Married to My Enemy

He laughed. “You would do that regardless, no matter how you dressed. And trust me—that’s a hard feat to pull off.”

Again, I couldn’t help but laugh. I’d never met someone who succeeds in being so modest and cocky at the same time, but Gio had such a contradiction perfected. I supposed it was all for my benefit though, for he was so good-looking that it felt like a chore making myself presentable enough to be in his presence.

As I stared at him, it struck me again how ridiculously handsome he was, with his long hair, amber eyes, and deep dimples.

“Any place in particular that you’d like to go?” he asked as we approached the front door.

“This was your idea. Surprise me.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

* * *

Either he thought I had extravagant tastes, or he was trying really hard to impress me. Whatever the case, we wound up at a fancy and expensive restaurant with things on the menu I could hardly pronounce.

The most troubling thing, however, was that I couldn’t tell if he was succ

eeding in impressing me. A part of me still felt guarded around him, as if he couldn’t be trusted for some reason. I too keenly remembered how he had made me feel the night after we first met—that emotional blow was proving difficult to move past, even though I’d learned the truth about why he had initially treated me that way. On the other hand, there was another part of me that had a hard time continuing to hate him.

There was just something about him that made it impossible to not feel warmth creeping into my face and in other areas of my body…

He glanced up from his menu, likely feeling me staring at him.

I lowered my gaze, feeling yet another blush spreading across my face.

“What’s wrong?” he asked. “Not your kind of place?”

I glanced around the restaurant—at the dimly lit chandeliers hanging from the high ceilings, the candle-lights lining the decorative walls, and the wealthy older couples scattered about at the tables around us. “It is a little much,” I admitted.

“I just thought I owed you something like this.”

I raised my eyebrows. “And why is that?”

A devilish smirk slowly spread across his face, putting those adorable dimples on display. He leaned across the table to me. “You were making me feel cheap. You’ve thoroughly rewarded me twice already, and I hadn’t even taken you to dinner.”

I averted my gaze, feeling as if someone had just lit a match over my face. With shaky hands, I reached for my glass of water.

Gio’s chuckling drifted across the table. “I’m just messing with you. But still—it’s true.”

The ice-water was too cold going down my throat, and I had to suppress a cough.

“Am I being tactless?”

“Yes,” I said, setting the glass back down.

“I’m sorry.”

“So, what are you getting?” I asked, flipping through the menu and wanting to change the subject.

“Oh, I don’t know.” Gio looked back to his menu as well. “Chicken parmesan sounds nice. At least it’s something I can pronounce.”

A grin flashed across my face, and I held back a laugh. My nerves, at least, started to subside again. “Next time, take me somewhere that you can pronounce everything on the menu then, wise guy.”

Gio nodded. “Will do,” he said. “I promise. So, what are you getting then?”

My eyes scanned over the dinner entrees, in search of something familiar that I could comfortably eat. “Maybe I’ll try to the grilled salmon and mixed vegetables.”

“Sounds like a winner.” With that, Gio raised a hand in the air and waved over our waiter.