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"To being together with family," he said, holding up his glass of wine.
I clinked mine against his, and for a brief second, I felt like this wasn’t real. Was this a scene from a movie? It definitely didn't feel like my life. I was at an elegant restaurant on Valentine’s Day with a man who cared about his family as much as I cared about mine. Things like that never happened to me.
Drake isn’t for you, Kimberly, no matter how much you like him.He’s the general manager at Maxwell Hotels. If he leaves, like the last one, Travis will be in a pinch again.
The last thing I wanted was to cause an issue.
For our main course, I had roasted chicken breast with mashed potatoes and a cranberry dip. He had veal with carrots and pea puree. The very best part was the dessert—they brought us three types of cheesecake.
"Was it hard for you to relocate to Chicago?" I asked.
"No, I knew I wanted to be near my sister. I wasn’t happy when I arrived, but now I’m starting to like the city. A certain feisty brunette is contributing to that.”
"Drake...." My body tensed. I tucked in my tummy as I held my breath.
“I'm not sure what you’re doing to me, but it brought us here, and I have zero regrets.”
He looked different from that first evening at the bar. He’d been on edge. Now he seemed more relaxed. I could definitely sense things had shifted for him—and I was responsible for that? Hell yes, I'd take the credit.
"I'm glad," I murmured sincerely.
"I'm pretty sure this weekend is going to bump Aspen up to being one of my favorite places."
I swallowed the last bite of cheesecake and took a sip of my second glass of wine. For some reason, it wasn't doing anything to soothe my nerves tonight.Am I more nervous than usual, or does this just have very low alcohol content?
"You expect that sleeping on a cot is going to make your weekend?"
"Being in the company of the same feisty brunette will do that."
Wow, this man.And to think I'd considered him a brute with no manners when I first met him.
"Are you ready to head back to the hotel?" he asked.
I nodded. The wine might not have had any effect, but it had been a long day, and I was exhausted, ready to turn in for the night.
That was until I realized turning in for the night would mean sharing a suite with Drake. And just like that, adrenaline coursed through my veins.
He grabbed our coats from the designated room, holding mine for me while I put my scarf around my neck. Even though my dress had long sleeves, I felt his fingers on my arm when he helped me with my coat, like they were drumming on bare skin. I closed each button carefully as Drake put a hand on my middle back, walking me out of the restaurant. The second we were outside, he took my hand, just as before, and put it in his pocket. Warmth billowed inside me. He'd remembered. My defenses were melting around me.
"Shall we pretend this is a business dinner and call Travis from the hotel?" He trapped my gaze with his, and I knew this was a very important milestone. If I said yes, we could go ahead and pretend we were two work colleagues talking about their days. If I didn't, it would be a date.
I shook my head. "No business talk tonight."
