“Very nice.” The waiter took the menus off the table. “The beef short ribs are delicious. Your dinners will be out shortly.”
As the waiter strode off, Ella glanced to Kyler and spotted his frown. She laughed. “What?”
“You have strange ordering habits,” he muttered.
She continued laughing, somewhat glad all his intensity had faded. She also understood; her habits were odd. “It’s my live-my-life-like-I’m-going-to-die-in-six-months challenge.”
Kyler’s brows shot up to his hairline. “Come again?”
“I know how weird that sounds.” She glanced to the couple who strode by their table, led by the hostess. “I took up a challenge I heard on the radio. The announcer offered a dare that each person live out their life like they’re going to die in six months.”
He regarded her. “Because you’d live differently?”
“Wouldn’t you? I mean, if you only had six months left, wouldn’t you do things differently?”
“No.” He slowly shook his head, and his expression showed very little. “I wouldn’t change anything.”
Somehow his answer didn’t surprise her; he seemed to know himself, inside and out. While she’d always been strong, she also hadn’t been that put-together until recently. Only now did she live on her terms and engage in daring things to learn more about herself. Her life had been consumed by death and pain, which clouded what she wanted for her life.
Of course, it took a challenge to make it happen, but she believed things happened for a reason. Maybe it was providence she’d heard the radio show that day. “Really? Nothing at all?”
“Nope,” he replied flatly.
“You’re lucky, then,” she said and sighed. “The day I heard that challenge, I realized I would do everything different.”
His head cocked, eyes brightened. “Is that why you moved to Vegas?”
“Exactly.” She ran her fingers over the stem of her wineglass. “This city is so alive. I always thought it’d be fun to live here.”
He stared at her fingers working over the glass before his gaze lifted. “You fulfilled a dream, then?”
“Absolutely.” Squaring her shoulders, she leaned against the back of her chair. “For the past months, I’ve been trying new things and doing things that the old me wouldn’t have dared to do. Which includes ordering strange things off the menu.”
His gaze held hers, an unknown emotion crossing his face. “Why? Is there something wrong with the old you?”
“Not necessarily wrong, but I lived in that comfortable, safe zone, where I never pushed myself.” She shrugged, trying to find the right words to explain it. “I didn’t want to be a different person; I like me. There was just something in that message that affected me. I realized I needed to start living for me. Doing things on my terms that make me happy.”
“Who were you living for before?”
His narrowed eyes made her shift against her seat. This conversation was getting far too serious. She sipped her wine before answering him, “I guess I lived for everyone else. You know, staying in my job because I didn’t want to leave my boss. Living in Savannah because my family is buried there. That kinda stuff.” She paused, as laughter drifted across the room from another couple at a table. “Now things are different and much more exciting.”
Kyler didn’t seem to notice the laughter; his gaze remained fixed on her. “That’s what you’re looking for, excitement?”
She chuckled softly. “Isn’t everyone?”
His gaze became focused as he leaned his elbows against the table. “Let me get this straight. You dare yourself to do crazy things you never would have done before?”
“That’s right.”
“Is that why you were so willing to join me at the wedding and acted so bold, considering you had never done casual sex before?”
She nodded.
One eyebrow quirked. “So, you are daring yourself to do outrageous things because you’re looking for new adventures and craving to learn more about yourself?”
“Exactly.”
A slow, dangerous smile crossed his face. “Well, now, that is an interesting challenge.”