Chapter 11: First Date
"I can't believe we spent nearly an hour talking today," Edwina gushed as she drove Kate back home after her shift at Aubrey Farm. "It was like a real date! He told me all about his family and school and his love of horseback riding. It was, like, so romantic."
Kate was barely listening as she gazed out the passenger side window, her mind wandering as she stared out at the trees and houses passing by. She felt like she had been operating on autopilot ever since Anthony had met up with her in the barn. Since he had said those things to her…
And then kissed her.
It hardly seemed real, and yet it was. After Kate had been doubting herself and her feelings for Anthony for weeks now, he had made it perfectly clear how he felt about her… and it was everything she had wanted to hear from him.
Edwina continued to rattle on about her conversation with Anthony earlier today; it was all rather strange, listening to Edwina talk about Anthony like this when Kate now knew the truth of his feelings. This morning, Edwina saying this sort of stuff about Anthony would have made Kate uncomfortable and insecure, but now she felt nothing but calm and serene. However, now there was an underpinning of guilt to her feelings too.
What if Edwina found out about Anthony kissing her today? She would be upset and embarrassed, to say the least, and she would probably hate Kate for going behind her back like this. That's why Kate had no intention of telling Edwina what happened today in that barn. At least not yet.
"…Kate? Did you hear me?" Edwina asked after a moment.
Kate blinked before looking back over at her sister. "Sorry, my mind was wandering. What did you say?"
"I was wondering if you think Anthony was going to ask me out today?" Edwina asked. "I thought he was going to when we were talking out near the paddock, but he didn't. Maybe he lost his nerve or something?"
Kate grimaced slightly before clearing her throat, an uncomfortable feeling in her chest. "Edwina, have you ever stopped to consider that maybe Anthony was just talking to you to be friendly? That he's not actually interested in you the way you're interested in him?"
"But Daphne basically told me he liked me the other day when she came over," Edwina insisted, her eyes wide. "I know you were upstairs sleeping when it happened, but she did! I know Anthony is interested in me too."
Kate said nothing. Edwina didn't know that she had overheard that conversation, and considering what had just happened in the barn between herself and Anthony, Kate was reluctant to point out the truth.
It was almost funny, since Kate now realized there had been a pretty stark miscommunication between Daphne and Edwina that day. Daphne clearly knew that Anthony liked Kate, and had tried to subtly tell that to Edwina, but Edwina clearly thought she had been talking about herself. Even Kate had been convinced Daphne meant Edwina.
Why had Kate thought that, though? Why had the thought of Anthony liking her seemed so outlandish to her? Kate figured she should probably examine these feelings of insecurity, but Edwina had just pulled into their driveway, breaking her thoughts.
"I'm sleeping over at Penelope's house tonight, by the way," Edwina said as she and Kate made their way toward the front door. "Mum said it was okay."
"Alright," Kate said. "Did you want me to give you a ride to her house?"
"No, she's coming to pick me up in like an hour," Edwina said, checking the time on her phone. "I'm starving though. Did you want to grab a late lunch?"
"Sure. I think we have some leftovers from dinner last night," Kate said, moving over to the fridge and opening it. "Want some of the chicken carbonara or the chili?"
"Chicken please."
Kate and Edwina reheated the chicken and ate their lunch together before Kate went up to her bedroom and Edwina got ready to go over to Penelope's house. As much as Kate loved her sister, she was grateful that she wasn't going to be here tonight.
Especially considering that Kate was planning on talking to Anthony.
While Kate may not have had much experience with guys, she knew what Anthony's kiss had meant. He had put his feelings all out on the table, and the ball was now firmly in her court. He had shown her how he felt, and now he was waiting for her to make the next move.
So that's what I'm going to do.
Kate was nervous. She had no idea where a potential relationship with Anthony could lead, but she knew that she would have regretted it if she didn't try to find out.
Kate now took a deep breath before pulling out her phone and dialing Anthony.
He picked up on the second ring. "Hello?" he answered, the timbre in his voice making Kate's breath hitch.
She swallowed. "Hey."
"Hey," Anthony said, and Kate could almost hear him smiling on the other end. "Did you just get home?"
"Yeah, Edwina and I just had lunch," Kate said, clearing her throat. "Are you still at the farm?"
"Yeah. Eloise wanted to practice galloping with Lipton a bit more, so we stuck around for a bit," he said. "Knowing her, we'll probably be here for the rest of the day."
Kate giggled. "I can imagine."
There was a short pause on the other end, and Kate felt her nerves almost get the better of her. "Was there something you wanted, Kate?" he asked, the curious tone of his voice making Kate feel braver somehow.
"Tomorrow's Sunday," she blurted out, and her face instinctively went red.
"Indeed it is," Anthony said, his voice slightly amused.
"I mean that the farm's closed tomorrow, so I won't be working," Kate explained. "I was planning on stopping by a book fair that's going on at Manchester's out near Kimpton."
"Oh," Anthony said. "That sounds fun."
"Yeah," Kate agreed, reaching up to awkwardly scratch the back of her neck. "I was just wondering… if you're not busy, then would you maybe like to come with me?"
There was a short pause on the other end, and Kate's nerves were completely frayed. "Miss Sharma, are you asking me out on a date?" he asked teasingly.
"It's not a date," Kate argued back, also teasing. "But considering how you kissed me earlier today, I'm not surprised you'd think so."
"You truly know how to make a bloke feel special, don't you?" Anthony chuckled. "I would be delighted to go with you to the book fair tomorrow."
Kate felt her heart flutter in her chest as she smiled. "Great. I'll see you there."
"See you there."
~/~
Manchester's Bookshop was one of Kate and Edwina's favorite places to go to on days when they were bored or there was a new book release they had been looking forward to. The place was like a cozy library, and Kate had spent many hours of her free time (outside of riding horses, that is) sitting at one of the tables at Manchester's, sipping her favorite chai tea from the tea shop next door while reading a new book she had just purchased.
Sunday was a warm day, and so Kate opted for a purple tank top and jeans for the book fair. She now browsed the bookshelves along with the dozens of other people who had shown up today. Several feet away from her stood Anthony, who was examining a book he had picked up with interest.
Kate could still hardly believe he was here with her right now. He looked remarkably handsome today in a Harvard t-shirt and dark blue jeans with trainers; it almost felt like a dream when he had met up with her at the bookshop, just like he'd promised, and they walked in together, as if the two of them went on dates like this all the time.
It was all very surreal.
"Kate, look at this," Anthony said, walking over to her and holding up the book he had been holding. On the cover there was a picture of a beautiful Bay horse galloping across a field. "This is a manual for the proper care and breeding of horses. There's actually a lot of really good information in this."
"That's cool," Kate smiled, looking down at the book. "I've always thought we should keep a book like this at Aubrey Farm for an employee or someone who may need some extra help with the horses."
"That's a great idea, actually," Anthony said sincerely, looking down at the book in his hand. "I think I will buy this, then. Hopefully Mrs. Danbury will appreciate it."
"You don't have to do that for us, Anthony," Kate said as she and Anthony walked over to the register, where a line of people were standing to purchase their books. "If we want to have a horse care manual at the farm, we would just buy it ourselves and put it on the expense account."
"Well, this way you won't have to," Anthony said firmly, though he smiled at her. "Aubrey Farm is still my property, and I want to see you guys do well. I'll buy the book for you guys – hopefully it'll help out a new employee or two."
Kate felt undeniably pleased by his thoughtfulness, and she smiled. "Well, thank you. We do appreciate it."
Anthony smiled, and the two of them stood in line until Anthony paid for the book and they walked out of the book shop together.
"Want to walk around for a bit?" Anthony asked, gazing up at the sky, where the sun was peeking out from behind a cloud. "It's a nice day out today."
"Sure."
The two of them walked down the sidewalk for several minutes, neither of them saying anything as they gazed at their surroundings. There were a lot of cute shops and houses along this road, and many pedestrians were out and about, chatting with each other or walking their dogs. It all felt like a very nice and pleasant Sunday morning, Kate couldn't help but think.
"Is everything alright?" Anthony finally asked, and Kate looked over at him. "You seem a bit quiet today."
Kate smiled gently, knowing she couldn't really hide from him. "Sorry. I suppose I'm just a bit nervous."
"Nervous?" Anthony asked amusedly. "Am I really that frightening to you?"
Kate giggled. "Maybe. But I just feel like there's a lot we need to talk about, but I don't really know where to start. And, of course, there's Edwina."
Anthony grimaced. "Yeah… so she really likes me, then?"
"Yeah," Kate confirmed. "Quite a bit, actually. When Daphne came over the other day to enquire about my feelings for you, Edwina was convinced your sister was talking about herself."
Anthony frowned, looking undeniably annoyed. "Yeah I know. I feel like I'm going to have to have a word with my sister."
"Regardless, Edwina talks about you all the time," Kate said. "And I feel like if she knew I was here with you right now, she'd feel pretty betrayed."
"I'm sorry you feel like you have to hide from your sister," Anthony said sincerely, stopping to face her. Kate stopped too. "But with all due respect, I don't really care what she thinks about me. I care what you think about me."
Kate felt her heart flutter slightly at his words. "Really?"
"Really," Anthony said, and Kate could detect a hint of shyness in his voice as he smiled at her. "Honestly, I haven't been able to stop thinking about you since the day you chased me on horseback all the way around Aubrey Farm."
Kate couldn't help but laugh. "That was a pretty memorable day."
"I'll say," Anthony agreed with a grin, but after a moment his smile faded into a more serious expression. "Look, Kate… I know you're probably in an awkward position right now with your sister, but I just want you to know where I stand. I really like you, and I want to spend more time with you. I can only hope that you feel the same way about me?"
Kate could only stare at him, her heart pounding in her chest. She knew that things may have been complicated at the moment, but right now that didn't seem to matter: what mattered was that Anthony liked her, and she liked him too.
It still felt strange and even a little unbelievable, but Kate was going to trust him.
She smiled as she took his hand in her own, lacing their fingers together. Anthony looked down at their joined hands before glancing back up at her, a small smile on his handsome face.
"I suppose I do feel something," Kate said, a rather teasing smile on her face as she met his gaze. "Mostly satisfaction from being a better horse rider than you."
Anthony chuckled, gently squeezing her hand in his own as he led them down the sidewalk. "You wish, Sharma."
Kate bit back a smile as they continued their way down the sidewalk, still hand-in-hand. She may not know what the future held for her and Anthony, but she was at least going to enjoy these moments with him.
Even if, for now, they were all she could have.
A/N: I really do love these too lol.
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