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“Or maybe if we’re lucky, she’ll come in while we’re here,” he teases.
The server comes over and introduces herself. She pauses and looks at both of us, and I can’t help but hold up my napkin to my face and laugh. Both of us have pink glitter stuck to us. I tried to wash mine off, as I’m sure he did as well, and needless to say, it’s going to take a few more times.
“It’s her fault,” he says.
And this makes me laugh even more.
She takes our drink order and then is gone.
“Pink might be my new favorite color for you.” I grin at him.
“Duke thinks so too.” He smiles back. At least he’s being a good sport about it. “Since you’ve been declared the victor, are we done with the pranks now?”
“Never,” I tell him, my eyes sparkling with happiness, and he just shakes his head.
“Cole and I are going to decorate this weekend for Halloween. Do you want to come over and carve pumpkins with us?”
“I’ve never carved a pumpkin before. Is it hard?”
He leans back in his chair and studies me. I’m certain he’s feeling sorry for me, thinking about all the things I most likely missed out on as a kid. But it’s fine.
“No, it’s not hard. But be prepared to get your hands dirty.”
“Do I strike you as the type of girl worried about dirty hands?”
“You did at first, but now not so much.”
“What kind of girl do I strike you as now?”
He thinks about his answer as he looks at me. He blinks a few times, licks his lips once, making me want to climb over this table and kiss him, and then one side of his mouth tips up.
“Mine.”
An unexpected heat rushes to the surface of my skin. I wasn’t expecting him to say this. Yet I feel so happy about it; it’s a strange feeling for me.
At this moment, the server returns with our drinks.
“Are you both ready to order?”
“Yes,” I tell her while holding up the menu. “He’ll have the gnocchi with the beef ragout, and I’ll have the shrimp orecchiette with grape tomatoes and spinach in a white truffle alfredo sauce.”
“Wonderful choices, ma’am,” she says, collecting our menus. “I’ll be right back with some bread.”
“Thank you.” I smile up at her and then to Briggs, who’s watching me with an irked but amused expression. “What?”
“Did it not occur to you that I might like to order my own food?”
I scoff. “But why would you when I can just do it for you? I picked the two best-looking dishes, and this way, we can share.”
“I’m allergic to shrimp.”
My face blanches. “What?! I didn’t know that!”
“Actually I’m not, but you get the point. It’s weird that you order for me. You’ve done it twice now.”
I shrug. “You got a problem with a woman taking control?”
He chuckles under his breath and leans closer to me. “Now, you know that’s not true, don’t you?” His deep voice makes me blush, and I’m not embarrassed by that at all. “And although I think it’s kind of hot, when it comes to food, maybe you just run it by me first.”
