Regan still grinned, entirely without shame. “Um, okay, first of all, I’d been coming to see you off at the door while smoothly slipping Stunning Charlotte some sort of a shovel talk. Secondly, I didn’t expect you two to be having a Victorian-era pornography shoot out here.”
Sutton narrowed her eyes, even as there was a clear blush rising onto her cheeks. “It—we werenot…”
Despite everything, Charlotte couldn’t help but chuckle. Same old Regan. “A shovel talk?”
Regan shrugged, settling against the doorframe. “Well, Katherine would never forgive me if I didn’t.”
“And you won’t be,” Sutton cut in, arching her friend a look as she handed her the sunflowers. “A vase, please and thank you.”
Regan diligently took the flowers from her. “Aye, aye, captain.”
“Goodbye,” Sutton pointedly said, shaking her head as she turned around to fully step onto the porch next to Charlotte. “Please, let’s escape.”
Charlotte felt Sutton’s fingers brush softly, deliberately against her own, and she turned her hand around to interlace her fingers with Sutton’s. A perfect fit, as always.
As they descended the steps, Regan called out, “Be safe! Have fun! I’ll be here, watching my favorite spawn!”
Sutton shook her head again, that blush still present on her cheeks as she cut Charlotte an apologetic look. “I really, truly am sorry, but I hope you know well enough that I cannot control her at this point.”
Charlotte gently squeezed her hand. “Don’t worry, I ammorethan aware.”
“In fairness, this was why I suggested I meet you at the restaurant,” Sutton said, a slight teasing edge sliding into her voice.
“And, in fairness, if you’d met me at the restaurant, there’s no way I could have done this,” Charlotte murmured as she used their interlocked hands to twirl Sutton away from her at the same time that she used her free hand to open the passenger door, making it so Sutton was guided in a smooth motion into her car.
Sutton’s surprised laugh, coupled with the way her blue eyes gleamed up at Charlotte, made Regan’s appearance at the door more than worth it.
By the timethey’d arrived at La Saveur and put in their order, Charlotte’s butterflies had returned roost.
“I’ve never been here, but I’ve always wanted to,” Sutton commented with an adorable smile on her face.
Charlotte had noted it when they’d walked in, but she hadn’t quite been able to place what, exactly, she felt that look reflected. It was something she hadn’t seen on Sutton in a very long time. Not since they’d first known one another.
For some reason, it bolstered her, made her feel the confidence she’d once felt with Sutton. Back when they’d first done this, Sutton had been so sweet and a little naïve, and Charlotte had felt like she’d had everything under control.
Of course, she’d realized when she’d fallen for Sutton that she truly did not have everything under control and hadn’t felt quite so confident since.
On the other hand, battling with that confidence was this feeling of… newness. This feeling likeshewas the one out of the two of them who was in brand-new waters, and she didn’t want to mess anything up.
“I’ve always wanted to come here, too,” she agreed, looking around.
Sutton’s gaze returned to her, eyes wide, brow arching skeptically. “You’ve never been here?”
Charlotte couldn’t help but laugh at her incredulous tone. “Why do you say it like that?”
Sutton shrugged. “I guess I just believed that you’d been to all of the upscale establishments in the area.”
Charlotte tilted her head, considering her words for a moment before she acknowledged, “You’re not incorrect, for the most part.” She held Sutton’s eyes with her own, as she said, “But this isn’t quite the atmosphere you’d be looking for to take someone to a business dinner.”
La Saveur was the most highly regarded restaurant in the district, known for its intimate setting. She hoped very much that Sutton understood what she hadn’t said, which was that there’d been no one else she’d ever have wanted to be here with.
Shouldshe say that? She wondered and haltingly cursed herself. This feeling of uncertainty, of not knowing the proper thing to say on a date—Did this count as a first date? Did that change things?—was a terrible, unfamiliar sensation.
Sutton tilted her head, a small smile playing around her perfect lips, as she commented, “Charlotte… you seem nervous.”
Charlotte didnotblush. She didn’t do… that.
She rolled her shoulders back, prepared to give a dignified answer. But then she gave in to the blatant affection in Sutton’s gaze.
