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He laughed and nestled against her neck. “Always with the plans. As far as my plans are concerned, I’m going to take you out to dinner and a movie tonight. A real date.”
That perked Bronte up. See? Already, they were making a real go of it. Bronte Hollinger and CJ Cunningham. They could do it.
They arrived at the restaurant to discover it hopping, even on a Sunday night. The walls were painted in bright colors, full of mosaics depicting life in Mexico. The floor was jam-packed with wooden tables and chairs, a tequila bar sitting right in the center.
“Table for two, please,” Chris said.
The hostess barely glanced up from the seating chart on her iPad. “It’ll be about twenty-five minutes, but you can have a seat at the bar to wait if you’d like.”
“Okay.”
“What’s the name?” she asked, finally looking up.
“Chris.”
The woman glanced up as she began to type then did a double take. “Chris?”
Bronte caught the anxious look he sent her, and she grabbed his hand as he cleared his throat.
The whites of the hostess’s eyes widened. “CJ Cunningham. That’s you, isn’t it?”
“Yes,” he answered quietly.
Her posture changed, and she rolled her shoulders back, flicking her long hair over her shoulder, undoubtedly striving for his attention. Even when Bronte stood right there. As if she was invisible.
“It’s very nice to meet you, CJ. My name’s Gina.” The girl held up a finger, winking. “Let me see what I can do for you.”
When Gina flitted away, he puffed out his cheeks and blew out a long breath, scratching at his chin. “I should have worn a hat or something.”
Bronte placed a reassuring hand on his arm, having no words at all to offer. It was really strange to witness other people’s reactions to him, so it must have been even more unnerving to be the subject of it all.
Gina returned a minute later, waving them forward to a table in the back next to the kitchen. A few people took notice of them as they walked, and when Gina pointed to their seats, her eyes flickered back and forth between Bronte and Chris before finally settling on him, ignoring Bronte. “What brings you here tonight, CJ?”
“I’ve been spending some time in town, and I heard you guys have great food.” He smiled at Bronte.
“Wonderful. Ricky will be over to take your order shortly.” She pivoted away slowly, but her swaying hips went completely ignored by Chris, who hid behind his menu.
“You all right?” Bronte asked.
“Everyone is staring. Last year, I wouldn’t have cared, but now…”
She skirted her gaze around the restaurant, lots of heads turned backward, necks craning up, big owl eyes blinking, and she suddenly wished they’d stayed home. She’d convinced herself she was okay with the other half of Chris’s life, but it was a difficult change to make. To go from dating the guy only she knew to one the whole world knew.
“We don’t have to stay if you don’t want to,” she said, hoping she didn’t sound too anxious.
“No. No.” He put the menu down and twined his fingers with hers on top of the table. “I want to have a nice night with you, a regular date.”
Bronte nodded. If he could stand the curious stares in his everyday life, she supposed she could handle it for an hour or so.
“It won’t always be like this, right?” she asked hopefully, and even though he smiled, it didn’t reach as his eyes as usual.
Ricky arrived and thankfully wasn’t as starstruck as Gina. He was professional and understanding when Chris asked if he could make sure they were afforded as much privacy as possible. After leaving a large tip, they made their way out of the restaurant with a few whispers trailing behind, and Chris waited until they were outside to take Bronte’s hand in his, pulling her close. “After all this time out of the public eye, it feels like I was hibernating or something.”
“You were.” She rubbed his days-old stubble. “I can’t decide which I like better, this pretty-boy version of you or the other, hairier version.” When he dragged his jaw along her palm, it scratched like sandpaper, and she smiled. “I know I like the feel of this.”
“Yeah?” he rasped.
“Mm-hmm. I like the feel of it against my thighs, seeing the red marks the next day.”
