Chapter 1

The clouds were heavy and low and the forecast was for rain, but Jessie Ralston stood at the bus stop with a big smile on her face. While she waited, Jessie looked around at the stores behind her. Spring was just around the corner so the window displays were full of beach attire, sundresses and sandals. For several years now, Jessie had dreamt of taking a vacation to some exotic place. She diligently saved all her change and the few dollars that she had left at the end of the month. With a sigh she turned back to wait for the bus.

"Excuse me," Jessie declared.

Jessie looked to see whom she had bumped into just as the bus pulled up. Out of nowhere a rush of people pushed past her on their way to be first to board the bus. She tried to move forward with the crowd but ended up shoved to the side. Just as she saw a clearing, an elbow caught her in the pit of her back, causing her to stumble and lurch forward.

"Careful there," a deep voice near her said.

"I'm so sorry. I lost my balance when someone hit my back," Jessie explained.

Jessie turned towards the voice as she apologized. The man was standing close enough for her to smell his spicy cologne and to see the unusual gold flecks of color in his hazel eyes. He smiled when she realized her hand was on his chest.

"Forgive me, I didn't mean to..."

"Are you alright?" he asked with concern.

Jessie stopped talking when they both spoke at the same time. She blushed and gave him a soft smile as she waited for him to go first.

"Let's try this again," he said to her. "Are you sure you're okay? That looked like it could hurt."

"I'm fine, and thank you for being in the right place for me to catch myself on you," Jessie grinned.

"You're welcome. I always try to please a pretty lady like you." Jessie watched the way the stranger's eyes lit up as he spoke.

"Thank you," she said quietly.

"Well, it looks like you missed that bus. I hope you don't have an appointment or important date waiting."

"No, I'm just going home," she replied.

"What a coincidence. That's where I'm going," he told her.

Jessie heard the sounds of the next bus as it approached and tried to think of something more to say. She wanted to find out if he was married or taken. He intrigued her.

"I don't mean I'm going to your house, of course, although that could have possibilities too." The look he gave her as he spoke was full of innuendoes.

"It could, but I have rules about taking strangers home with me," Jessie laughed.

"Rules? Maybe I can abide by them if you explained them to me."

"It's very simple. Today is Tuesday and I only bring strangers home on Wednesdays." Jessie winked as she gave her answer.

"I'll be here tomorrow then," he came right back with.

They both laughed as the bus pulled up to the curb. Jessie took a step towards the line but stopped when she felt a hand on her arm.

"Wait. Have dinner with me, then."

"But you don't even know me, or if I'm married, or even engaged," she hesitated even as she wanted to say yes. Some instinct told her to take a chance.

"Are you?" She saw his eyebrow arch as he asked the simple question.

"Well, no, but I could have been."

"Today is Tuesday and that means I'm only allowed to meet beautiful single ladies," he deadpanned.

Jessie burst out laughing at the statement. Neither noticed the bus leave while they talked.

"Then I guess that makes us even since I make it a practice to only fall into handsome men on Tuesday."

"Ah, but you forgot to ask the all important question." He watched Jessie as he spoke.

"That depends on which question you're referring to. On Thursday, I would ask if you're available or not, but it's Tuesday, and I never ask a Tuesday question first. Besides, it's easy to tell you're single." She grinned when his brows furrowed.

"No wedding ring, right?"

"I didn't look for that," Jessie told him truthfully.

"Then it must be the desperate look on my face when I asked you to dinner."

"Well, that was cute," she replied, "but not it either."

"I'm not doing so good guessing, am I?"

Jessie chuckled at the sad look he pasted on his face. He reminded her of a little boy that didn't get his way and was pouting.

"It's your coat. You have a button missing," Jessie explained.

"Oh yeah, that came off a couple months ago. What does it have to do with being married or single though?" His hand went to the missing space as he spoke.

"Simple. If you were married your wife would have made sure it was sewn back on."

Jessie noticed the way his eyes sparkled just before he tipped his head back and laughed. She saw a tiny scar under his chin and wondered for a moment how he acquired it. An image of him falling off his bicycle at a young age flashed past her.

"So I gave it away myself and didn't even know it. You have a good eye for detail. And yes, I'm single, totally available and house-trained. Now will you have dinner with me?"

"Well, I do need to eat sometime, and it's really too nice out to go home," Jessie hedged.

"Nice? It looks like it will rain anytime."

"I love the rain," she remarked.

"There's a great little place just up the block. We could walk there and you would still be close to your bus stop to get home." He pointed behind Jessie as he spoke.

"Don't you think there's something we should do first?" Jessie asked.

She smiled at the man as he crossed his arms. Jessie could almost read his mind as he seemed to be thinking of what she was referring to with her question.

"I'm Jessie and it might be easier to share dinner if I knew your name as well," she explained.

"That's so true, Jessie. Let me introduce myself properly then. Chad Zorn, also known as CZ to some people."

"You're the DJ?"

"If I say yes, are you going to leave?" Chad asked her.

"Of course I won't leave because of that. I listen to your show every morning. You're so funny!"

"Thanks. My mom thinks so, too."

Jessie and Chad began the short walk to the restaurant as he spoke. When they approached the door, he stopped before opening it.

"Wait a minute, Jessie. You do remember this is Tuesday, right?" Chad gave her a stern look.

"We came to that conclusion earlier I thought, yes," she agreed.

"On Tuesdays I like to know more than the first name of my dinner companion."

"I see," Jessie remarked. "Jessie Ralston, secretary extraordinaire."

Chad smiled and looked straight into her eyes. "Extraordinaire in many things I am guessing."

"I'm not really anything special, Chad, just a normal person doing my best at a boring job."

"Somehow I doubt that, but I hope to have lots of time to discover all the facets of Jessie Ralston," he told her as he opened the door for her.

"There's a few hours left before I turn into a pumpkin."

They both turned when the hostess came to check their seating preference. She led them to a corner table that overlooked the deck. Chad held Jessie's chair for her before taking a seat to her right.

"I've never been here before, Chad. It's lovely."

"Yes, very lovely." His eyes never left her face as he spoke.

Jessie caught him staring at her and blushed. She remained quiet as the server brought menus and told them of the days' specials. After they gave their beverage orders and the server was gone, Chad sat back, cleared his throat and smiled at Jessie.

"Thank you for agreeing to dinner, Jessie. I know you took a chance and I assure you I'm perfectly harmless."

"I've never done this before," she admitted quietly.

"Never gone to dinner with a man?"

Jessie laughed and relaxed.

"I don't make it a habit of letting strangers pick me up at the bus stop," Jessie explained.

"Ah, but you knew my name, so I wasn't a stranger any longer."

"A stretch, but true," Jessie conceded.

For the next several minutes, they talked about the weather as they perused their menus. Their server returned and asked for their dinner order. After a recommendation from the young man assisting them, they agreed on what to eat and he left them alone once more.

Chad took in the stylish clothes and mannerisms of the fascinating woman in front of him. He found that he wanted to know everything about her tonight, not just the few casual revelations made on first dates. As he watched her sip her drink, he knew that he wanted there to be many more to follow.

"So tell me how you got to be a famous DJ, Chad."

"I always loved the concept of radio and how it reaches out to people. When I was in college, I interned at the school's station, picking up odd shifts as I learned the business. That was a lot of stations and cities ago but I still enjoy it," he explained to her.

"It seems like a good way to connect with the public, but I could never talk like that. I'd struggle to find important things to say."

"The key is listening to everyone else. I find the best topics from observing people," Chad replied. "For instance, right now I'm thinking I could make an entire show from how we met."

As a waiter brought their meal to them, the conversation stopped, and Jessie took the time to look at Chad. He was joking with the waiter about music and radio stations. They were discussing a local event put on by the station Chad worked for when an older man stopped at their table.