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“Oh.” I wasn’t sure how to respond to that so I just nodded in agreement.
He gentled his stare, sensing my discomfort. “Who takes care of you when you get distracted by projects?”
“What?” Why did he always leave me speechless? “No one. I mean, I do. I guess.”
James sighed as he hit the gas for the green light. I couldn’t tell what he was thinking, but he didn’t look happy.
Once again, I wanted to ask if he was mad at me. But I had a feeling he was, and I didn’t want to hear the reason why. No sense ruining the night with reality when I could pretend he was into me and that I had a chance of getting him into my bed later.
The restaurant looked like a typical family-owned business on the outside. A cute building that was well kept and modest. But inside, it was clearly on the high end. I even saw a Michelin sign behind the hostess stand when we were waiting to be seated.
Almost as soon as we walked in, the chef walked out and pulled James into a bear hug. “Hey, big guy. Good to see you.”
James patted his friend’s back before pulling away. “You too, Trent. You’re looking good.”
The man in a black chef’s coat patted his belly. “Been getting high on my supply for a little too long, but at least I know you’re gonna love your dinner.” He finally turned to me. “And who is this precious thing?”
My cheeks heated at the endearment, and I looked to James for the introduction. I didn’t exactly want to say I was his mechanic…but that summed us up pretty well.
“This is Max, the sweet boy I’ve been thinking about since I first saw him at Julian’s a few nights ago.”
“Julian’s?” Trent raised an eyebrow, silently questioning James.
James merely nodded, not needing to explain. That clearly meant Trent was aware of or maybe even a member of Primal too.
For some reason, that was reassuring to me. “It’s nice to meet you, sir.”
Trent smiled at me before looking over at James. “I like him already, man. Let’s get you seated so I can feed you until you look like me.”
James chuckled and placed his arm behind my back, tugging me into his side as we followed his friend deeper into the restaurant.
We got settled in and a bottle of red wine appeared at the table before we even had a chance to look at the menu.
“Compliments of the chef.” The server winked at James, but he didn’t give the man a second look.
His attention was locked on me. “Do you drink, sunshine?”
“Yeah, sometimes.” Technically, almost never, but this was a special occasion, and I needed something warm to settle my stomach. “I don’t know much about wine, but I’ll give it a try.”
8
JAMES
Our dinner was delicious, and Max discovered he had a taste for wine.
I almost cut him off after two glasses, but he was finally relaxed enough to start jabbering to me, so I decided to let him pour the third. I planned to get him safely into bed later on, so I wasn’t too worried about him getting tipsy.
Safely into his bed alone.
“I should be honest with you…” Max tucked his chin and looked up at me through long lashes, waving his spoon above his molten lava cake.
“Agreed.” I grinned, loving how adorable he was. “Always.”
“So, I’ve never had a Daddy before. I mean, I was born with a daddy, and he’s still around and all that, but…” He shrugged and looked almost defeated. “You know. A Daddy like the kind you are.”
Okay, now we were getting somewhere. “And what kind of Daddy am I?”
Max huffed in frustration and then reached for his glass to take another sip. If he finished this last glass, he’d probably be puking in the morning. But I was too intrigued to stop him. “You know. Like, the kind who takes care of you and orders all your food and makes you brush your teeth and helps with bath time…” He abruptly stopped himself and then cocked his head, attempting a very loud stage-whisper across the table. “Wait, do you like diapers?”
