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Gavin looks over the edge of his menu. “You picked this vegetarian Korean place, after you vetoed every one of my selections I mig
ht add, so that sounds fair. But just out of curiosity, what is the wrong way?”
“I don’t want you to think that I will allow you to make any other decisions for the rest of our engagement.” I am counting on the fact that he will notice I said “engagement” and not “friendship.” There are times when he makes better choices than me.
“But you’re acknowledging my superior ordering skills?”
I set my menu down. “If I order for myself, I’ll ask for one of everything on the menu. I can’t decide. The smell of dumplings and stone rice bowls is overwhelming my common sense.”
“You know I’ve never been here,” he points out.
“I trust you to make good selections,” I say solemnly. “You will order the dumplings won’t you?”
He nods. “Steamed—”
“Are you crazy? They will be much better fried.”
He furrows his brow. “I’m getting the sense your trust in my ordering skills only extends so far.”
The waiter appears at the edge of our table, where the velvet curtains have been pulled back to offer a glimpse of the world beyond our space. Gavin smiles at our server and proceeds to order half the menu. We will have enough leftovers to feed us for a week. Our waiter leaves bewildered, but I get the feeling he is also aware there is a very large tip in his future. A bottle of organic Pinot Blanc arrives seconds later.
I take a sip of the overpriced white wine. “Delicious.”
“You’re an easy date,” Gavin says.
I take that as a challenge and shift to the question and answer portion of dinner. “What were your plans for this weekend?” I demand. “Before things fell apart with Alexandra and you escaped to the country to save Luna?”
“Eating lots and lots of meat.”
The waiter places an order of fried tofu dumplings on the table between us.
“I’m serious,” I say. I’m also regretting the single order of dumplings. One look at that plate of culinary perfection, and I know I could easily eat two servings without Gavin’s help.
“Work. I’m developing a new software,” he says. “Plus, there are a few investment opportunities that crossed my desk recently. I haven’t checked my calendar, but I suspect I was scheduled to appear at a charity function last night.”
“You suspect?” I select a second dumpling.
“Okay, I glanced at my calendar yesterday.” He takes a single piece from the plate and then pushes it closer to me. “I said yes to a charity that provides technology to underfunded public schools in the five boroughs.”
“A worthy cause. I’m sure they missed you.”
“I’ll send them an even bigger check. They will celebrate my absence.” He makes a move on the last dumpling but then wisely chooses to set his chopsticks aside and reach for his wine glass. “What about you? Did you have any plans?”
“A hot date.” I push the empty appetizer dish to the edge of the table as the waiter presents the stuffed shitake mushrooms. “But he wouldn’t have fed me like this. I’m starting to believe that accepting your proposal was a very wise move on my part.”
Gavin sets his wine glass down and leans forward. “Seriously? You had a date and you didn’t tell me?”
I point my chopsticks at him across the table. “I didn’t know you had a girlfriend named Alexandra until Friday night. And no, I’m kidding. I didn’t have a hot date.”
He snags a mushroom. “Good, that would complicate … things. If you were seeing someone.”
“It would. But you’re the only man in my life right now. I tried dating after Mr. Mistake. It didn’t take long to realize another relationship isn’t a wise move for me. I’m still relishing my independence even if I do miss the sex. ”
“Not all guys are like your ex-husband.”
“True. And logically, I know that. But I don’t trust myself to know the signs yet. After most first dates, I was convinced the guy I met for dinner or drinks has the potential to become a controlling scumbag. Then I would reflect on how crazy that sounded. But what if I dated the guy for a while, fell for him, and then he tried to cut me off from my friends and take control over every choice in my life?”
“Kayla, look at me, not the mushrooms,” Gavin demands.
