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Chapter Text

Donnie rushed into the café, stopping to scan the room for his date. He spotted his target and headed for the table, hurrying but trying to seem casual about it. “Sorry I’m late,” he apologized to the man already seated as he took the empty chair across from him. “I was trying to pick out the right shirt when I realized I’d lost track of time. Can you believe it?”

The brunet man frowned. “Who are you?”

“Donnie Ryan, the guy who was supposed to be here ten minutes ago.” Donnie took off his jacket and hung it on the back of the chair. “I hope you haven’t been waiting too long. I see you got something to drink at least, I think I’ll do the same.” He went to the counter to order, and came back a few minutes later.

The man spoke up immediately before Donnie had the chance to, “I think there’s been some kind of mistake.”

Donnie’s face fell. “Aw what? No! What did I do? Is it this sweater? It’s not my name, is it, because I’ve gotten comments before. It’s short for Donald, but I don’t think that suits me.”

“No, it’s not that. I’m not here on a date.”

“What?” Donnie asked, dumbfounded. He heard his name being called by the barista from the counter. “Hold on.” He went and retrieved his drink before asking, “So you’re not Glenn, Elizabeth’s friend?”

“No.”

“Shit.” Donnie shook his head. “I can’t believe it. I am so sorry, …” He looked at the man questioningly.

“Daniel.”

“Daniel, I can’t apologize enough. I’ll get out of your hair now.” Donnie stood and swept the café for his actual date, but there weren’t any other lone men around. “I don’t…see him anywhere.”

Daniel made a disinterested face and returned to the puzzle he was working on.

Donnie lingered by the table a moment before dropping heavily back into the seat across from Daniel. “I’ve been stood up.”

Daniel grimaced at the realization Donnie wasn’t leaving any time soon, and said, “Well maybe he showed up and thought you weren’t coming.”

“That’s not fair, I was only ten minutes late.” Donnie pulled out his phone and started typing out a message. “I’m texting Liz, this is ridiculous.”

“Yeah, you do that,” Daniel responded flippantly as he penned in another answer in his crossword.

A few minutes later, Donnie’s phone rang, causing Daniel to jump in his seat. Donnie didn’t notice, answering the call, “Liz? Hey, what happened?” He waited. “Alright so where does that leave me?” Pause. “Great. Thanks. No, it’s fine.” He ended the call and sighed heavily.

There was a moment of awkward silence.

Then Donnie asked, “Aren’t you going to ask what happened?”

“No,” Daniel said without looking up.

Donnie folded his arms on top of the table and leaned on them. “He found out I was a lawyer, said he didn’t want to meet me anymore. Ah, well.” He stared out the window and whined, “I hate blind dates.”

“Hmm,” Daniel said distractedly, still focused on his crossword.

Donnie looked back at Daniel. “Would you ever date a lawyer?”

Daniel finally lifted his head to glare at Donnie. “No.”

“Why not?” Donnie asked, offended.

“I don’t mean ‘no’ to the question you asked,” Daniel corrected. “I mean ‘no’ to the question you were about to ask if I said ‘yes’ to the question you asked.”

Donnie’s mouth made a flat line. “I’m confused.”

Daniel huffed. “You were clearly only asking me if I would ever date a lawyer because if I said I would, you were going to ask me out on a date. So I wasn’t saying, ‘No I wouldn’t date a lawyer,’ I was saying, ‘No I’m not going on a date with you’.”

“So basically, you’re telling me you would go out with a lawyer, just not me.” Donnie continued sarcastically, “Thanks. That makes me feel a lot better.”

“I don’t know you,” Daniel said defensively. “And not that it’s my responsibility to try to soften the blow someone else delivered, but there are billions of other people out there who aren’t me, and I’m sure plenty of them would date both a lawyer and you.”

Donnie looked at him for a long moment then sighed again. “You’re right. I even told you I was gonna leave you alone and I didn’t. I’m sorry to bother you.” He stood and pulled his jacket back on. “Hey, are you gonna be here a while?”

Daniel eyed him suspiciously but answered, “Probably. I have some papers I need to finish grading.”

“A teacher, huh? That’s cool.” Donnie pointed at Daniel’s drink and said, “Let me make it up to you for pestering you by getting you another…whatever that is.”

“Earl grey tea. Plain.”

Donnie nodded. “Next one’s on me. I’ll pay for it now and you can just tell them whenever you want it. Okay?”

Daniel slowly returned the nod, as though he was still waiting for the other shoe to drop. “Okay.”

Donnie flashed him a grin and headed for the counter. He talked to the barista briefly, paid, then smiled and waved at Daniel again before leaving the café.

It was about half an hour later when Daniel ordered his free cup of tea, and when he received it he found writing on the paper cup that said, “Sorry again. -Donnie,” and a phone number underneath it.

Chapter Text

Donnie waited two weeks for a call from Daniel before giving up. He briefly tried finding Daniel on his own, but stopped himself before he got very far. He tried to convince himself that he ended the search because it was a little creepy to get that hung up on a guy he met once in a coffee shop, and not because he realized it would be nearly impossible without knowing Daniel’s last name.

Halfway through the third week, while Donnie was sifting through a case file in his office, his cellphone rang. He absent-mindedly answered the call while reading the rest of the paragraph he was on. “Hello, Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan speaking.”

“Donnie,” came the reply. “Hi. It’s Daniel. You probably don’t remember me, we met when you mistook me for your blind date a few weeks ago.”

Donnie couldn’t help but break into a grin. “Daniel! Of course I remember you. The teacher who likes earl gray and crosswords. How are you doing?”

“Fine. I guess. Sort of. It’s hard to explain. Is this a bad time?”

“Not at all.” Donnie closed the case file and leaned back in his chair. “What can I do for you?”

“Well it’s funny you should ask that. I have a friend who has been bothering me about bringing a-a date to an event we have to attend, and he started trying to set me up with people and it was driving me mad.”

Donnie’s smile spread and he interjected with a guess, “And you wanted to know if I would go with you?”

“…Yes.” Daniel stammered and quickly continued, “It would only be the one night, just pretend we’ve been on a couple of dates already, then I’ll make up some story about why it didn’t work out between us.”

At that, the excited look dropped from Donnie’s face. “You want me to act as your escort for the evening.”

“I know it’s an inconvenience, but I’m willing to pay you something if you want, I just need to get Paul off my back.”

Donnie closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He thought about it for a moment. He could use a break from work, and a night out with Daniel sounded good, even if it wasn’t a real date. “Sure. Although I’d rather you didn’t pay me, it makes me sound like a prostitute. Give me the details for the event and I’ll pick you up.”

Daniel breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you.” He gave Donnie the time and dress code for a fundraising event for the university where Daniel taught. Daniel’s friend, Paul, was the college dean and had told Daniel that if he wasn’t willing to flirt to get money for the school then he should bring a date and try to seem like more of an attractive investment.

Once Donnie had jotted down everything he needed to know, he asked, “What’s your favorite restaurant?”

“What?” Daniel asked, startled.

“What’s your favorite place to eat?” Donnie twirled the pen even though Daniel couldn’t see it. “If we’ve been on a few dates already, I’m gonna need to know a little more about you than the fact that you drink tea and do crosswords.”

“Oh, right. I prefer local restaurants, they tend to be a lot less crowded and noisy. That, or just skipping the restaurant entirely and eating at home.”

“Okay so let’s say, first date at a café because that’s sorta true, second date at a local place, third date at your place?”

“Sounds believable,” Daniel agreed.

“What’s your place like?”

“I live in a house, I’ll admit it’s a nice if somewhat disorganized place, and…I live with a housemate who also happens to be my teaching assistant.”

“Alright, tell me a little about the assistant.”

“His name is Max Lewicki, you’ll probably meet him when you pick me up. He would stay out of the way of any dates as best as he can, so you don’t need to know more than that.”

“Right, sounds good.” Donnie scribbled down the name just in case.

“Is that it, or is there more? I feel like I’m on a job interview.”

“No, that’s all I can think of.” Donnie thought for a moment. “Except, what’s your last name?”

“…Pierce.”

Donnie wrote that down as well before putting down his pen. “Alright, Mr. Pierce. Thanks for applying, and we’ll be in touch with you by next week.”

“Har har,” Daniel said sarcastically. “And it’s Dr. Pierce, PhD.”

“What’s the PhD in? Obviously not dating,” Donnie joked.

“For your information, Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan, I hold a PhD in neuroscience. So while I may not be well-versed in the dating scene, I have the degree that allows me to tell you why you’re still single.”

Donnie let out a low whistle.

Daniel stammered out, “I-I’m sorry. That was…awful. I hope I didn’t hurt your feelings.”

“No, no, I’m fine,” Donnie responded.

The line was silent for a long moment.

Then Donnie asked, “So, I’ll see you on Saturday?”

Daniel let out the breath he was holding. “Yes. I’m so glad you’re still willing to go through with it. To be honest I wouldn’t blame you if you weren’t.”

“Nah,” Donnie said flippantly. “It takes more than that to scare me off.”

“Good. I’ll see you on Saturday.”

Chapter Text

On Saturday night, Donnie showed up at Daniel’s house dressed in a suit he reserves for things outside the courtroom, such as dates like this one. Only usually they were real dates and not pretend ones. He barely managed to say hello to Daniel’s TA before he was being rushed back to his car.

Donnie glanced over at Daniel as he drove them towards the university. “I like your house.”

Daniel gave him a strange look and said, “Thanks.”

“I live in a condo in the next district over.”

“I see,” Daniel said unsurely.

Donnie looked over at him again. “I live alone. I like dogs and take-out food. I also like to cook, but I don’t often get the chance.”

“Okay, why are you telling me all this?”

“We’re supposed to be dating, Daniel. I know a little bit about you, but you don’t know anything about me except what I do for a living.”

“Donnie, you need to know those things about me because the people we’re about to be in a room with for two to four hours know me. I doubt anyone there has ever heard of you, they’d never know if I was lying or not. You could be a painter who lives in a tree for all they know.”

Donnie shook his head. “Boy, you sure know how to make a guy feel special. Are you sure this is going to work? I mean, will you be able to convince them that you actually like me, or even tolerate me?”

“Trust me, it’ll be fine as long as you don’t go overboard just to antagonize me.”

“It’s a tempting choice, but I promise to make the night as easy on you as possible.”

Daniel looked over at Donnie for a moment before saying, “Thanks. Again.”

“No problem. Is there anything else you think I should know?”

Daniel took a deep breath and replied, “Yes, actually. I’ve published a few books and I’m a paranoid schizophrenic. There’s a spot open for you to park on your left.”

Donnie parked his car in the space Daniel suggested and turned to him. “Alright. Ready?”

“…You’re not going to say anything?” Daniel asked accusingly. “About what I just told you?”

“No, why should I?” Donnie gave him a smirk. “I already knew. I looked you up the day you asked me to do this.”

Daniel sputtered, “You wh-what? That is a complete invasion of privacy!”

“It was online, Daniel, among a bunch of information about the books you wrote.”

“Well you could’ve warned me that you knew earlier!”

Donnie’s face changed into something genuine and concerned. “I was trying to let you be the one to decide if I should know or not. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you or anything.”

Daniel shook his head and sighed. “It’s fine. Let’s just go inside. Before Paul starts trying to hunt me down.”

Donnie nodded and slid out of his car, following Daniel into the university.

The event was being held in the school’s courtyard, and illuminated by string of lights and lanterns. A row of tables covered in cloth was set up as a buffet of everything from appetizers to desserts. The area wasn’t packed, but the school had certainly managed to attract a good crowd. Donnie idly wondered how many were staff and how many were potential patrons.

A man wove his way through to meet Daniel and Donnie just after they arrived. “Daniel!”

“Paul,” Daniel greeted. “This is my date, Donnie. Donnie, this is my friend Paul and also the dean of the university.”

Donnie shook hands with Paul and smiled. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir. Daniel says you’re a good friend.”

Paul beamed. “You’re too kind, and call me Paul. Sir is for the students.” He ushered them closer to the crowd. “Now Daniel, there’s someone I want to introduce you to before I lose you in the crowd.” He snagged the attention of a woman standing in a group of four. “Vanessa? This is Dr. Daniel Pierce, our own professor of neuroscience. Daniel, this is Vanessa Walters. She and her husband have been looking for a few places they can trust will put their funding to good use.”

Donnie chimed in, “Ah well, there are few things more important than education.”

Vanessa smiled. “Very true. And are you another member of this school’s fine staff?”

“No, I’m just here as Daniel’s date. I’m Donnie.”

“Nice to meet you both.” Vanessa raised an eyebrow at them. “So the two of you are together, then? What a refreshing sight.”

“Of course,” Paul piped up. “We value all our personnel and students equally, and we’re very strict about our policy against prejudice. Schools are a place for learning, therefore you should have an open mind when you walk through our doors.”

Vanessa nodded in agreement. “That’s wonderful to hear.” She turned to Donnie. “So, what do you do for a living?”

“He’s a lawyer,” Daniel answered.

Donnie shot him a look before correcting, “I’m an Assistant U.S. Attorney.”

“That’s wonderful. And how long have you two been together?”

“We’ve only been on a few dates so far,” Donnie said. “But I’m sure there will be plenty more in our future.”

Daniel interjected, “Okay, well, I think it’s about time to let Donnie loose on the buffet.”

“It is a lovely setup,” Donnie agreed. “I’ve been eyeing those cake pop things since we got here.”

Vanessa laughed. “Well don’t let me stop you! Enjoy yourselves. I’m sure we’ll run into each other again.”

“Of course we will,” Daniel said cheerily. “Paul?”

Paul waved them on. “You guys go ahead, I’d like to stay and talk to Mrs. Walters a bit longer.”

Donnie led the way towards the food, commenting, “I think that went well.”

“I hate these things,” Daniel grumbled.

Donnie chuckled. “Gee, I never would’ve known. Let’s grab some bites and take a break. We deserve it.”

“You don’t have to tell me twice.” Daniel didn’t get anything to eat, but he held a second plate for Donnie to make it look like he was participating.

Once the pair had stocked up on food and snagged a couple of drinks, they made their way towards the corner of the courtyard. The lighting wasn’t as good, so there were only a few people around, and Daniel and Donnie could have their privacy.

“So how often do you have to attend these kinds of things?” Donnie asked.

“We only do this fundraiser once a year, but it feels like Paul tries to drag me to some event or another at least once a month.”

“Yikes. Does he always make you turn them into dates?”

“No, but he’ll also occasionally pester me about dating outside of those too.” Daniel looked down at the plate he was holding. “He means well, the whole dating scene is just not my thing.”

Donnie nodded. “Right. Your thing is calling U.S. Attorneys and asking them to pretend to be your date.”

Daniel smirked. “Oh please. I’m sure you had something better to do with your night?”

“I do happen to be working on a case at the moment.” Donnie gave a slight shrug. “Nothing that can’t wait while I do a friend a favor, though.”

“Oh are we friends now?” Daniel asked, looking amused. “I wasn’t aware.”

“Aw c’mon.” Donnie nudged him with his shoulder.

Daniel forced back a slight cringe. “Hah.”

“Are you alright?” Donnie asked, getting worried.

“I’m fine, I just don’t, y’know.” Daniel gestured vaguely with his free hand. “I don’t really like to be touched.”

“Oh shit, I’m sorry,” Donnie said, putting another half step of space between them. “You should’ve told me.”

“Well, I had already resigned myself to the inevitability, given the crowd that was bound to be here tonight. If I had known you were going to be as friendly as this, I would’ve warned you.” Daniel glanced at Donnie’s face and hurriedly said, “It’s fine, Donnie, really. Trust me, I’m used to it. A-and I’m not saying your friendliness is entirely unwelcome.” His voice lowered slightly as he added, “Honestly it’s made this whole ordeal easier for me already.”

Donnie grinned. “Good. Mission accomplished, then.”

“Great, you make it sound like we’re spies, undercover at a fundraiser to track some unknowing target.”

“Hey, that sounds fun! And it’s not that far off. We came here as part of a plan, we got dressed up, we’re pretending to be together, you’re currently pretending to be interested in the food here…”

Daniel chuckled. “I suppose you’re right.”

Donnie picked through some of the finger food on his plate. “Aren’t you hungry?”

“I’ll be fine.”

“Did you eat before I picked you up?”

“I had some tea.”

“That doesn’t count, Daniel. You should try some of these little appetizers. They’re really good.” Donnie offered him a toothpick with a mini sandwich on it.

Daniel shook his head. “No thanks, I’ll wait till I get home.”

“It could be a few hours…”

“Well unless they have plain fruit here that hasn’t been touched by strangers, I don’t see eating in my future any time soon.”

“Ah, picky eater.”

“That’s one of the nicer ways of putting it.”

Donnie finished his plate and took the second one off Daniel’s hands, stacking it over his first. He ate in silence for a bit to give Daniel some room to himself, then when he finished his second plate he spoke up, “Is there a restroom nearby I can use?”

Daniel snapped out of his thoughts and answered, “Yeah, it’s right through those doors, a little down the hall.” He gestured to one of the side doors out of the courtyard.

“Awesome, thanks.” Donnie glanced at him. “You gonna be alright by yourself?”

Daniel scowled and started to speak.

Donnie interrupted, “Don’t say it. I know. I’ll be right back.” He left Daniel’s side, taking his plates and drink with him. He slowed at the buffet, where he found a trash can.

-

When Donnie returned, it was with a plate piled high with strawberries. “Here, Daniel, I got these for you.”

Daniel eyed them critically. “Where did you find those?”

“From the buffet. They just put them out, so I know they’re clean.” Donnie held the plate closer to Daniel. “Do you not like strawberries?”

After a moment’s hesitation, Daniel took the plate. He looked at it like he still hadn’t decided if he would eat them or not. “Thanks, I guess.”

Donnie shrugged it off. “I just wanted to make sure you had something to eat.”

Daniel continued to stare at the strawberries.

“They’re not gonna bite you, Daniel,” Donnie joked.

Instead of responding to his quip, Daniel asked, “Was there chocolate on these?”

Donnie blinked at him. “What? No.”

“No, of course not,” Daniel said dramatically. “That would be ridiculous. Who on earth would take a plate of chocolate dipped strawberries into the men’s room only to pick off all the chocolate, wash them off, and put them back on the plate? This person would have to be a complete imbecile to think he could get away with such an outrageous feat, especially if he wasn’t careful enough to check that all the spots on the strawberries were seeds and there weren’t little flecks of chocolate left over.” He picked up a strawberry and blew on it, sending small specks flying off it.

“Ah,” Donnie responded nervously.

“That’s all you can say for yourself?” Daniel asked.

“Well they are clean!” Donnie defended.

“What would possess you to do something like this?!”

“You did!” Donnie shrugged. “It’s like I said, I just wanted to make sure there was something available to you if you were hungry. You said you would only eat plain, clean fruit, so I thought, ‘Hey why don’t I bring him some plain, clean fruit?’ It was easy enough to rinse them off, and I thought it would work and you’d be happy about it. I didn’t realize how weird it was until you said something.”

Just then, the two realized Paul was making his way towards them. “Daniel, Donnie, there you are!” The dean stopped in front of them and smiled. “Are you enjoying yourselves?”

Donnie smiled politely. “Absolutely. I’m so glad you let Daniel invite me.”

“How could I not?” Paul asked. “Once I heard was already seeing someone, I had to take the opportunity to meet you. Daniel never told me he’d met anyone.”

“I know,” Donnie said. “I asked him not to. I try to keep my personal life private where I can.”

“Then that’s one thing you and Daniel have in common,” Paul commented. He spotted someone from the bigger crowd waving to him. “Oh! I have to go. Vanessa Walters has been talking us up all night, Daniel. I think we’ve got a good amount of backing coming our way.” He headed over to the person who had caught his eye.

Donnie watched Paul melt into the crowd before turning to Daniel. “Well it looks like things are going pretty well over there. Do you think we’re allowed to leave?”

Daniel looked down at the plate in his hand and said, “It’s not weird.”

“I’m sorry? I’m not following.”

“The gesture, the strawberries.” Daniel lifted the plate a little for emphasis. “It’s not weird. It’s sweet. It was really…kind and considerate of you to do that. To go to such lengths for me.” He continued, “Granted, I still stand by my assessment that it’s ridiculous and outrageous.” He looked to Donnie. “But it’s also one of the nicest things anyone’s done for me when they’ve just gotten to know me. So, thank you for that.”

Donnie’s face broke into a smile. “You’re welcome.”

“As for the matter of leaving, we should run it by Paul first. He might have more people to introduce us to as the ‘happy couple’ before we go.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Donnie trailed after Daniel back to the throng of people.

-

Two more introductions and one guaranteed check behind them, Daniel and Donnie finally made their way back to Daniel’s house. Donnie parked outside while they said their goodbyes.

“Thanks again,” Daniel said. “For doing this. Because of you, I actually didn’t have a horrible time.”

“Sure thing.” Donnie paused. “So, I’ll see you around?”

“I’m…not sure.”

Donnie feigned shock and hurt. “Daniel, are you breaking up with me?”

Daniel laughed. “Yes. Consider our false relationship officially ended.”

“Good, now I can finally tell you that I’ve met someone.”

“Really, already?” Daniel asked, playing along. “How could this have happened? Is he better looking than me?”

Donnie laughed as well. “No, it’s nothing like that. I just think it’s time to try something new, and now that we’re through, it’s probably my best opportunity.”

“Well considering our past, I think I have a right to know who this guy is.” Daniel crossed his arms. “Hm?”

“Alright, fair enough.” Donnie took a moment to gather his courage before meeting Daniel’s eyes. “It’s you.”

Daniel let out a startled noise. “What? Me?”

“Yeah, Daniel. I don’t know if you’ve been picking up on the subtle hints I’ve been dropping, but I like you.” Donnie fidgeted with his hands on the steering wheel. “And if you want to, I would like to take you out on a date. A real one, I mean.”

“I-I don’t know if that’s a good idea,” Daniel said.

“Oh. Why not?”

Daniel edged towards the car door. “It’s just. It’s too much for met to think about right now.”

“Okay, well hey,” Donnie said, reaching out a hand but stopping himself short of Daniel’s. “What about we just start with coffee? Or, in your case, tea.” He raised his hand in the air. “Just as friends.”

“…Sure.”

Donnie gave him a little smile. “Alright. You have my number if you want to meet up or just talk, whatever you want.”

Daniel nodded. “Goodbye, Donnie.”

“Goodnight, Daniel.”

Chapter Text

Less than a week later, Donnie got a call from Daniel inviting him back to the café where they first met.

After the initial hellos and once they both had their drinks, the real conversation began.

Daniel put down his tea and started, “I’ll get right to the point, because I’m that kind of guy. I’ve been thinking a lot about the possibility of going on a date with you, and to be honest I-I would like it if that happened, but first I need to be upfront about a few things.” He waited a moment and then asked, “A-are you with me so far?”

Donnie nodded. “Yeah, totally. Shoot.” He took a sip of his coffee and listened.

“Good. Now there has been a lot of debating going on about whether or not I’m ready to try dating again, and of course a lot of it has to do with my mental state, but the fact of the matter is that I won’t know unless I try. But I’m not willing to subject someone to the trials and errors of trying to have a relationship with me until they have a good idea of what they’re getting into. So if we were to start dating, and I’m not saying for sure that we are, we would have to put real dedication into getting to know each other first. Do you understand? I need to know I’m on steady ground with you before we take further steps.”

“Let me get this straight,” Donnie said. “You’re basically saying that, in order to get to the point of having a chance at a relationship, we’d have to spend a whole lot of time together getting to know each other and stuff?”

“…Yes.”

Donnie grinned. “Alright, sign me up.”

Daniel gave a little huff. “Right. Okay. The next thing I have to bring up is that honesty is a real deal-breaker for me. I mean we barely know each other. I’m a direct a-and sometimes brutally honest person, and I want the same from you. Not just because honesty is important to me, but also because I can’t stand being unclear about things in any kind of relationship, friends or otherwise. So if you’re annoyed with me, or i-if you have feelings for me, you’re going to have to be straightforward about it. Just because I’m a brain expert doesn’t mean I’m going to sit around and try to read your mind.”

“Okay, can I say something?” Donnie asked. He continued without waiting for an answer. “Now I know what everyone thinks about lawyers, and I understand that not everyone feels great about what we do, but what I do for a living has nothing to do with what I’m like in a relationship. You asked for honesty, so I’m going to give you a little taste of it. I’m not the kind of guy who pretends to like you if I don’t, unless I have to for professional reasons, and I’m certainly not the kind of guy who pretends not to have an issue with you if I do. I’m not a saint outside the courtroom or anything, but I’m not underhanded or manipulative. So if we were to date, or even be friends, I’m not going to be the passive-aggressive asshole who sends you mixed signals all the time. And yes, for your information, I do have some feelings for you, but I’m an adult and I can handle it if you decide romance isn’t for us.” He waved his hand slightly to emphasize he was finished. “There, I said it.”

“I’m…starting to think this wasn’t a conversation meant for a public café,” Daniel said quietly, glancing around them.

“They can mind their own business or deal with me,” Donnie said.

Daniel let out a laugh. “Ha! Of course. The scrappy lawyer’s here to rescue me from the nosy customers here.”

“That’s right.” Donnie leaned his elbow on the table. “So, what are we thinking?”

Daniel considered it. “Would lunch at my house sound alright with you? So we can continue to get to know each other better.”

Donnie smiled and said, “Sounds perfect.”