“Do either of you have any allergies?”
We both shake our heads no.
“Okay, then.” She adorably bounces. “Enjoy your first course, and I’ll bring the rest out when ready.”
“We appreciate that.” Gerard nods.
Wendy flitters away, leaving us to our appetizer and unfinished conversation.
“Cute girl,” Gerard comments.
“She is. I thought you were going to bite her head off for a second though.”
Gerard pauses. A thoughtful look on his face. “I’m only violent when I have to be.”
My eyes widen. “Do you have to be violent often?”
“No so much anymore.” He cuts though his mozzarella meticulously. “My past is rocky. My position demands respect. And sometimes to enforce respect, you can’t show an ounce of weakness.”
I stare at Gerard, trying to make sense of what he’s telling me. “What kind of position?”
One corner of his mouth turns up and a dimple pops out of his cheek. “We’ll talk about that, darlin’, I promise. Just not right now.”
“Okay,” I respond, slightly confused.
Gerard slides his hand across the table and takes mine. His skin is so warm; his grip is so solid. I look down at our joined fingers, and I love the connection. I love his touch. Inside, I become flustered.
“Kristen, there’s some things about me, about my past, that might be hard for you to accept. I am who I am, but before I dump all my dirty secrets onto the table, I want you to know me. I want you to know who I really am before you finally judge me.”
“I don’t judge anyone.”
Gerard scoffs. “People always judge, even when they don’t mean to.”
“Are you like a masked murder or something?”
“Or something.” There’s a dark, humorous undertone in his voice.
His grip gets a little tighter. “I’m really enjoying your company, Kristen. And I’m not trying to scare you.”
“Well, you kinda are.”
“I’ll never give you a reason to be scared of me. I’m just rough around the edges, and sometimes I forget not everyone is used to that.”
“I kind of like your rough edges,” I admit coyly.
“Good. Hopefully, you’ll find a few other things to like about me.”
I bite my lip.I can already list a few. Your eyes, your smile, your face, your laugh, your body . . .
Gerard pulls his hand away from mine, and the loss of contact leaves me lonely. “Now, finish telling me all about how your business came to be.” He relaxes back in his seat, full attention on me like a spotlight. It’s not intimidating at all.
I clear my throat and continue where I left off. “Well, like I was saying, we ran in an elite circle. My ex-husband knew people, and one of Kira’s friends’ moms at the time was an executive producer on one of those big-name shopping channels. She loved the goodie bag and asked if I ever thought about producing a line. I never did — it was just for Kira — but Dex saw an opportunity and forcefully encouraged me.”
“Forcefully encouraged?”Gerard asks.
“We’ll get to my ex when we’re ready to swap dark secrets. You’re not the only one with a rocky past.” I pick up my drink and take a hefty sip. Dex will always be a trigger for me, no matter how much time passes.
“Fair enough.” Gerard pins me with glowering blue eyes. He definitely has a dark side, but for some reason, it doesn’t intimidate me. Not the way Dex’s dark side did. It feels like a different kind of dark. Reactive instead of proactive. Dex was always looking to start a fight. Gerard is just ready when the fight comes looking for him.
