AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I nearly choked on my wine at her blunt question. So much for me having the upper hand.
“Excuse me?”
She shrugged, not looking the least bit apologetic for her crass question. The half of a glass of wine had already kicked in if I had to guess.
“Just the way the waiter asked for my name, and the way the owner greeted us. It made me feel like they’re used to you coming here with people.”
I sighed and shook my head. “This is the only restaurant I used to frequent. I’m a creature of habit.”
“So you did bring a lot of women here.” She looked smug.
“I came here a lot. Sometimes alone, sometimes with company.”
“I knew it!” she exclaimed.
“Can we not talk about that?” I asked.
“Sorry.” Her cheeks flushed as she looked down at the table. “I was just curious. You seem so mysterious and aloof half the time. It’s hard to picture you dating.”
I leveled her with a look. “I promise you, I at least had some semblance of a dating life.”
“Right, I figured. You just always mention having a hard time connecting…”
Her words trailed off, and I wondered what she was trying to pry out of me. All professional pretenses were out the window, and I would be lying if I said that bothered me.
“If you’re asking if I’ve ever had a serious relationship, the answer is no.”
Her eyes widened. “I’d never ask that.”
“It’s what you were thinking, though.”
She bit her bottom lip and looked up at me through her eyelashes. “Maybe.”
Fuck. What I wouldn’t give to lean across and take that full bottom lip into my own mouth. I took a sip of wine to distract myself.
“And you?” I asked. “How serious was it with that oaf we ran into?”
She shook her head, smiling. “I wish I could say it was less serious than it was. We met when I moved out here and dated for three years. The classic tale of ‘we were together for so long we kind of didn’t realize it when we stopped being compatible.’”
“How long ago was that?” I asked, trying not to look too interested.
“About a year ago. I broke up with him right before we were supposed to move in together and got a cat instead.”
I lifted my glass. “Sounds like an improvement.”
She laughed. “Definitely. Although, breakups still suck. He moved on way faster than me. At first, that was hard to accept.”
“I can’t say I’ve ever experienced that.”
“Consider yourself lucky.”
I wasn’t sure how lucky that made me. The reason I never had anything end is because I hadn’t ever started anything. I was always content with my loner, bachelor status. So what if I came across as cold? If no one took the time to understand me then so be it. It wasn’t my job to convince someone to like me.
As I sat across from Charlie and drank her in, I realized things felt different. I felt like she wanted to be here. Not for my money. Not for any status. Simply for me. She had made that clear when she tried hurling herself onto me—an offer I stupidly rejected. Now I found myself constantly wondering if she’d give me another shot. What would she do if I pulled her to me on the street and—
“What are you thinking about?” she asked, tearing me from my fantasy. “You’ve got a far-off gaze in your eyes.”
“Just the presentation,” I lied.
