“River is as well. She wouldn’t show Row and me a single part of the website until it was live. I’m glad they’ve become friends. I thought at first there might be some chemistry between the two,and maybe there is, but they seem very comfortable. Like they’ve been friends for years.”
“I agree. Patrick doesn’t need any more girlfriends, but a girl that’s just a good friend...” Bran left the thought unfinished.
Raven knew only time would tell how Patrick and River’s relationship evolved.
“Are you ready to walk back to the Fitzwilliam?”
“Sure, I want to shower and change, of course.” Raven felt Bran’s eyes heat as he stood up and held his hand out for her to take it.
“I want to have time to prepare for tonight as well.”
Raven felt her whole body heat, and it wasn’t from the shot of whiskey.
As they neared St.Stephen’s Green, Bran could feel Raven’s tension radiate through her cold fingers that were entwined in his— in her bunched shoulders and soft replies. Maybe he should let up on teasing her about possibly sleeping with him tonight.
He’d thought... well, they were both consenting adults. It should be an easy decision. They were both into each other. Maybe something else was bothering her. Not everything revolved around him.
Bran was about to come out and ask what was going on when Raven slowed further and tugged his hand to stop.
“Would you mind sitting with me for a minute? There’s something I’d like to tell you.” Raven indicated the black, wrought iron bench off the sidewalk.
“Sure.” Now his tension was off the charts. What could have happened in the last ten minutes?
As they sat down, Raven clasped and unclasped her hands nervously. She smoothed her palms over her jeans and fiddled with two of her shirt’s buttons.
“Okay, I’m just going to warn you. I’m about to word vomit on you, so... just let me get it all out.”
Bran only nodded his head for her to continue. Now he was sweating.
“My sisters and I have always taken our studies and academics quite seriously. We knew in high school that we would own a business together someday. We even had a rough sketch of what that business would look like before we ever went to college. We never lost focus of our goals. We kept each other on the path. We dated some, very little. We preferred going out in friend groups to party. And then, after our parents...”
Oh wow. Holy motherfucking hell. He thought he knew where Raven might be going with this. He wanted badly to interrupt her ‘word vomiting,’ but he’d agreed to let her have her way in this.
“After our parents’ passing, we doubled down on our focus. We spent every hour not in class learning about the ins and outs of starting a business. Permits, insurance, location, social media. By our senior year, we were working out of our small apartment, doing small design jobs on the weekends.” Here she paused and finally looked at his face and not his chest.
“I, that is... we... we.”
Her mouth was opening and closing. She was attempting to find the right words. Bran desperately wanted to help.
“So,” with a few swirling, nonsensical hand motions, she finished with, “none of us has had sex. I mean, we’re all big readers, especially romances. We’vereadall about sex. In great detail.”
Stuttering slightly on the worddetail, she persevered. “But... well, that was all I wanted to say. I didn’t want to surprise youif something happens tonight between us, or... or perhaps not please you with my inexperience.”
Before Bran could formulate a reply, she added, “I would really like to stop talking now.”
Her attempt at levity worked. They both smiled at one another. “I appreciate your honesty, Raven. I do. As you’ve been honest, so will I. I’ve never slept with a virgin, and now I’m nervous I might not pleaseyou.Ifsomething happens tonight.”
Here, he leaned forward and brushed his lips to hers. She sighed in relief at the contact. “Is it too soon to mention that I am now very, very consumed with thoughts of being your first? That I am caveman enough to want to be your last?”
“Not too soon.” Raven hopped off the bench with renewed purpose and grabbed Bran’s hands to pull him to his feet. “Let’s get ready for dinner.”
Strolling toward The Fitzwilliam, Bran was bemused to realize that he could relate to Raven’s vulnerability. He was thirty years old, had had several lovers, and couldn’t remember a single thing about the encounters. He suddenly found himself in similar territory with the woman walking next to him.
The dinner was incredible.Unfortunately, neither Bran nor Raven was hungry. They were thankful Dom suggested the Glovers Alley tasting menu.
Her favorite had been the Carlingford Lobster. Bran loved the scallop dish. They both chose the same dessert, a mango, pineapple, and praline concoction. Heaven. The table was surrounded by balcony windows overlooking the city. It was a clear night, and the city’s view looked like a painting straight out of a museum.
It was a fairytale evening.
