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In an effort to convince me that New York was the right next step, she had asked me to meet her in the city to see a few potential office spaces and discuss what the future held. Trying to sell me on city living, she told me to take off early and spend the night at a hotel Maddox had booked for me. The company card was mine to use for per diem.
I couldn’t really say no to that.
Tatum pulled me into a long, slow kiss. When I was thoroughly sedated from his lips, he released my mouth and said, “I know. Which is why I told the boys I wasn’t gonna be at the facilities to work out with them in the morning.”
I raised an eyebrow. “What?” Tuesdays were technically his day off, but there were no real days off in professional football. Only days where you were required to be at the facilities, and days you were expected to be at the facilities.
He nodded. “I thought we could go to the city together, have dinner—a real date—and stay the night.” He kissed behind my ear, sending shivers rocketing down my spine. “Tomorrow, you’ll meet with Colette, and Sam has a car arranged to bring me back here. I told Gid, Theo, and Seth to push back our day of Mandatory Misery until after dinner.”
I snickered. “You mean Mandatory Fun.”
“It’d be fun if Seth wasn’t there.”
“You two still not getting along?”
“He’s a punk.”
“Everyone’s a punk at twenty. But it seems to me like he’s started putting in a little more effort.”
Tatum grumbled something about being the exception to the punk rule.
Laughing, I wiggled out of his arms and padded back to the bathroom to finish setting my hair in rollers. Tatum stood sentry in the doorway, arms crossed as he watched me work the curling iron and rollers across the other side of my head. “I can’t figure out if this counts as our first date or not.”
If I was being honest, I was a little giddy at the prospect of a whole date, overnight stay, and lazy morning with him. A morning that didn’t include waking up at dawn to sneak out of one of our apartments.
“We had a first date,” Tatum said with a laugh as he scrolled through his phone.
I brushed out my curls and flew through my makeup routine at record speed. “True, but I didn’t know you were a professional athlete, and you didn’t know that I was a cheerleader for your team.”
I pecked his cheek, leaving a faint lipstick print. “This will be our first real date with no more secrets.”
* * *
Nonna’s wasa swanky Manhattan eatery with crisp linens and modern decor contrasted by the old-world charm of the exposed brick and overhead beams. A statement chandelier in rustic wood that reminded me of Tuscany offered a warm ambiance.
One look at the menu, and both Tatum and I decided that we were going carte blanche—chef’s choice.
I swirled my chianti riserva around my wine glass and watched as the legs formed along the bowl. Tatum, now dressed in a suit and tie, studied me from across the table. “You look nervous,” he said, stroking his thumb across the top of my hand. He tilted his head to the side and watched for my reaction. I didn’t give him one. “What’s on your mind, Little Bird?”
I smiled softly at hearing him use the moniker. Something about being his little bird gave me a sense of peace, even when everything seemed to be on the verge of catastrophe.
I took another sip. “We could get caught.”
A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. “We could.” He gave my hand a reassuring squeeze. “But Sam called ahead to the restaurant. This place deals with bigger names than us. Apparently, discretion is a specialty here. Besides, a bigger city makes it easier to blend in, don’t you think?”
I shrugged. “I supposed.”
“You look beautiful tonight,” he said with enough sweetness to give me a cavity.
I tangled our fingers together. “This feels weirdly normal.”
He chuckled. “Is that a bad thing?”
“No.” I shook my head. “But it has me wishing more nights could be like this. I mean, don’t get me wrong—I like hanging out with you at home, but it’s nice being able to go out and not get hounded, you know?”
“Yeah.” He drew my hand to his lips and kissed it. “If you take Colette’s offer and run the new branch, this could be your life every day.”
A pang of longing struck me deep in my gut. Was it too soon to take our relationship into consideration when deciding whether I was going to take the job?
