"This is not okay," Selena complained, raiding my closet and flinging outfits right and left while I tried to dodge her surprisingly on-target aim for my head. "I'm not okay with this. We've got to do something about this, Kate. We've got to take you shopping."

For the past twenty minutes, she'd been going on about how I needed to invest in more revealing clothing. She'd made it her job to help me choose an outfit for dinner with Alex, and so far, it wasn't going very well. To be quite honest, I wasn't concerned about dressing sexually for Alex. I was still in wonderland over my night with Jesse.

"Okay, what's wrong with this?" I asked, holding up a long silver dress that I'd worn to last year's office New Year's Eve party.

Selena made a displeased face, scrunching up her nose and shaking her head, focusing her attention back on my disaster of a closet that had been perfectly organized before she touched it. I intended to make her put it all back how I had it.

"Now this is something special."

Selena handed me a red dress that extended just passed my knees. It had a gold metal clasp at the top below my collarbone that tugged the three-inch-wide shoulder straps together, leaving a nice little oval shape that made my cleavage the focal point. It was formfitting and classy. I hadn't worn it in years and wasn't even sure I could still fit into it.

"Sel, I don't even know where he's taking me. I don't want to be overdressed," I said, imagining how awkward I would feel if we went to McDonalds and I was dressed for Cinderella's ball.

"Then ask him. Text him and find out."

I laid back on the bed, grabbing my phone and typing a quick message to Alex. "Hey, where are we going tonight? I don't know what to wear..."

I felt stupid putting it like that. I didn't want him to think I was one of those girls who was really concerned about her wardrobe.

Alex responded about a minute later. "It's a surprise. Just dress casual. See you at six."

"The dress takes a raincheck," I told Selena, setting my phone back on the bed beside me. "He said to dress casual."

Selena's bubble had been burst. I knew she was dying to talk me into an elegant, sexy dress that would turn any man on, but I still wasn't sure if I even wanted to turn Alex on. Frankly, I was glad casual meant jeans and a jacket, because I wasn't anxious to experience snow in heels and a dress again any time soon.

I ended up deciding on jeans, a burgundy top, my leather jacket, and some black mid-calf-high boots. I left my hair down and Selena added a dark red knit scarf to my outfit. I felt cute, doing a twirl in front of the bathroom mirror.

The doorbell rang two minutes before six and Selena started smiling like crazy and bouncing up and down, excited for me to leave with Alex.

"Geez," I laughed, grabbing my phone on my way to the door. "Are you trying to rush me out of my own house?"

"Oh, yes!" she nodded, pushing me toward the entryway. "That's my master plan. Get you out of the house so I can raid your freezer and steal all the Ben and Jerry's."

I pointed a finger at her, opening the door. "Now that, I believe."

Alex stood on my front porch wearing Wranglers that were almost the same color as my jeans, dark brown boots, a Craftsman shirt, and a jean jacket. I wasn't expecting my hormones to react the way they did. Even as casual as he was dressed, he still looked so hot.

I realized I was standing there frozen like a deer in the headlights when Selena nudged my arm, pushing me out the door.

Nice one, Kate. I'm sure he loves women staring at him like weirdos.

"Hi," I muttered, trying to shake off the butterflies fluttering in my stomach.

Alex smiled, taking his hands out of his pockets. "Evening, ladies."

Selena gave me a soft push, just hard enough to send me stumbling against Alex's chest. Before I could turn around to say something to her about it, she started closing the door, shooing us away with a wave.

"Bye guys! Have fun!" she grinned. "Stay out as late as you want!"

I shook my head in embarrassment.

"I'm sorry about her," I said, avoiding his gaze as we walked to his truck. "She's just really enthusiastic."

"I don't mind," he said with a handsome smile, placing his palm at my lower back.

He opened his passenger door for me and helped me climb up into the seat. I was already swooning. It was nearly impossible to find a gentleman who opened doors for women anymore, much less two of them in one week. I squealed quietly to myself while I watched him walk around the front of the truck to the driver's side.

"Now, I'm sorry if you were expecting something high dollar and extravagant," Alex said as he backed out of my driveway. "I'm sure that's what you're used to, but I can't really afford that stuff."

I felt bad that he felt bad about it.

"No," I said sincerely. "It's totally fine. I'm actually not used to that, but it's not really my thing anyway. I like the high class stuff on occasion, but not all the time."

Alex looked over at me when we reached a stoplight and smiled. "I'm glad you let me take you out, though."

So am I.

I didn't know what to say after that but tried to make conversation to avoid any uncomfortable silences. Alex seemed like a really sweet guy so far, and I wanted to learn more about him.

"So how do you like working at Satisfaction so far?" I asked, hating how generic my question was.

I felt like I was making a habit of saying generic things to him.

He turned the radio to a country station, drumming his fingers on the bottom of the steering wheel.

"I like it," he shrugged, looking at the traffic ahead. "It's definitely different from Now You Know. I suppose it will take some getting used to."

That made sense. It probably would take him some time to adjust. Meanwhile, I was at a loss for words again.

We drove east for almost thirty minutes, turning down country roads, driving until the pavement became gravel and dirt.

"Where are we going?" I didn't recognize our surroundings.

Alex turned onto a gravel driveway and I gripped the seat for support as we drove over bump after bump of uneven ground. Three football fields from the main road was a big ranch style house surrounded by metal fencing separating the yard from the field beside it where five horses roamed through the snow with blankets on their backs.

"My family's ranch," he answered, nodding toward the house we were approaching.

When we got to the end of the driveway, Alex parked in front of a big red and white barn adjacent to the house. He insisted on opening the door for me again and helping me out of the truck. I felt the butterflies return, along with a wave of electricity when his hand touched mine.

It was freezing and I wanted so badly to cuddle against him as we walked to the house, but that didn't sound appropriate just yet.

Alex stomped on the porch, knocking the snow off the bottoms of his boots and I mimicked his actions, laughing at how stupid I probably looked.

"Pretty sure you've got down the beginnings of a line dance right there," he chuckled, opening the front door for me. "Mom! We're here!"

Oh god. His parents are here?

I wasn't even remotely expecting to meet his parents at least until after the fifth or sixth date. Was this even a date?

A short blonde woman, probably in her mid-forties, scurried into the foyer from what I assumed was the kitchen. She wore a green apron and her hair was tied up in a neat bun.

"Mom, this is Kate," Alex gestured to me, sliding his jacket off and hanging it on the coat rack a few feet from the door. "We work together."

I was kind of bummed to hear him say that. I didn't like being just a coworker. But then again, we barely knew each other and I was putting the cart before the horse.

"Nice to meet you, Mrs. Stephens," I smiled, shaking her hand.

She seemed genuinely happy to meet me, flashing me a sweet smile in return. "I'm so glad to meet you, darlin'. Alex didn't tell me you were this pretty!"

I felt a blush form on my cheeks. "Thank you. It smells amazing in here."

"I have to give Alex credit for that," she told me, retying the bow on her apron as we followed her into the kitchen. "He put on dinner before he left and instructed me to keep an eye on it. So far, it hasn't moved."

"You cook?" I raised a brow at Alex.

"Before he goes bragging, just you remember, I taught him everything he knows," Mrs. Stephens said matter-of-factly, pointing a finger at him. "I'll leave you kids to your dinner. The girls are expecting me down at Helen's for a potluck. It was nice to meet you, Kate!"

I was impressed that Alex knew how to cook, though I hoped the food tasted as good as it smelled. Alex sauntered over to the crockpot on the counter, removing the lid and stirring the food with a metal ladle.

"I hope you like pot roast," he said, waving the escaping steam away from his face.

My stomach started growling instantly at the mention of pot roast.

"Like would be an understatement," I grinned. "It's one of my favorites."

Alex's smile widened as he reached in the cupboard, grabbing two bowls and dishing out equal amounts into them.

"Is this too much?" he asked, placing an oven mitt under the hot bowl.

"No. It's perfect."

I could probably eat that much along with a second serving, but I didn't intend to do that. I didn't want to pig out on the first dinner with him. I didn't know if that might ward off the possibility of a second dinner.

Alex lead me to the dining room where the huge twelve-seater dinner table was covered with a beautiful red, gold and green tablecloth. There was a tiny one-foot-tall Christmas tree in the center of the table with miniature ornaments hanging from its few branches. A string of twinkle lights was draped over the windows, slowly flashing. It was beautiful.

"This is gorgeous," I complimented as Alex pulled out my chair for me to sit down.

He smiled, taking a seat to my left at the head of the table. "My family likes to go all out for Christmas. We're big into decorating."

"Did you do all this?" I asked, referring to the decorations in the room.

He shook his head, setting his fork in his bowl. "Nah. This is my mom's doing. My job is the tree."

I looked to the tiny tree on the table and he pointed his thumb toward the next room.

"The big tree."

"Oh," I nodded. "I put mine up last week."

It was only December eighth. I always put up my decorations on Thanksgiving after the big dinner.

"Want to help me with it?" Alex asked, taking a bite of cauliflower.

Helping Alex decorate the tree sounded like a good time. I didn't plan on staying out real late, though that was quickly becoming inevitable, but I figured as a thank you for the incredible homemade dinner, assisting in the decor was the least I could do. Besides, I adored decorating for Christmas, so it was a win-win.

"Of course," I smiled, scooting closer to the table. "I'd love to."

The pot roast was amazing. It tasted even better than it smelled and I was so impressed that Alex could create such a brilliant dinner.

"That was probably the best pot roast I've ever had," I told him honestly, handing him my bowl.

He smiled, cheeks turning a light pink. "My secret is red wine."

He washed our bowls out in the sink and placed them in the dishwasher.

"Ready to go set up the tree?"

I nodded, following him to the front door where he retrieved his jacket from the coat rack and helped me slip mine back on.

"We have to go outside for this?"

Alex was clearly amused. "I have to go chop down a tree, love."

Oh. I'd assumed we were going to put ornaments on an artificial tree.

"Ah."

The cold air sent chills through my body when we stepped outside. We walked to the barn where Alex got a saw and a small red wagon and headed out into the field where the horses were.

The snow was fairly deep and I was freezing, hugging my jacket to my chest and sliding my hands up and down my arms in attempts to create some heat, though it obviously wasn't helping any.

"What do you think of this one?" Alex asked, standing next to a Douglas Fir. It was about seven feet tall and had full branches.

"That would be pretty," I said, anxious to get back in the house.

My teeth were starting to chatter.

Alex went to work sawing at the base of the tree. I watched the way his hair fell in front of his face. It was a couple inches longer than Jesse's.

Jesse. I wonder what he's doing right now, I thought.

My mind faded to images of Jesse and I tangled up in his satin sheets and I didn't realize I was daydreaming until the evergreen came crashing down, startling me back to reality.

Alex chuckled, tossing his saw in the snow temporarily while he lifted the trunk.

"Can you grab the other end?" he asked and I bent over, raising the top of the tree, which was heavier than I expected. "We'll just move it this way and set it on the wagon."

We stepped to the right, laying the tree on its side on top of the wagon that was too small for a chore like that. Alex retrieved his saw, setting it in the wagon also, and began lugging everything back toward the house. I felt bad watching him do it himself, even though he clearly wasn't having any trouble, so I grabbed the opposite side of the handle, helping him pull the wagon.

We reached the front door and Alex lifted the tree, setting it on the porch. He made it look effortless. We attempted to brush all the snow off the branches before bringing it in the house.

"Are you sure this will fit through the door?" I looked at the tree skeptically.

It was wider than the doorway.

He nodded. "Yeah. You just have to bend the branches upward. It basically folds into itself."

We did just that. Aside from the mass of little green needles all over the floor, we successfully got the tree to the living room without a problem. Alex set up a stand that held the tree upright while I swept the needles back outside.

"Doesn't look half bad." Alex looked to me with a boyish smile that made my heart melt.

I had to agree. Even without the decorations, the tree looked really nice.

"Let me go fetch the ornaments," he said, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

While I waited for him to return, I busied myself with my phone, checking my texts and emails. Selena had texted me over twenty times about how she hoped I was having a really good time, and that she was excited for me, and I needed to tell her everything when I got home. She also made sure to get a wisecrack in there about condoms and chlamydia, making me roll my eyes at the screen.

I had four emails from work also, but I didn't bother to read them as I heard footsteps in the other room and Alex walked in carrying three boxes stacked on top of each other. I put away my phone and hurried to give him a hand, taking the top box and carrying it over to the tree.

Alex reached in his pocket, taking out a knife and cutting open the taped boxes. There were tons of ornaments and they were all so cute.

"This is adorable," I said, holding up a little puppy with a Santa hat on.

He smiled, opening the box of light strings. "I got that one about six years ago. I used to have a golden retriever and when I saw that at the store, I guess I just had to have it."

He dumped the light strings out in a pile and we spent at least twenty minutes trying to untangle them from each other. We ended up tangling ourselves in them.

Once we had the lights on the tree, we started adding on the ornaments. Alex would occasionally tell me a cute story behind one of them. He laid on the floor, sliding under the tree on his back to fasten the tree skirt, and then we were finished.

"This looks so much better than I envisioned." I admired our work.

The tree lights were twinkling, every branch was full of ornaments, and everything looked perfect.

Alex's arm found its way around my waist and the butterflies made a reappearance. "Couldn't have done it without you."

I smiled, looking up at him. When our eyes met I realized just how handsome he actually was. The twinkling lights reflected in his eyes and I couldn't look away as we slowly leaned closer to each other.