Her heart raced, and her mouth went dry. Picking up her water, she took a long draw.
“You’ve not been yourself lately. Are you okay?”
“Exhausted. You know it’s crazy pants during this season. I’m shocked I managed to limp
out of there in time to have dinner with you,” she said.
“Is that all?” He focused his intense blue gaze on her, and she smiled.
“Of course. You should know how I get by now.”
“It feels like more.”
“At this point, I don’t even have time to have issues, Mas.”
He opened his mouth, but their waiter, Paul, returned with Jumbo Lump Crab cake, stopping him from what he was about to say. Thank you, God.
The only sound was the clink of their forks on plates as they devoured the delicious cakes.
“This is so good,” she moaned.
“I know. Every time we come back, I wonder why it’s been so long, and then I remember if we ate here more often we’d double in size.”
“Oh, but it’d be worth it,” she whispered.
“I think you’d look cute all round and squishy.”
She pointed her fork at him. “You hush your mouth, Patten.”
“What are you going to do when that’s your last name?”
Butterflies flapped their wings in her belly. “Refer to you as Patten number one.”
“I prefer the original Patten, thank you very much,” he said, tipping up his nose.
“Maybe you should take on my last name.”
“I’m all for equality, but nope. It would sort of kill the owning a business with my last name.”
“We could hyphenate.”
“Cute, Lambert. You got your own shop and legacy to keep. If you want to hyphenate, I’m good with that.”
“You’re so generous,” she said. The smile froze on her face. There she was getting lost in the fantasy again. Peering out the window, she cleared her throat. She couldn’t deliver an ultimatum here. But she needed to. She tried to figure out how to approach the topic.
“Have you been thinking about the wedding much?” she inquired.
“I think it’s only normal. Haven’t you?”
Here we go. “Yeah, I have, and—”
“And here’s your main course,” Paul said.
“Thank you, Paul.” She wanted to strangle the waiter for his timing. Another missed opportunity.
“What were you saying?” Mason asked once he left.
She shook her head. “Nothing important.” Liar.