Inside, gentle acoustic guitar music kept the spot from being too quiet. The warmly polished cedar tables were draped with white linens. In the center of each table, a frosted blush-pink glass candle holder modeled in the shape of a sea urchin added to the gracious lighting. Larger, hanging lamps that mimicked that same shape hung throughout the space.
It was dreamy and perfect. Paige wished she could have filmed a little footage but there was no way she was ruining this night with something so pedestrian. She’d find some images from the restaurant’s website and use those.
They’d finished their salads, and their main courses were on the way. She’d chosen the pan-seared red snapper with citrus beurre blanc and crispy leeks over risotto. He’d gone for the cedar-planked twin Florida lobster tails in brown butter with herbed couscous and roasted asparagus.
Graham straightened his knife on the tablecloth. “Seems all right so far, don’t you think?”
“It’s more than all right. It’s probably the nicest place I’ve been to in years.”
He seemed obviously pleased. “Fitting, then, because this is the nicest evening I’ve had in years.”
“Haven’t you eaten here before?”
“No, but I’ve wanted to.” He smiled. “Thank you for agreeing to come with me, but as you can see, this was all arranged for purely selfish reasons.”
She laughed. “You’re a lot of fun.”
“Oh, don’t say that. I’ll lose my English citizenship. We aren’t allowed to be fun, you know.”
She was still chuckling as their server arrived with two gorgeous plates. They tucked in. She loved the way he held his fork.
He caught her watching. “I can’t help myself. I know I live here now but old habits die hard.”
“Don’t change a thing,” she said. “Not for anyone.”
“This is going to be awfully forward of me, but I cannot imagine any sane man making the decision to divorce you. Was your ex-husband in his right mind? Had he suffered a head injury? Was he immediately removed to an asylum? Again, it’s not my business, but I cannot make it make sense.”
She wanted to tell him the truth, but she’d made that mistake before. People—men, especially—looked at her differently when she explained that her husband had left her for another man. She hated that look. Like they were trying to figure out what was wrong with her.
Or how awful she must be to make a manchange teams, as she’d heard it said. So she relied on her usual explanation. “He fell in love with someone else.”
Graham’s brows lifted. “I’m not naive, I know it happens. But it still seems unfathomable to me.”
“Thank you. That’s kind of you.”
“Kind has nothing to do with it. I am merely being honest. Big proponent of truth, myself.”
“So am I. Even more so after what I went through with…all of that.”
Graham lifted his water glass. “To honesty, then.”
“To honesty.” She clinked her glass against his. She was falling hard and fast and she was powerless to stop it. The realization frightened her. Graham seemed wonderful, but she knew so little about him. Time to fix that. “Tell me more about yourself.”
“What would you like to know? I am an open book. As much as the Official Secrets Act allows me to be.”
“You were really and truly MI6?” Paige leaned on her elbow, studying him. “And if so, what exactly did youdoin D.C.?”
“I was really and truly MI6.” Graham’s mouth curved faintly. “And mostly I attended meetings that never made it onto anyone’s calendar.”
“That sounds suspiciously vague.”
“Good. It means I haven’t forgotten the rules.”
She smiled. “You were well-trained at keeping secrets, then.”
“Only the boring ones,” he said. “The interesting ones are classified.” He put his hand to his heart. “I swear it on king and country, although if we’re sticking with that honesty thing, I much prefer the late queen to her son.”
“She was truly a remarkable woman. And now, a legend.”
