There were actually a lot of things that Chase wanted to talk to Emma about. He hadn't spoken with her since their first meeting at thatlawyer's office. His assistant had coordinated the plans for tonight with Emma and then made the reservation for them. Emma had specifically requested The Fish Fry for some reason. Maybe she had heard the buzz about it and wanted to take advantage of Chase's fame to get a reservation. Maybe she assumed that a place like that was expensive enough to drop some real money and get this challenge rolling.
Chase's driver pulled into the restaurant's parking lot and stopped right in front to let him out. "Mr. Warwick, just be aware that there's a Lakers game tonight, so we may be a little delayed in picking you up depending on when your dinner is over."
"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind," he said with a smile.
But really? They were pushing him to the back of the queue for a regular-season Lakers game? It wasn't even the playoffs. But Chase had to remind himself that it didn't matter that much as he was paying nothing for this car service tonight. It was all going on Emma's tab.
He put on his Hollywood smile as he walked into the place, throwing extra wattage at the woman behind the maitre d' stand.
"How are you tonight?" he said with extra sweetness.
"Hi, Mr. Warwick! It's great to see you," she replied with the same extra sweetness as she grabbed two menus from her stand. "We alreadyhave your table waiting for you if you want to follow me."
She led him to a bank of windows that looked out on to the ocean with dark booths close to the edge. Chase was a bit worried that he was the first one here, as if Emma could possibly stand him up or something. So he decided to take the seat facing the front entrance to make sure he wouldn't miss her coming in.
The maitre d' left him to peruse the menu, and he had just started to check out The Fish Fry's specials for the day when he heard it. It was like a low hum or murmur from the people sitting around him, like something was drawing their attention away from dinner.
That's when he turned and saw her, and he immediately understood when the buzz was about.
Emma Colton was walking through The Fish Fry in a gorgeous dress that even made Chase stop what he was doing. It was dark blue, like a midnight blue, with a big skirt piled high with tulle that shimmered as she walked. It was like twinkling stars that blinked with each step. The top of it was the same midnight blue with a low v-neck cut in front and was held up by two little spaghetti straps that honestly made Chase's pants feel a little tighter. It wouldn't take much for those things to snap and that top to expose whatever she was hiding under that silky fabric.
Her hair was down but looked like it hadbeen professionally styled. Gone was the flat style she had a few days ago, replaced with soft curls that gave it depth and made him want to run his fingers through it. He had been in enough make-up trailers over the years to know that her make-up was definitely professionally done, but in a soft, light way that still made it look natural.
He knew full well that everyone in that restaurant had their eyes on Emma and Chase, and he loved it. He wanted everyone to see that he was with a woman that hot. He stood up and greeted her as she walked up to the table, placing a gentle kiss on her cheek before laying his hand on her back to direct her to her seat across from him, feeling warm skin under his palm. The back of Emma's dress had a deep cut in it, exposing an expanse of luscious skin under his touch.
Damn, he was lucky she was his date tonight.
Get a grip, he tried to tell himself. This wasn't a date. Emma wasn't some big-name actress or the normal model he would pick up and then have his way with later. This was... well, he wasn't sure what she was to him. A friend? Not really. Acquaintance? Eh. A business partner? Sure, that sounded good for now.
"Did you find the place OK?" he said as he sat back down across from her.
"Yeah, it was fine."
Huh. All dressed up, but her attitude didn't match her physical appearance. She was probably still a little bitter about this whole spendingmoney to get her inheritance, or maybe she felt as awkward about this as he did. Chase decided it would be his mission to make her warm up to him as best as he could. After all, they had to work together for the next month to get her that money.
"I'm glad you chose this place. This view is amazing, and there's something so calming about the beach, right?"
He could see something stormy brewing behind Emma's eyes, but she quickly blinked it away. He would have to remember not to mention the beach again apparently. Although he did wonder what that was about and why, if she had a reaction like that, she suggested this place for dinner.
"It's a nice view," she replied in a clipped tone.
Emma turned and gave him a tight smile that he knew was fake, but he had to give her credit for at least trying.
"How about some wine?" he asked.
He started to look at the menu before their waiter showed up to yammer on about the specials.
"I heard the fish sticks are amazing," Chase said, exaggerating the "amazing" to get Emma to buy into it.
"They are one of our biggest requests," their waiter said with extra enthusiasm.
"Yeah, that sounds fine," was all Emma said in that clipped tone again.
"And we were just talking about some wine.How is this bottle of pinot noir?" Chase looked up to see Emma giving a moody stare to the wine menu. "Sorry, are you not a pinot fan?"
Emma shook her head. "It's fine, but it's kind of cheap. What about this four-hundred-dollar bottle?"
A huge smile spread across the waiter's face. "Oh, that's a wonderful choice. One of my favorites!"
