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Chapter 9 - Rafael
Rafael didn’t think he was a romantic, at least he hadn’t been until he met Ashley. He had so many ideas for what he wanted to do with her that he would never be able to do all of it. He’d finally settled on a restaurant and given them a generous tip to get a table when the restaurant was already full of reservations—he had a feeling it was a place that most people had to wait months for, but he didn’t mind throwing some money around if it meant he could impress Ashley.
On one hand, he doubted his money was really what would interest her, but the restaurant was perfect for a date; in fact most of the tables were set for two. Only a few larger tables existed, so he wouldn’t be surprised if much of their business was romantic evenings for couples. On the other hand, he didn’t want to make Ashley uncomfortable, and he had struggled for something that wasn’t flashy or monetary. That was when he’d recalled the gardens in Washington Park.
His driver pulled up to her office building. Raf swallowed. "I’ll get out to wait for her." He was glad he’d chosen to wear a fancier bronze shirt with the top buttons undone instead of a tie—it would have strangled him in his current state.
"Yes, sir. I’ll raise the privacy screen for you."
Rafael nodded as he opened the street-side door of the luxurious town car. He made himself take a deep breath, then another when that wasn’t enough to calm his racing heart. Why did she affect him so? He was almost tempted to believe fated mates for dragonkin did exist, even if she was human, that’s how strongly he felt the need to be with her. Leaving her yesterday at the lobby of her building had been harder than anything he could recall doing.
He was fidgeting, leaning against the side of the car, when he caught sight of a flash of purple; Ashley was wearing a sleeveless plum purple dress that fell just above her knee and flared out at the hips, drawing his eyes to her hourglass figure, and an ivory shawl that sparkled with golden threads worked in a random scattering. The dress accented her curves, and he just stared for a moment, his mouth dry as a bone.
She hesitated when she caught sight of him, and it was enough to make him close his mouth and smile at her. Her return smile was tentative, but she did approach him then, her heels clicking a staccato beat against the sidewalk that matched the rapid beat of his heart.
"You look stunning," Raf told her, opening the car door for her and offering her one of his best smiles. "I’ll apologize now, because I’m going to get caught staring at you more than once tonight." That he would have liked to skip dinner and peel her out of that dress he kept to himself—for now.
She blushed as she met him at the door. "Thank you, Raf. You don’t look so bad yourself." The humor in her tone sounded a bit forced, but he would try to get her to relax once they had a bit of privacy. For now, he just gestured her into the car with a smile. She climbed delicately into the car and he shut the door, hurrying around to get in the other side—even the barrier of the car felt like a wall between him and his next breath.
When he had closed his door, belted in, and the car had started nudging its way into the flow of traffic, he turned to smile at her and found her worrying the strap of her small ivory purse. "Please relax, Ashley." He offered his hand on the seat between them, not going to invade her space with her looking so uncertain now. "I don’t bite."
She looked from him to his hand and back, then settled her purse in her lap and placed her hand in his. "Sorry, I’m second-guessing this all of a sudden." Her eyes flicked around the generously-sized car, lingering a moment on the raised barrier between them and the front seat.
Raf laced their fingers together slowly, trying not to startle her. She looked jumpy for some reason, and it made his stomach turn to lead. Was she not as interested in him as he was in her? "There’s no need. I want to take you out on the town. I have a dinner reservation, and I thought we might take a walk in a park afterward. I plan to be a gentleman, Ashley. I’m not going to try and rush you into anything you don’t want. You’re in charge."
That seemed to relax her a bit more, to his relief. Her growing smile was easier and broader than before. "I’m sorry if I’m antsy. I haven’t dated in a couple of years now. I feel like I don’t know how anymore."
His thumb stroked gently along hers. "I haven’t either. We can figure it out between us, I’m sure." He wanted to offer her further reassurances, but he wasn’t sure what else to say. "We can talk about the weather all night if it makes you more comfortable."
That made her laugh quietly, and his tense shoulders immediately unknotted at the sound. "I think I can handle more than that. But thank you." Her fingers tightened the slightest amount. "How was work today?"
It was only a step above discussing the weather, but he could take a hint and start small. "I admit I gave up around noon," he told her with a self-deprecating smile. "I might have been a little preoccupied with seeing you tonight."
Ashley blushed prettily, dropping her eyes, but only for a moment. "I would tease you about it, but I was distracted for most of the afternoon, too. I wasn’t quite sure how this would go. Is it wrong that it feels almost backwards to go on a first date now, after already…" She broke off, but he could take her meaning.
"Not at all. I think of it more as fixing my foolishness in not showing you the proper respect from the beginning." He was surprised when the car came to a stop and he heard the driver’s door open. Raf glanced out of the car for the first time since he’d been at her office building and found they had already arrived at the restaurant. That was fast.
His chauffeur opened the door for Ashley and she released his hand—he felt bereft immediately. Rather than get out on his side of the car, he slid over, keeping as close to her as he could. He offered her his arm and escorted her inside. "Reservation for Rafael Brantley," he told the maître d’, barely taking his eyes off his date, who was looking around the restaurant with interest.
"This way, sir." The host led them toward the back of the restaurant, giving them a corner table that had a bit more privacy than the others as Raf had requested. The man held out a chair for Ashley before Raf could get there, but he wasn’t going to make an issue of it. It was the maître d’s job to attend to everything, after all.
They sat down and were given menus, with the wine list offered to Raf. He didn’t even bother to accept it. "You have the 2007 Guffens-Heynen Pouilly-Fuissé Premiers Tris, yes? We’ll start with that."
The man bowed, tucking the wine list under his arm. "Indeed we do, sir. Your waiter will have it for you shortly. Enjoy your meal."
Rafael turned his attention to his date, only to find Ashley watching the maître d’ moving among the tables. He watched her expression, only too happy to memorize the details of her face while she wasn’t paying attention. When she looked back and found his eyes on her, she blushed again. "I didn’t mean to embarrass you."
She shook her head, smiling as she looked back up. "You just looked very focused."
A smile tugged at his lips. "Perhaps I was. Would that be the end of the world?"
She licked her lips, and he couldn’t help but watch the tantalizing tip of her tongue. "This is a very fancy restaurant, Rafael. You didn’t need to go to such expense."
He chuckled. "Please don’t worry about expense with me. I would happily take you to the nicest restaurants in Denver every day if you wished it. Money is not an issue for me, and I don’t even want you to consider it." Belatedly he realized that was a bit pompous, so he backtracked a bit. "I’m not trying to show off my wallet. I just don’t want you to worry. I can take you to a mediocre restaurant next time if you’d like?"
The bit of humor seemed to ease her expression. "I’m not used to fancy restaurants all the time, but thank you." She opened the menu to glance through it, and he could spot the exact moment she realized there weren’t even prices listed, because a little wrinkle appeared between her brows. Her eyes were a little more accusing when they came back to his. "Just how pricey is this place?"
He tried to repress the smirk that wanted to burst free, but he wasn’t sure how well he did. "That’s for me to worry about. Please order anything you like. I am told the bacon-wrapped dates are particularly good; I’m planning to order that if you would like to share, but please do get whatever appeals to you." When she looked about to object, he added, "It helps ease my macho male instincts to be able to take good care of you, Ashley." He liked using her name; it tasted like sunshine and delight.
