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Tobias grabbed the glass of wine he’d been drinking. “I may have pulled a few strings…” he said, still not meeting my eyes.
I blinked, trying to think just how rich this man had to be in order to ‘pull a few strings’ to turn an expensive restaurant into our own personal dining room.
“I think I need a drink too,” I said.
“Of course.” Tobias raised a hand and a waiter practically appeared out of thin air. “More champagne please, and another glass for my friend.”
“Coming right up, sir.” The waiter bowed and then turned toward me. “Good evening, ma’am.”
I nodded. “Good evening.”
“Shall I bring the menus as well?” the waiter inquired.
“Yes, please,” Tobias said. “So, how was your day,” he asked, finally looking at me once our waiter was gone.
“Weird,” I said after a pause.
Tobias raised his eyebrows. “How so?”
I glanced up at the ceiling, debating whether I truly wanted to say what was on my mind. But then I decided since Tobias Gentry had been honest with me right from the start, he deserved my honesty in return. I cleared my throat and looked across the table at him. “Well,” I began, “…I woke up and ordered breakfast through room service.”
Tobias nodded. “No problem.”
“And the waiter, he said that he’d put everything on your tab. On Mr. Gentry’s tab…”
?
??Okay…” Tobias said, clearly trying to understand how any of this constituted as weird.
Right that instant, I lost my nerve. I couldn’t go through with admitting to believing he’d been someone else. He was treating me to a fancy dinner at an expensive restaurant, for crying out loud. How could I sit there and nonchalantly admit, “So by the way, I slept with you last night because I thought you were just joking around. I still thought you were my ex, Preston. Looks like the joke’s on me, huh? Ha ha.”
“Is everything all right?”
My eyebrows shot upward at his question. So lost in my thoughts, I’d been oblivious to the grimace that had crept onto my face. “Yeah,” I said, nervously running a hand over my hair.
Tobias stared, not looking convinced. “Well, are you going to tell me what was so weird about your morning?”
I swallowed and shook my head. “No. Never mind. It’s nothing.”
“Scarlet, come on,” he said. “What is it?”
A long silence stretched between us as I desperately tried to think of what to say. Tobias leaned back in his seat, staring at me. He began drumming his fingers on the table, waiting.
My face had grown so hot, I worried steam was coming out my ears. I stared down at the table cloth, my knees bouncing nervously under the table. “I…I just…I was worried that…that I ordered too much,” I said lamely. I cleared my throat, knowing there was no escaping this lie now. All I could do was roll with it. “You know, you’ve been spending a lot on me, and you don’t even really know me.” I pursed my lips together, still staring at the tablecloth and praying that my lie was at least somewhat convincing.
A low chuckle sounded from across the table. I looked up, seeing Tobias smiling. Even in my state of embarrassment, I couldn’t help noting how sexy he looked. Suddenly, the warmth in my face was there for an entirely different reason.
“Is that all?” Tobias asked.
I swallowed again and nodded.
“Well, trust me,” he said, “you don’t have to worry about that.”
I was prevented from having to respond when waiter returned with more champagne, a glass for me, and two menus.
I opened my menu and stared at it for a while, trying to recollect myself. When I managed to glance upwards though, Tobias was still watching me. His eyes trailed downward, admiring the way my dress hugged my upper curves.
My breath hitched in my throat and I struggled to read the menu, attempting to make sense of the fancy dishes and not having a clue what to order.
