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That was all I needed to hear to calm down my anxiety. Rowan was real. I was real. This thing between us, whatever it was, is real. We were just two people who had an incredible attraction for one another and we were going on a simple date. There was nothing dramatic about it and no reason for me to worry so much.
As the car kept driving though, I realized that we weren’t in Manhattan anymore. In fact, we’d gone through the Lincoln Tunnel and were now winding our way through Jersey City before heading to the suburbs of the Garden State.
“Really?” I asked, unable to hide my confusion. “We’re going to hang out in Jersey?”
Rowan chuckles.
“You’re a New Yorker at heart, aren’t you? We’re going to Passaic to be exact. You’ll see. I promise it’s a lovely suburb, and you’ll like it. Trees are a blessed change from buildings sometimes,” he jests. I giggle because he was right. The second we pulled up in front of the small Italian restaurant I already felt like we were exactly where we were supposed to be.
A young man came out to our car and opened the door before the driver could get out and do it himself.
“Welcome Mr. Crane,” the young man bowed. “It’s a pleasure to see you again.”
“Thank you,” Rowan said, stepping out. Then, instead of letting the valet help me out of the car, the billionaire did it himself before ducking his head into the car to speak to the driver. “We’ll be a while Roger, but I’ll text you.”
I couldn’t even imagine what life was like with a driver. I literally planned every day around how long it was going to take me to take the train to go somewhere. I had to think about the amount of groceries I bought, not to mention where I bought them, so I could carry them home. Someone who had money like Rowan just didn’t have to think about those things.
“It must be nice,” I whispered as we walked up the stairs to the restaurant.
“Nice, what?” he asked while pulling the door open for me.
I smile.
“Just nice to have everyone at your beck and call.”
He chuckled deep in his throat, blue eyes gleaming.
“The only person I want at my beck and call is you, honey. Now, in you go.”
I stepped inside and was immediately taken aback because there was no one inside except a maître d’ at the hostess station.
“Mr. Crane,” he bowed. “This way, please.”
I took Rowan’s hand while shooting a worried glance at him.
“Where is everyone?” I whisper.
He squeezes my small palm.
“Don’t worry about it,” he whispers back. His big palm stayed on the small of my back as we were led deeper into the restaurant and straight to a table that was made up for two in the middle of the main room. What in the world? How could there be just one table available, with no one else around? Rowan grinned, his teeth white in the low lights.
“I reserved the entire restaurant for us, honey. It’s impossible to hear someone talk when this place is full, and I wanted some privacy.”
The billionaire tossed off those words as nonchalantly as ordering a pizza. Oh, so he just reserved an entire restaurant for a date with me? What! This was so crazy. Who does stuff like this? Apparently Rowan Crane, and I was falling for him. No one had ever gone to such an effort to make me happy. This was something dreams were made of and I sat at the chair he pulled out, dazed.
“That was really sweet of you, thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” he grinned. “Make yourself comfortable honey. The food here is delicious, so pick whatever you want.”
My eyes scanned the menu even as my brain whirred. For some reason, part of me thought that all Rowan wanted was sex. We have crazy chemistry after all, and literally hooked up in his office twice. I guess I figured that maybe he just asked me out on a date to make this whole thing seem more normal, even though it’s not.
But now, it did feel different. Being with him felt different. This is definitely a real date, and not only that, but my man went out of his way to make sure we had a great set-up. He was Rowan Crane and he didn’t have to go to this much effort for some intern he had shagged in his office. Yet, he appeared to want to make this night special and that made me feel really good about being here with him. The question is: how long will it last? Or will everything go up in a poof once the going gets tough?
8
Rowan
“So tell me sweetheart. Are you wearing panties tonight?” I teased halfway through our dinner.
Natalie blushed.
“Maybe you’ll get to find out later,” she murmured. I grinned.
