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He nodded, tasting a large bite of the baked macaroni and cheese dish. “Yes, he understands my ambitions are different. And there’s Shelly, our younger sister. She oversees our pizzeria division from Florida. We own and operate a number of these pizzerias, primarily located inside hotels. ”

At least he seemed to be enjoying the meal she’d recommended. “Is Shelly married?”

“No, but she has a boyfriend who’s been in the picture for a few years. I suppose they’ll marry one day soon. As for my parents, they’ve been divorced since I was in my teens. Our mom lives in California on beachfront property near L.A., but she never remarried either.”

Her lips parted and seemed stuck open for a few seconds before she recovered with a response.

“So, your family is really spread out ...” How terribly unfortunate!

She could hardly imagine being separated from her family.

No wonder he possessed such a serious nature.

It must be a lot to contend with. It probably weighed on him more than he let on or perhaps even knew.

He lowered his gaze toward his plate. “We are. We find ways to keep in touch and visit each other, but yes, we’re all in different states.”

As Hensley neared the last few bites of the meal, she found herself appreciating the treasured silence that now fell over them.

Was it because of the week she’d had, or his distaste for her?

She couldn’t be sure. She only knew it was for the best, but she had a slightly different view of him now.

And since they’d eaten, they’d be in a better frame of mind to discuss the fundraising event.

“Would you care to try the lemon cheesecake or maybe the chocolate truffle mousse with raspberry garnish?” Blake held up the dessert menu toward her as he pushed his plate aside.

“The mousse sounds nice.” She couldn’t let cheesecake stick to her hips.

When the waiter returned, Blake ordered two dishes of the mousse for them.

She could get used to dining out with him and riding in his limo.

But all of this was only temporary. As soon as they finished planning and executing the fundraiser, things would go back to how they were before, only they’d be acquaintances by then. Maybe even friends.

A short while later, they had their dessert before them. Blake tasted some of his and then leaned back, appearing satisfied. “So, tell me, Miss Fitzwilliam, what are your thoughts about the fundraiser? We’re in the south. Will guests be expecting fried chicken and some sort of donation box?”

She shook her head, chuckling. “It’s still chilly outside. They like fried chicken year-round, but there will be plenty of opportunities to attend fried chicken and potluck church dinners this summer. I’m thinking a chili cook-off and an auction.”

His brow arched. “Will the ladies from the church donate chili? And what kind of an auction?”

“Trust me.” Hensley smiled as she lifted a small spoonful of the dessert toward her lips.

“The ladies will donate more crockpots full of chili than we can serve, and church folks will donate all sorts of items for the auction. Books, pictures, household items, you name it. Our youth group can also display some of their artwork to auction off. And they can auction offers of service to do spring cleaning, yardwork, and other odd jobs that require manual labor.”

He leaned forward. “I like these ideas. I think they can work.”

She arched her brows in surprise. “You’re not going to argue with me about my ideas? I fully expected you to disagree.”

He chuckled and shook his head. “No, really, I like your ideas. Let’s go with it. All we need now is a date, time, place, and a checklist.”

She eyed him in disbelief and then snapped her mouth shut. “I’m shocked, Mr. Sterling. You’re not going to make it that easy on me, are you? Surely you have some sort of reason to claim my plan isn’t suitable.”

“No arguments here. Chili cook-off and auction it is. But how do you envision this cook-off taking place?”

She relaxed and folded her hands, placing them on the table.

Then she leaned forward. “Well, since you asked, instead of charging tickets or a fee for the meal, we’ll ask folks to vote for the best chili by donating money for their favorites.

Whoever has the most donations wins the cook-off,” Hensley explained before tasting one of the raspberries on her mousse.

“I see. And the auction? How do you envision those logistics?” Blake leaned his head to one side.

“We can place the items being auctioned on long tables with clipboards beside each item. Let folks add their name and the amount they wish to bid. The highest bidders will be announced before you auction off each youth member for their offer of labor services. They’ll have to stand up front beside the auctioneer, of course.

But that’s what we want, so that folks can see the youth they’ll be supporting for the mission trip. ”

Blake grinned, revealing those adorable dimples. “Ah, so the youth members stand for that part as the main feature. It will be some fun at the end and get the youth more involved, am I right?”

She nodded. “That’s right. The youth will have fun, and the church folk will enjoy their help, and everyone will be thoroughly entertained. You’ll get a lot of bidders having a blast and upping their bid for the fun of it.”

He slapped the table good-naturedly. “How does May fifteenth at seven o’clock in the evening sound for the event? I’m guessing six p.m. will be too early for some.”

“Sounds good to me.” She opened her notebook and jotted down their two ideas and the date and time. “It gives us about five and a half weeks to prepare. We’ll need to finalize our checklist at our next meeting. I’ll try and start on it in my spare time before then. When do you want to meet next?”

“Let’s say Tuesday night. The Gathering Place for burgers. I’ll pick you up at six, if that’s all right with you?”

She hesitated. “Better make it six-thirty. Because by the time I’m home and get turned around, thirty minutes will have passed. Hopefully I won’t keep you waiting too long that way. ”

“Yeah, you have a lot going on. Busy household.” He was smiling again. Did he know how endearing his smile was when it appeared?

His remark made her chuckle. “You can say that again. Four sisters can be a lot of fun, and other times, a lot of headaches. The boutique doesn’t close until six, but I think that’s Kit’s night to close, so I may even be able to get away a bit early.”

“I was wondering if your sisters help at the shop.” He finished eating the last of his dessert and pushed it aside.

“Yes. We all help a few days each week in the boutique, but I’m there four or five days a week.

Usually five days, but I take a day off here and there.

” Then she dove into a little more about their wedding boutique since he’d mentioned it.

“We also take on some wedding coordinating and planning contracts when the brides request it. Jen heads up our catering services. Lula does our photography. MaryAnne plays the piano for some of our wedding ceremonies and offers DJ services for receptions too. Kit, well she does our accounting. She loves mathematics, unlike the rest of us.” She paused and sipped her tea.

“I end up doing the bulk of decorating when I’m not designing or sewing wedding dresses.

But we all help and work together as needed.

We’ve even got linens, bunting, real China dishes and silver, stemmed glassware, and silk floral arrangements.

What we don’t have, we know where to get it. ”

“Nice! I’m sure your shop must be very successful.

Many folks come to this area for weddings.

In fact, we’ve already been asked if our lodge has space can be rented for weddings, though we haven’t felt ready to book for that yet.

Maybe if we had someone like you to recommend . ..” He cocked his head to one side.

Hensley nodded, but she shouldn’t appear too eager.

“Possibly.” Besides, she was entirely too uncomfortable with exploring the idea of doing any wedding business with him.

After all, it was the brides and their families who customarily paid for her services, though some venues did require their clients to use certain vendors.

She supposed it would be all right to discuss that with him down the road, but only if she enjoyed working with him.

And that remained to be seen. “I’d say we have a good start here.

If you don’t mind taking me home, I have an early day tomorrow.

I’ll head to the ladies’ room before we go, but what’s my share of the bill? ”

“Of course. I’ll handle the bill. This is my treat.

” He raised a hand when she started to protest. “No, I let them talk us into volunteering without taking much time to even pray about it, which is unlike me. So, it’s really my responsibility the way I see it, but I’ll meet you at the front door, and we’ll be on our way. ”

“Thank you. I don’t know what else to say ...” It was generous of him and an unexpected gesture.

She truly didn’t know what else to say. He’d surprised her, surpassing her expectations. He’d been a perfect gentleman throughout their dinner, remaining pleasant and lowkey, a blessing after her challenging day.

Maybe his natural bent of being aloof had contributed to it, but nonetheless, serenity was a blessing.

He hadn’t argued about her ideas, and now he offered to pay for their meals.

He’d even taken her to a more expensive restaurant than originally planned.

Plus, he had picked her up and was taking her home.

But now, Hensley didn’t know what to think regarding Blake Sterling. Had she misjudged him? Except, what exactly did he find lacking that she wasn’t “his type?” Was he one of those wealthy Manhattan elite snobs, like the ones she’d read about in the tabloids?