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Shaking herself, she tore her gaze from his and gulped a breath, not realizing she’d been holding it.
“Would anyone care for dessert?” she blurted, interrupting their conversation. Her heart was beating too fast and she avoided the senator’s eyes. “I highly recommend our cheesecake,” she added on auto-pilot.
One of the men—one she’d deemed to be the boss over the other one, based solely on body language—handed her a credit card.
“I believe we’ll call it a night,” he said stiffly, getting to his feet. “Thank you for your time, senator.”
His flunky rushed to stand as well but said nothing.
The senator leisurely tipped his wine glass their way. “Of course. Have a good evening.”
Anne hurriedly ran the card and brought the man the slip to sign. He did so and they left, the first in an obvious huff. She glanced at the slip. No tip. Jerk.
Anne hurried back to the senator. Was he going to stay? She thought he’d be getting ready to leave, too, but he still sat at the table. Relaxed in his chair and toying with his wine glass, he looked self-assured and urbane. She wished he would leave. She had an early day tomorrow as it was and this dinner had been a bust for her.
“Is there anything else I can get for you?” she asked politely, concealing her irritation.
The senator’s lips curved into a sardonic smile. “Well, I don’t think they were very happy. Not that I care. But it’s a shame to waste the wine.” He gestured to a chair. “Care to join me?”
Anne glanced over her shoulder but didn’t see Teste Teddy anywhere around. Technically, she wasn’t supposed to sit with a customer. But not everyone was a senator…or a man quite as breathtaking as this one. She’d regret it in the morning when her alarm went off, no doubt. And being in prolonged company with him was dangerous.
“I only have a few minutes,” she said, sliding into the chair next to him. He filled a glass with too much wine and set it in front of her. “I should thank you for what you did earlier. Saving my job.”
“It was my pleasure,” he said. “Things happen. You shouldn’t lose your job over it.” He took a sip of the wine and Anne’s gaze lingered on his mouth until she tore her gaze away. He was tall—tall enough to tower over her—and filled out the tailored suit he wore to perfection. She’d gotten a glimpse from behind earlier and he had narrow hips and an ass that looked like you could bounce quarters off it. Not that she’d imagined it.
“Theodore is very conscious of who comes into his restaurant,” she said, just to say something. She took a long draw of the wine. It had been a while since she’d been able to afford a good bottle of wine and she savored the taste, letting the cool liquid flow over her tongue and down her throat, warming her insides. It was a very good vintage, indeed. It should be, given the price tag.
“And I’m ‘someone’, I suppose,” he said, a note of bitterness in his voice.
“You knew that already.”
His lips twisted. “I suppose so.”
They were quiet, each taking a drink of the wine. It was nice, and Anne felt her body relax ever so slightly. It wasn’t smart, relaxing with a man like Kirk. But it had been too long since a man looked at her the way he was doing now.
“Who were those men?” she asked, hoping to divert her thoughts from the path they were traveling.
He shrugged. “Lobbyists. Overpaid suits on a mission. The usual.”
“You must have a lot of that.”
“It comes with the job.”
With hair a shade darker than blond, an even, white smile complete with a dimple in one cheek, the senator had the kind of All-American-Quarterback kind of looks that could grace the silver screen or a magazine cover. It was only in person that you caught the aura of an edge to him. An edge kept in tight check, but she could feel it there nonetheless. Anne guessed that those lobbyists had thought they’d be able to manipulate and maneuver him. She thought Blane Kirk was about as maneuverable as a boulder.
His gaze traveled from her face, down her chest, and back up. Her uniform was relatively modest, but the heat in his eyes made her face flush. A man shouldn’t have the power to make her blush, not at her age. Twenty-six was too old to embarrass, and too young for a man like him. She wasn’t stupid. He was a one-way ticket to a one-night-stand.
No thank you.
She stood. “Thank you for the wine, senator. I hope your dinner was satisfactory.”
The look in his eyes said he knew exactly what she wasn’t saying. He got to his feet as well.
“It was delicious, thank you for asking. I plan on having lunch here tomorrow. I trust you’ll be here?”
Ah, yes. His requirements for her employment. “Absolutely,” she said.
“Excellent. Have a good evening, Anne.”
