool, or go running down on the beach. You?"

"I enjoy the beach, and I enjoy a little poker from time to time".

"That sounds nice".

"That's not a question".

"My apologies. Hmmm….let me think. Favorite Holiday?"

"Fourth of July. You?"

"Christmas. Why is yours the Fourth of July?"

"Well, it's complicated. I was a toddler when circumstances in my life led to me being placed into an orphanage in San Francisco. I wasn't ever adopted, and when I was a teenager, I met the person who I consider to be my family. His name is Max. He took me in, taught me things about being a man that the nuns hadn't taught me, and helped shape me into who I have become. When you grow up in an orphanage, holidays are rough. The Fourth of July became my favorite because there are literally no expectations-no gifts to give, or not receive. Just good old family fun, but fun for those without a family as well. And the best part is, there's no way to screw it up. You literally get up, throw on a swimsuit, throw some burgers on the grill, and hope that it doesn't rain out the fireworks show when it gets dark".

"I never thought of it like that".

"Why is Christmas your favorite holiday?"

"Well, I grew up in Maryland. And the snow, and the lights, and snuggling by a fire at night, well, there's just nothing else like it".

"That does sound nice. Does your family still live in Maryland?"

"My father does, some of the time. My mother passed away several years ago".

"Oh, I'm sorry".

"It's alright. It was a long time ago".

"What's your favorite place you've ever lived?"

"New York. You?"

"I like New York. But I'm also partial to San Francisco".

After they had finished eating, he paid the check, and they headed to the car.

He opened the door for her, and helped her inside.

"Thank you".

"Certainly".

He slid into the driver's seat and began to navigate them back to Los Angeles.

"Ok, so next question. Chocolate or Vanilla?"

"Strawberry. You?"

"Rocky Road. Can't go wrong with Rocky Road".

"Favorite city you've ever visited?"

"I'm pretty partial to Paris. You?"

"London. It's where I spent my 25th birthday, and I really enjoyed myself. I took in the sights, I did exactly what I wanted to do, and it was the first time in my life I was able to afford to stay in luxury. Pretty good for a kid who came from nothing."

"I would agree".

"Where did you spend your 25th birthday?"

"I'll let you know when it happens, in 2 years".

He was shocked.

"You're only 23? Wow….you're very mature for 23".

"Thank you".

He pulled them over into an overlook and parked.

He put the top down, and then came around and opened the door for her.

"Where are we going?"

"Relax, it's alright. We are just getting into the backseat so we can-"

"I beg your pardon!"

"I was going to say 'watch the meteor shower', that's all".

"I'm sorry".

"It's alright, just a misunderstanding".

She climbed into the backseat and then he opened the trunk and got out a cooler and a blanket.

"I put some drinks in here for us, if you'd like one".

"Sure".

He climbed into the backseat next to her and she spread the blanket over them while he opened the cooler and got out the drinks.

"We have water, and we have these little bottled cocktail things".

They tried the bottled cocktail ones first, and hated them.

"Where did you get these?"

"At a little liquor store by my house. Lesson learned. How about some water?"

"Please".

"Allow me to once again avail you of my expert pouring skills".

"Oh, please do. It wouldn't be the same without them".

He poured them both some water, and then they leaned back and watched the meteor shower for a bit.

"The sky is so pretty like this".

"Yeah, it really is".

"So, you seemed surprised that I'm only 23. How old did you think I am?"

"I would have guessed 28, easy".

"Well, I always wanted to be older, so thank you".

She flashed him a smile that made him go weak in the knees.

"How old do you think I am?"

"Well, let's see. You're older than 25, because you said you already had your 25th birthday. So, I'm going to guess….27".

"You're mighty kind. I'm 34".

"No way".

"It's true".

They stayed at the overlook, chatting and looking at the stars for another hour and then he drove her back to her place.

He parked next to her, and took her hand as he led her to the door.

"Thank you, for a very lovely evening".

"It was my pleasure. And I hope it won't be the last evening we spend together".

"I hope that too".

She handed him her keys and he unlocked the door for them.

They came inside and she put her purse down on the counter.

"Would you care for a nightcap?"

"No thank you, I have an early meeting in the morning."

"Oh, well alright. Well, thank you again".

He leaned forward and kissed her cheek.

"I'll call you in a couple of days".

They both pulled out their business cards and wrote their extensions and private numbers on the back.

She drew a heart next to the number and then handed it to him.

"Here you go".

"Wonderful. And here is my number-my private line is the one circled".

"Great".

"Well, I better be going so you can head to bed. I promise you, I'll call you in a couple of days".

She stepped forward and kissed his cheek, and then opened the door for him.

"Goodnight".

"Goodnight".

She closed the door behind him and locked it, and then headed to bed with a smile on her face.

***Two days later***

Jennifer was at work, and had just started another in-depth feature, when the phone rang.

"Hello, this is Jennifer Edwards".

"Hi, it's Jonathan."

"Hi, how are you?"

"Hopeful, that you will be open to having dinner with me".

"Sure. When?"

"Tonight, if you're free".

"I am definitely free tonight. What time are you thinking?"

"I am thinking 6. And you don't have to dress up-let's play it casual this time".

"Perfect. I will see you then".

"Looking forward to it".

"Me too. I hate to rush off, but I have to go speak with editing about something. I'll see you tonight".

"No problem. I'll see you tonight. Bye Jennifer".

"Bye Jonathan".

She hung up, and then hurried off to editing, and then spent the rest of the day researching.

For the rest of the day, every time she thought about her dinner date with Jonathan, she got butterflies in her stomach.