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She shrugs. “Sure, it sounds nice.”
Meeting her eyes, I ask, “What are your thoughts on telling the two of them about us? Should we still say something with Willow there? Or should we wait until another time with Arden alone?”
She sighs as she picks off a piece of lint from her black leggings. “I don’t know, Nils. I guess the best course of action at this point is to play it by ear. If the timing feels right, then let’s tell them. But if not…”
“We’ll wait,” I finish for her.
“Yeah, then we’ll wait.”
Ellie
Dinner plans are made, and our “date” night with Arden and Willow is set. But even as Nils and I are driving to the French restaurant we let them pick out, we’re still not sure if we should divulge the news that we’re a couple and are madly in love.
“Are we still playing it by ear?” Nils asks when we stop at a red light about five minutes from the restaurant.
Our hands are joined on the console, and I give him a light squeeze. “Ugh,” I groan, “I don’t know. Part of me just doesn’t feel like saying anything at all. Not tonight.”
Glancing over at me, he says, “I’m fine with waiting.”
The light turns green, and as he hits the gas, I blow out a breath. “You know what? Let’s just wait. I want to enjoy a nice dinner with my brother and his girlfriend with no added pressure.”
Nils looks as relieved as I feel as he says, “Sounds good to me.”
We are clearly both putting off the inevitable. I hope it doesn’t bite us in the ass.
For the rest of the drive, we just chat about mundane things, laughing here and there.
And then we reach the restaurant.
We decide to valet, but there’s one car in front of us. While we wait, I check out the modern, sleek glass-and-steel facade of the building and take in all the high-end cars in the parking lot.
“Wow,” I say to Nils, “Arden said this place is nice, but I didn’t think it was this fancy. I’m glad I wore this pretty cashmere dress and heels.”
“It is upscale,” he replies as he ducks down to get a better view. “Good thing I went with a suit and tie and not the dress pants and button-down I was thinking of wearing.”
“Yeah, good call.”
I don’t tell him, but I’m actually glad he went with a suit and tie as well. He’s so damn hot and sexy when he’s dressed to the nines.
After the valet attendant gets to us and takes over the Range Rover, we make our way into the restaurant.
The host just inside the entranceway takes our names and, upon checking the reservation, informs us that the rest of our party is already seated.
As we follow him to a private table in the back, Nils leans in and whispers, “I thought we were on time.”
“We are.” I roll my eyes and chuckle. “This is just typical Arden. He loves to be early.”
“Hmmm,” he says with a nod. “That sounds about right. He is usually one of the first guys out on the ice at practice and warm-ups.”
I laugh. “That sounds about right.”
As we approach the table, I notice Arden and Willow are dressed quite nicely too. My brother has on a black suit similar to Nils, and Willow is wearing a pencil skirt that’s a shade darker than my blue cashmere dress, along with a white blouse.
Arden stands when he sees us.
He greets us warmly when we reach the table, giving me a hug and Nils a handshake.
“Ankle still feeling a little better each day?” he asks Nils.
