A Taste of Candor

Chapter 23

~Tahlia.

One outing with my father, and I found myself empowered, encouraged, and embraced. Some knots remained to be untangled or cut out in regards to my relationship with Keene, but with Father's love and support behind me, I often felt as if I could accomplish anything. It had been foolish to doubt him.

After I returned from my outing that day, it wasn't long before I crossed paths with Declan, and of course, he capitalized on the opportunity to make arrangements for a second date. Though he never properly enlightened me on where we'd go or what we'd do there, he did establish a time. At noon the very next day, he would be by to pick me up.

So when noon arrived the next day, I stood and waited out on the front porch. I leaned against the decorated railing and reveled in the soft breeze sweeping through my hair. Thankfully, the weather was fair, so no matter whether Declan had some outdoor or indoor adventure in mind, my light and cheery attire would suffice.

While most ladies could anticipate their prince charming rolling up in a chariot, or more contemporarily, one of those luxury cars with dazzling paint jobs and red-rimmed wheels, mine pulled up in a dented taxi cab. Five minutes late, to boot. If Declan didn't count himself blessed I possessed none of the vanity of my peers, then he deserved a good rap on the skull.

He hopped out of the back seat with some words directed at the taxi driver, then jogged up to the fence. When he stepped through and we locked eyes, I gave him a big, welcoming grin, which he returned. I met him halfway down the porch steps, shortly afterward giving him my hand when prompted. Declan kissed my hand softly while maintaining eye contact. My heart flushed with giddiness, and my cheeks must have reddened. Technically speaking, such a gesture would be questionable by Lymar propriety, but far be it from me to complain.

"Good ... afternoon?" Declan greeted with a chuckle.

"You could have said good morning if you showed up early." I chided in good humor, moving to descend the steps alongside him.

"Sorry about that. This old lady dropped her keys off her balcony by accident, so I took a bit of a detour to help her retrieve them."

"I would hope it was by accident, or she's rather foolish."

Declan hung his head for a second in embarrassment. "You're not wrong. But next time, I'll show up on time."

"How presumptuous."

"What do you mean?"

"You say 'next time' as if that's a guarantee."

"Oh, well..."

With a giggle, I patted Declan on the back. "I'm only kidding with you."

"I should've seen that coming." Declan remarked, reaching up to open the gate again before me.

As he did so, we both looked up, only to see the taxi Declan had arrived was gone. We exchanged a puzzled glance. Declan took a few hurried steps toward the curb and craned his neck to look down the street. Then he turned back to me with a defeated shrug.

"He took off already! I told him to wait for just a couple minutes, and that was too much to ask for?"

"We certainly didn't take more than a minute to get over here. That man is impatient."

Declan let out a deep sigh. "That guy seemed to have it out for me right off the bat."

"Some people..." I stood in silence for a moment before perking up. "Well, what do we do now? I assume you don't want me turning back around to get my father to drive us."