Finally.

Oh yeah, I know. Right. After a millennium I finally got an update finished, who'd have thought. I sincerely hope you all would like this and please pray for my muse, there's nothing wrong with it, it just refuses to cooperate. So please pray that it continues to like me and this story and let me write it.

I recently just realized that on the 19th, it's going to be officially a year since I started writing this, and wow, look at me, I'm still on the 5th chapter, how great.

My many thanks to my beautiful Emma for all her patience and to Latifraise for all her encouragements.

unbeta-ed forever, so all mistakes are mine.

Anyhow, enough babble, on with the story! Enjoy beautiful sailors!

Chapter Five

The lunch date went better than Robert expected. It was mostly because Cora was a charming, intelligent woman who knew her art, literature, music, food and wine. He thought she was delightful in the simple way she carried herself, but with a flare of grace and elegance that even her sister lacked sometimes. She was tact, but she was honest and she was never afraid to let her opinions and he lo…liked that about her. She was a great conversationalist and made him feel like she was listening to him intently even when he felt like a four year old babbling about random, senseless things. She was a wonderful person and he'd often found himself thinking of her, wondering what she was doing and who she was with…and alright, he might be a tad bit addicted.

It was hard not to be.

But still, he realized that even after that date and after seeing her almost every day the past week, he had yet to actually take her out on a date…and well, that just would not do, now would it?

He wanted to get to know her, get to know the woman behind the guitar and the alter ego. He wanted to know about her childhood and tell her about his, wanted to get past talking about the superficial and really get to know her. He wanted her to know who he is, too, beyond the business tycoon and everything else that was painted by the tabloids. He wanted her to know Robert, not Mr. Crawley.

And so tonight, on this Tuesday, he endeavored to look his best and gather his courage about him like a cape and suck it up—ask her out on a date. It was about damn time he did.

Asking his driver to drive by a florist at first, he took his sweet time picking the right flowers for her. It was difficult, he didn't want to go overboard but he definitely did not want to underwhelm her. He wanted to woo her, to let her know that he was, is, indeed very interested and wanted to get to know her better. But he also did not want her to think that he's wooing her with his money, which was what Adeline had thought…but well, that was a story for another day.

He picked a bouquet of white and yellow roses, wanting to go classic but not wanting to go boring with the old red bouquet. It would fit her, he thought: classic but not boring, and very fragile looking, but with enough thorns to prick.

Satisfied with his selection, he then instructed the driver to drop him off at the Castle. It was still early, Cora wouldn't be on stage yet, but it was still late enough that the pub would be full of patrons, most of them drinking the night away, lamenting the fact that the weekend was over and it was only Tuesday, not even the middle of the week yet. But he was delighted that it was, would be even more delighted if he'd see her.

He took his usual place, that singular booth at the back of the pub with the perfect view of the stage and the exit, where Cora would usually emerge from after a set. That way, he'd see her perfectly and he'd have the time to prepare his nerves—not that he thought there would be any time or any way that he could do that, he was nervous as hell.

The waitress, who knew him by now, noticed him and gave him a nod and a smile, she didn't come over to ask him what he wanted, she already knew, and she came by his table after a little while to place his glass of scotch with a smirk.

"You look dapper," she teased, her thick Northern Accent laced with amusement as she smiled at him in gait. She looked over to his side and spotted the bouquet of roses. "Ooh, a bouquet, planning to woo a certain lady, aren't ya?"

A blush crept to Robert's cheek, and he could feel his skin warming. He wasn't embarrassed to let it be known that he planned to woo Cora, it was just unsettling to be teased about it. He gave the waitress a nod as an answer and smiled slightly.

"Indeed," he answered, but kept mum after that. It was quite obvious exactly who he was taken with, there was no need to say any more.

The waitress, Anna, laughed as she nodded at him, excusing herself as she had other tables to tend to. He nodded at her as well, and smiled genuinely when she'd wished him good luck. Well, he needed that.

He lifted his glass onto his lips and took a huge gulp of his drink. He wanted this, wanted to this for so long, perhaps ever since he'd almost fallen on his face on the pavement and she'd been there. When he'd stared into her blue eyes, he'd known that he was lost, he'd been too late to realize it, but he was…he was lost and he didn't plan on being found just yet…maybe ever.

His eyes wandered to the exit area, looking over for any signs of Cora, he knew it was almost time for her band to play. But he could not see her, or anything really, and so he trained his sight to the stage, willing for the band playing to finally finish and for Sadie and the Hotheads to start their set.

He needed not wait long as Charlie Carson took center stage and thanked the performers who were just leaving. He then smiled and made proper introductions for the next band, and Robert just about sighed in relief when he announced that it was indeed Cora's band that was playing.

He watched with a fond smile as Cora walked to the stage with a smile, standing just before the microphone, and then waving at the patrons and greeting them a good evening. She lifted her head and squinted through the crowd, looking, looking, and then her eyes landed on his and her smile grew bigger, and she gave him a subtle wink that sent his heart racing. Christ almighty, this woman was something else. He waved back surreptitiously, feeling his lips split into a grin (he thought he might look foolish, but damn, he couldn't help it).

"Alright," Cora started as she gazed upon the crowd and settled on the stool that was behind her. "Good evening everyone. How's everyone doing?" She smiled at the crowd and listened to them as they chorused their complaints at her, making her laugh. "Well, at least, it's one day towards the weekend."

And she's right, of course she was. And why was it that he's only noticing her lovely American accent and honeyed voice? Or did he always notice and only made sure to take note of it now? She's just too lovely. And up there, speaking confidently and looking at the people around her like all of them were her friends, she'd never been lovelier.

"Okay, so I'll start our first set with a favorite song of mine," she continued. She looked up and her eyes found his, locking with his for a long moment, and the feeling was positively electric, sending his heart racing and his palm sweating.

He couldn't describe the feeling, he'd never felt it before, but while it scares him shitless, he does think that it's a wonderful kind of feeling he could not find in himself to hide from.

""You do something to me. Something that simply mystifies me,'" she crooned, her voice clear and smooth. She didn't tear her eyes away from him, in fact, her vibrant blue eyes gazing at him intensified and looked brighter.

He could have sworn, she was singing for him.

And that made his heart feel light.

(*)

He looked positively dashing, was Cora's first thought as she spotted him on his booth from the stage. She nearly tripped on her way up as she sought him through the crowd, and when her eyes landed on his, well, her heart skipped a thousand beats. He looked amazing in his white button down shirt, his hair combed back, and that smile plastered on his face. She couldn't wait to finish their set and sit with him.

She settled herself behind the microphone and sat down on the stool as her band mates hooked the instruments and began their tuning. She greeted the patrons and introduced their first song. It was he favorite, a Sinatra song that she'd loved ever since her father started crooning it to her when she was six. It was only now that she'd fully grasped its meaning, fully appreciated its lyrics…because now, it applied to her.

"You do something to me. Something that simply mystifies me," she sang, her voice sounding low but clear, she looked at Robert once more, her blue eyes meeting blue ones, and she could see the happiness brightening his, could feel that he knew that this song was for him. She'd think it presumptuous of him, if only it wasn't true.

The next two songs passed by quickly, but she'd had to stay for one more as the crowd requested more, and well, she couldn't really say no to that, so she sang a crowd favorite, a song that she liked just as well.

"You know I can't smile without you, can't smile without you," she sang, laughing and smiling as the patrons sang with her. At the last note of the song, she stood and thanked everyone, giving them a round of applause for their enthusiasm, whilst they clapped right back at her and the band.

She walked out of the stage and made a beeline for the bar, asking for a glass of Washington Apple, and thanking the bartender, Jimmy, when he handed it to her. She then took a gulp of the alcoholic beverage, to try and calm her raging nerves, before she made her way to where Robert was waiting for her.

"Hey stranger," she greeted, placing her glass on the table and pulling back the chair and settling down across him. He made a move to stand and get it for her but she waved a hand, dismissing the notion and giving him a smile.

"Hello, beautiful," he said, smiling as the tinge of pink rose up her cheeks. She could actually feel her cheeks getting warmer, and she bit her lip trying to contain her embarrassment. She remained silent, watching as he lifted a bouquet from the chair beside him. "This is for you."

She took the bouquet from him, convinced now that she would blush for all eternity, her heart thumping quickly in her chest at the simple gesture. She brought the bouquet up to her nose, inhaling the sweet scent of the roses before lowering it down to the chair beside her and looking at Robert from underneath her lashes. She couldn't quite stop the smile forming on her lips, or the butterflies fluttering inside her stomach.

"Thank you," she said as a pleasant feeling settled on her chest. She felt like she could burst, as happy as she was feeling, felt contentment radiate of off her.

"You're quite welcome, love," he said with a smile (and by god, she could have sworn that he looked even more handsome then). "I was going to ask you something—," he began, but was interrupted when one of Cora's band mates came over to ask her something.

She sighed inwardly, wishing so much that they did not get interrupted. Excusing herself from Robert and turning her attention to her band mate and mentally cursing him for this stunt, she listened to what they had to say.

(*)

Robert could feel his palms sweating and could actually swear that his tongue got longer in the span of five seconds. His throat felt dry, and never in his whole existence did he ever feel this nervous over anything—okay, there was once a time when Violet had seen him snogging one of her friend's daughters over at the barn and he'd thought his mother would raise hell then, but that was it.

This kind of nervous was different, the magnitude of his anxiety left him breathless and sweating profusely, despite the chill. He could feel goose bumps rising in his arms, and god, was that his heart thumping so loudly? It was a wonder Cora hadn't heard it yet.

He almost sighed in relief when one of Cora's band mats had come over to ask her something, it gave him time to collect himself, anyway. But all too soon, her band mate left and she looked up at him, her eyebrows furrowing.

"What was that you wanted to ask me?" she asked him innocently, unaware of the turmoil inside him. God, he should really just get it over with.

"I was wondering if you'd like to go out with me," he blurted out. There, he said it. She raised an eyebrow at him and he swallowed, feeling as though his throat constricted in the last ten seconds. "Like a date," he cleared, and watched her face for any change.

God, he was so nervous.

What if she didn't want to? What if…

But a smile lit up her face and she took his hand in hers, squeezing tightly and lacing them together. He looked down into their intertwined hands, his heart growing at the sight, amongst other things.

"Yes, I'd love to go out with you," she answered, making him look up at her face. She looked earnest, serene, serious, and he breathed out a sigh of relief. It had gone over well, that's good.

He smiled at her, feeling his lips widened into a jaw splitting grin, and she returned the gesture. And there could have been fifty more people in the pub along with them, but at that moment it really didn't matter.

Right at that moment, with their eyes on each other, it was just the two of them.

(*)

It was late and the patrons had started to decrease in numbers, but Cora and Robert were still having too much fun in each other's company. They talked about random things, from their childhood memories, to their biggest fear, and what they wanted to eat the most. He held her hand the entire time, squeezing it occasionally, just as his eyes never left his face. It was making her blush, making her swoon like a teenage girl. But she was twenty-four, and this did not feel like an acceptable behavior at her age. So she kept the tingly feeling accompanied by giddiness, completed with the butterflies in her stomach, to a minimum.

"Do you have classes tomorrow?" Robert asked as he brushed his lips against her knuckles. She'd changed positions now, sitting beside him, instead of across him, and he had one arm around the back of her chair and his other hand clasped hers tightly, seemingly without intentions of letting go.

She nodded. "I do," she admitted, smiling sheepishly when she added, "quite early, I admit."

He raised his eyebrow in concern. "How early?" he asked.

"Like eight-thirty in the morning early?" she answered with a shrug of her shoulder as if it was no big deal, when in fact, a sleep deprived Cora meant a grumpy Cora, and she'd be walking around tomorrow like a zombie. But that didn't matter, every second she spent with him was worth it.

"Why didn't you say so?" he asked, his tone merely curious and not accusing, which she appreciated. She'd hate for him to treat her condescendingly.

She shrugged. "I'm twenty-four," she reminded him with a playful huff, "I think I can handle a few nights staying up late. I certainly did pull a lot of all nighters in University."

He sighed, squeezing her hand once more before standing up and encouraging her to do so, as well. "I'm twenty-seven, my love, but I still am grumpy when sleep deprived," he confessed, grinning at her, prompting her to chuckle. "I think it's time to go home."

She nodded, letting him help her to her coat which she'd retrieved from the back ages ago and had left draped at the back of her chair. She watched in silence as he pulled on his own coat. He led her out of the pub and she shivered when the chill assaulted her so suddenly.

He pulled her to him and wrapped his arm around her, surprising her and making her look up at him. "I hope you don't think me too forward," he said, suddenly shy as though he only realized what he'd done. Which she thought was adorable, considering they'd been wrapped around one another all night.

She looped her arm around his waist and squeezed once. "I don't," she told him, and she really didn't. "I like it."

The way he smiled at her after she'd said that made her heart flutter, and if she hadn't fancied herself falling for him for quite some time now, she'd think she'd fall for him right there, because of that smile.

"Are you taking a taxi or the tube?" he asked.

She looked at him and shook her head. "Tube," she'd said, though it would have been far easier to taxi, but she'd wanted to spend more time with him and if he felt like walking her to the tube, then she wasn't going to say no to that.

"Allow me to walk the lovely lady, then?" he asked, charming her, disarming her, and she wasn't quite sure if he was aware that he did.

She nodded, letting him pull her to the direction of the tube, his hand laced with hers. The night was chilly, but the moon was bright, the streetlights of the city still so alive even brighter.

"I can't wait to get to know you better, Cora," he confessed as his steps halted and he turned to face her. They were at the station, and as sad as she was to be parting with him, she consoled herself over the fact that they'd made and finalized their plans on Friday (her band mate had somewhere to be on Friday and had asked to move their gig on a Thursday, which worked out on her favor). "I can't wait for Friday."

She looked up at him, sharing the same sentiment, but his eyes were drawing her in, and she couldn't find her words. She shook herself lightly and nodded at him. "Me too," she said.

"You have a great night, Cora," he said as he cupped her cheek and stared deeper into her eyes.

At that moment she felt like he was going to kiss her, she definitely wanted him too, and she'd swallowed deeply, waiting, waiting. She was just a tiny bit disappointed when he kissed her forehead instead and lingered.

"Goodnight, my darling Cora," he'd whispered against her skin, giving her a warm embrace.

"Goodnight, Robert," she reciprocated, returning his hug before she'd bid him goodbye and turning towards the tube station. She looked back at him and waved, watching him wave back before she turned around and made her way, the smile firmly in place.

For the rest of the night, until she'd fallen asleep, that smile never disappeared from her face.

And her dreams were filled with a certain blue eyed man who captured her heart.

A/N: Tell me what you think! Would love to hear your thoughts and opinions. Can we have a laugh (or protest, if you so desire) over the fact that I updated to months after the last. Ah.

I promise to endeavor not to take two months this time, one perhaps...just kidding, sort of.

Song credit: You do something to me by Frank Sinatra