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But that was crazy, right?
THIS WAS TURNING out so much worse than I’d originally thought. From the moment we stepped out of the Sprinter andI’d seen where we were dining—Le Bernardin—I knew I was screwed.
It was one of the most expensive restaurants in the city, not to mention the most elegant, and even though I moved in circles that expected this kind of a meal whenever they ate out, I felt like a fish out of water.
“Stop fiddling with your tie.”
Damn it.I hadn’t even realized I was doing that. I shook my head, and Gavin leaned in to my side, brushing the back of his hand along mine.
“Breathe, would you? It’s just dinner.”
Yeah, dinner with his supermodel mom and uber-powerful cable network CEO dad, who would expect me to know how to sit and act in a restaurant of this caliber. Problem was, I generally zoned out on formal occasions and spent most of my time at the bar. Something I didn’t think was going to help me a whole lot tonight.
“Maybe I should just go. Let you three have dinner, and we could meet up after.” That sounded like a good idea to me, until I made the mistake of looking at Gavin, whose wide eyes had filled with disappointment.
“Oh, um, well, if you’re really that uncomfortable…”
Now I felt like a total shit. Here was Gavin trying to introduce me to two of the people he cared about the most, and I was once again weighing him down with my baggage.
“Nah, I’m good. Just not used to the whole suit and tie getup.”
His disappointment was instantly replaced by a good-natured smile as he took my hand and pulled me out of the doorway and over to one of the shrubberies lining the front of the building.
“I can help with that.” A second later, he reached for my tie and hooked a finger through the tight knot, loosening it. Thenhe unfastened and pulled the material free of its stranglehold, sliding it from my neck. “There. How’s that?”
“Better.”
Gavin grinned, then flicked open the top three buttons of my shirt and spread it apart, before reaching up and ruffling his fingers through my hair.
“As much as I liked the slicked-back, chic version of you I found in your bedroom tonight, I’m kind of fond of my rough diamond.”
“Oh yeah?”
Gavin put his palm over my chest, and the tie tickled my bare skin as he moved up to his toes and kissed my cheek. “Yeah, it’s my favorite find ever.”
I cradled his face between my hands and lowered my head, whispering across his lips, “What the hell are you doing to me?”
“Right now? Taking you to dinner.”
I closed my eyes and took in a deep breath, his cologne filling my head with something I wasn’t at all familiar with—hope and possibilities. It was a heady feeling, one that made me feel a little trippy as I gripped the hand on my chest and touched the tie he still held.
“What are we going to do with this?”
Gavin smiled mischievously as he stepped around me, looked both ways, then quickly stuffed it into the shrubbery.“Ta-da. Magic.”
His grin was so ridiculous that I couldn’t help but reach for him and steal a kiss.
“All right, let’s go meet the parental units.”
Gavin nodded and headed toward the restaurant door, and I opened it before he could, catching his eye with a wink.
A pink hue colored his cheeks as he stepped up to the hostess and gave his name, and moments later we were making our way through the tables and chairs toward a table in the back.I immediately spotted Gavin’s mom laughing at something his dad had just said. She had a hand resting over his on top of the table and was leaning in to him with an open smile on her face, love and admiration shining up at her husband.
It was easy to see where Gavin and Donovan got their carefree, loving nature from. Even after all these years, Kimberly Thompson was the very epitome of a woman in love.
“Gavin.” She got to her feet, coming around the table to greet her son with a hug and kiss to both cheeks before she stood back and gave him a thorough once-over. “Don’tyoulook gorgeous.”
“As do you.” He laughed, holding their hands out and gesturing to her dress. “Dior?”
