When they arrived at the restaurant, he paid the cab driver, jumped out, and jogged around the back of the cab to open her door for her. His father had taught them all old-fashioned manners, and they seemed to be appreciated by refined women—like Kizzy.
“The restaurant is on the second floor.”
She preceded him up the stairs, and he couldn’t help staring at her perfect ass. How he wished he could cup those globes. Not yet, though. It was too soon for anything like that.
Their table was right next to the window, which looked out onto the neon lights of the various theaters and restaurants.
“This is a nice view,” Kizzy said.
“Not as nice as mine,” Noah said, and then he groaned. “Sorry. That sounded like something cheesy my brother would say.”
She laughed. “Yeah. That didn’t sound like you.”
“It’s not. But sometimes I wish I had all the smooth lines and cockiness to pull them off.”
“You don’t need them. In fact, I’m glad you don’t resort to that.”
They glanced at each other shyly. It was their first awkward silence, but it wasn’t horribly uncomfortable. He just chalked it up to two bashful people on their first date. Then they both started talking at once. And chuckled.
“You go first,” Noah said.
Kizzy took a deep breath. “I…I’m not sure how to begin. I think we should take things slow.”
“How slow?”
“Slooooooow.”
A waiter chose that moment to introduce himself and ask for their drink order. Noah ordered a vodka tonic. Something in Kizzy’s expression said he might need it.
After Kizzy had ordered a glass of wine, the waiter left, and Noah just stared at her.
She reached across the table and grasped his hand. “It’s not you.”
Noah groaned. “Oh great. Here comes the ‘It’s not you, it’s me’ story.”
“No, it’s not me either! I’m afraid there’s some family drama going on right now. It’s a really, really bad time to start a relationship.”
Noah sat up straighter. “Is there anything I can do to help?”
“That’s kind of you, but no. It’s one of those things that has to stay among family members.”
“I understand.” And sadly, he did. “We have family drama sometimes too.”Like when one of my brothers burns to death and reincarnates.
She tipped her head. “Drama? Like why your brother has a monkey who wears his girlfriend’s blouse and carries her purse?”
Noah’s jaw dropped. When he could speak again, he said, “The monkey was wearing Mallory’s top? And that thing around her neck was Mallory’s purse?”
“Mm-hmm.”
“Are you sure?”
“I was admiring her JanSport crossbody bag when she sat down with us, and I noticed her blouse had cute little pin tucks. The girl has good taste. I guess the monkey does too.”
Noah closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “I don’t know what to tell you. I didn’t see any of that.”
Kizzy was quiet, but he could sense her mind spinning.
“So, what happened to Mallory?” she asked.
Noah leaned back and frowned. “Damned if I know. Oh—sorry about the swearing. I know you don’t like it. If it weren’t rude as heck, I’d pull my cell phone out and call Dante right now.”
“Don’t. I’m sure there’s a good explanation, but I’m just as sure I won’t hear the truth even when you know it. Like we were saying before, family drama should stay within the family.”
He sighed. She was probably right.
And she was right about taking their relationship slow too. Both of them had family stuff going on. But he doubted she would understand his family stuff no matter how slow they took things. Sometimes, he wanted to fall on the double-edged sword of being paranormal.
