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“What are they betting on?” I needed to deflect him. If I thought about the night after our romantic dinner for two, I might not make it through the dinner.
“On whether or not he managed to get you a gift of good taste, my dear.” El Diablo stepped toward me, his arm wrapped around Jezebel. “I’m afraid I lost quite a bit of money because of your man there.”
“I-I’m sorry. I didn’t mean --”
“Relax, little Swan.” El Diablo laughed. “I wasn’t blaming you. I had great plans of laughing at my old friend here. El Segador isn’t exactly known for his finesse. Apparently, he was paying attention all these years. He just ignored anything he didn’t think was useful.”
“Bastard,” Reaper said without heat. El Diablo clapped him on the back before leading us outside.
“Cinderella, your carriage,” he said, grinning at me. “Be back before midnight.” He opened the door to a black limousine, stepping back to allow us entry.
“Wow,” I exclaimed. “This is awesome!”
“Anything for you, baby,” Reaper said, kissing my temple. He helped me inside, then nodded at El Diablo. “No promises on being back before midnight,” Reaper said. “I’m gonna show Swan a good time, no matter how long it takes.”
El Diablo looked pleased with Reaper, though I had no idea what about. “Call if you need anything. Tank said he’d be your chauffeur for the evening. Don’t keep him out too late, or he’ll be cranky.” Everyone laughed.
Another big man in an expensive-looking suit approached the car, tugging at his collar. “I better get hazard pay for this,” he grumbled. “Fuckin’ thing’s uncomfortable as hell.”
“Don’t worry,” Reaper replied. “Everyone knows suits are chick magnets. You’ll have some hapless female undressing you before you know it.” Laughter all around again.
“Off with you now.” El Diablo chuckled. “Take care of our girl. Show her a good time. When you get back, I’ll have an itinerary worked out on other activities for her.”
“Other activities?” I squeaked out my question.
“Of course, baby,” Reaper said, kissing my temple. “I told you we were making that bucket list happen. We’re all working on everything we can to see it done.”
I was incredulous. “There’re things on that list there is no way I can do. I mean, the Mount Everest thing alone is physically prohibitive. Even in my prime, I wasn’t a mountain climber.”
“Just trust me, baby. All you need to worry about is having a good time and enjoying everything to the fullest. Now, wave to everyone.”
I did, and someone closed the door to the limo. Taking a breath, I looked up at Reaper. His beard was neatly trimmed and his hair tied back. Though it was in a tail at the nape of his neck, his hairline was trimmed neatly. It was an unusual look for the man I’d gotten to know over the last day and a half, but he made it work. Hell, I was pretty sure there wasn’t much he couldn’t pull off if he wanted to. The man was seriously gorgeous. And tonight, I was with him. The goofy smile just wouldn’t stay off my face.
“At some point tonight, I’m going to lose my composure and either laugh like a loon or cry. I’m apologizing now in case I embarrass you.”
“Baby, as long as I’m not an asshole and hurt your feelings, I could care less. Laugh. Cry as long as it’s from happiness. You’ll never embarrass me.” He laced our fingers together before bringing my knuckles up to his lips for a kiss. My breath caught. As romantic dinners started, I imagined this was as good as it got. Off the charts.
The Four Seasons didn’t disappoint. We were seated in a private dining area overlooking the sea. Soft lights created a romantic moonlit atmosphere along with the distant crash of waves along the shore. I was so excited I was practically bouncing.
“This… is… the… tits!” I sat with my thigh touching Reaper’s. He just smiled at me indulgently as if he expected this exact reaction and was being duly rewarded for his patience. “But, OMG! This has to be costing a fortune!” I turned to face Reaper. “We don’t have to do this.”
“We absolutely have to do this, and I ain’t hearin’ anything else. Now. Do you want to order or would you like me to do it for you?”
I glanced at the menu in front of me. “I have no idea what any of this stuff even is.” I broke out into giggles, just as I knew I would. It was a combination of nerves and the absurdity of the whole situation. “This is way out of my league, Reaper.”
“Half the fun,” he whispered with a wink.
When the waiter arrived, Reaper ordered for us as if he did this sort of thing every day. An appetizer of king crab and mimosa eggs, then lobster linguine with bottarga, tarragon, and sundried tomatoes for both of us as the main course. The wine he picked out was exquisite.
“You’ve done this before,” I accused gently, looking to compliment him more than dredge up any memories he might have of other women in this kind of setting. Lord knew I’d fall short on that account. I’d never been to a place like this in my life!
“Nope. Not even once. I did observe El Diablo on more than one occasion under cover of protecting him, though. I’m a fast and efficient learner.”
“I can’t wait to taste everything!”
“Taste to your heart’s content. If you don’t like something, we’ll get something different. This is your night, baby.”
“But it’s so expensive,” I whispered. The whole meal probably cost more than I wanted to know, because after I’d mmm’d and ahhhhh’d over the meal, he’d ordered me the white chocolate mousse for dessert. To top it all off, Reaper took every opportunity to touch my hands and kiss my fingers. Even when management checked to make sure everything was to our liking and the woman tried to flirt with Reaper, it was painfully obvious he only had eyes for me. Yeah. I was in heaven.
