Completely casual and cool, the first date Emily Maynard planned on The Bachelorette was unexpected.

A date card showed up for Ryan, making him Emily Maynard’s first official one-on-one date for The Bachelorette 2012. And immediately, Emily’s guard was up a bit.

“The last guy I dated was Brad. He was crazy good looking, and we all know how that turned out,” she told the camera. Like Brad, Ryan had good looks (according to her. To me… not as much as some of the other guys.)

What Emily had planned was a date unloading groceries to her home! And then they made cookies! God, I loved this approach. This was a real date. “As a single Mom, the things I do aren’t really that glamorous all the time,” Emily said.

“Isn’t this kinda how life is?” Ryan said,  realizing the romance in it. And as for the cookie test, we don’t know how they tasted… but Emily said he passed the test.

Ryan sat in the car and was asked not to meet Ricki, yet. Which is a sweet, smart choice when you’re dating with kids.

Then the pair went to dinner in Charlotte. Half the town had showed up to see the pair walk a red carpet up to the restaurant, Osso.

Emily said her biggest fear was that people would see the show as a game, and try to win the competition without being in love. “I don’t want to be the prize.

Ryan was saying all of the right things (with such flowery words), so it seemed almost too perfect. It’s hard to know yet if he’s genuine or not. And Emily confessed to the camera she had the same fears that he seemed too perfect. But Ryan did get the rose this time.

And Emily’s favorite band, Gloriana, played for the pair. (And that one song was enough to turn me into a fan! The song was “Kissed You Goodnight.”

The Bachelorette Recap Photos: ABC

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