Behind The Book (Sexy 2)

“Now that I made the reservation, I’m hoping you like Italian food. We’re going to that little Italian restaurant on Seventh Street. I hope that’s all right?”

I peek at him and smile. “Actually, Italian food is my favorite. I’ve never been to that restaurant, but I have driven past it a hundred times.” We stop at a light and he turns to me.

“Brody, Jax, and I did all the construction in there a few years ago. We ate really good too because the owner used to bring us food that he made at his old restaurant. I’m telling you, this man knows how to cook.” The light turns green and he focuses back to the road. I love the idea of going to a place he helped build. It makes this night even more special.

We don’t say much the rest of the ride. I’m not sure know about him, but I’m still a bit nervous. Although, he doesn’t come across as being a nervous person. I’m sure going out to dinner is no big deal for him. He’s probably done it countless times. I’ve only been out with a handful of guys since I moved here, and none past the first date, which is usually dinner. So, I guess I’m just nervous this will be our first and last date.

Before I know it, we pull into the parking lot, and the amount of people here shocks me. There is a line at the door. Blake parks, and once he turns off the truck, he smiles at me. “I know you think I trap women in here, so this might sound wrong, but just wait her

e so I can help you out.”

He gets out while I laugh so hard it echoes in the empty cab of the truck. He makes his way to my door and opens it for me. This truck is seriously high for the vertically challenged like me. He needs to step up on the running board and practically lift me onto it when he steps down. He holds my hand and I attempt to step down as ladylike as I can. Thankfully, I succeed, and he closes the door behind me.

“Seriously, how tall are you?” he asks, looking down at me.

I smile up at him as we start walking to the restaurant. “I’m five foot one. How tall are you?”

He laughs and wraps his arm around my shoulder, which makes the rest of my body take notice. “Holy hell, I’m exactly a foot taller than you are.”

We both laugh as we enter the restaurant, and he lets his arm drop, but grabs onto my hand. He tells the hostess his name, and we don’t even need to wait. She leads us right to a table. Well, it appears he definitely has some connections and I laugh. He stares down at me with his eyebrows drawn, and I take a breath to stop laughing.

“Sorry, it’s just that this reminds me of Good Fellas when they go out to dinner and he leads her through the kitchen to get to a table placed right in front of the stage.”

He chuckles and squeezes my hand. “I promise, I really do work construction.”

I laugh again, just as the hostess shows us our table. Blake pulls out my chair for me. What I found so funny a second ago vanishes, and my heart beats a little faster at the sweet gesture.

Once we’re both seated and given menus, we are quiet while reading them. I don’t know why I’m bothering. I know I’m going to order chicken Parmigiana. That’s my go-to dinner, but I try to make it appear like I’m trying to decide.

“Do you know what you want? Believe me, you can’t go wrong with anything,” he says.

I put my menu down and smile up at him, but the waitress comes to take our drink order. He orders a beer and I order a glass of red wine. I glance back at him and grin.

“Chicken parm. What are you getting?”

He collects both menus and places them at the end of the table. “I’m going with the veal. It’s amazing.” The waitress comes back with our drinks and takes our order. He takes a sip of his beer and smiles at me. “So, you said the other night that you’re from South Carolina. Did you like growing up there?”

I hate when people ask about my past. It always leads to college and that is just not something I want to talk about. I’ve gotten pretty good at avoiding the subject, but I still hate it nonetheless.

“I loved it. My parents have a lot of land with this great stream that leads to a small lake. I’ve caught some pretty big fish in that lake. I was never inside as a kid. There was always so much to do on the property. If I wasn’t swimming or fishing, I was climbing trees or laying in the wildflowers looking at the clouds. It really was great.” He has a grin on his face while taking in every word I say. I like that he seems interested in what I’m saying. I may hate talking about my past because of college, but I really did love growing up in South Carolina. My parents still live in the same house, yet it’s been years since I’ve been there. Fear keeps me away and it makes me miss them and the property that much more. I loved lying in the field, surrounded by the wildflowers. Sometimes I would just hide there for hours from my mom or when I got into fights with friends or boyfriends. I came up with many story ideas there.

“That sounds amazing. Do you visit often?” Blake snaps me out of my childhood thoughts and I sip my wine.

“No, I don’t.” I know he’s looking for more of an explanation, but I’m not giving any more than that.

It’s questions like this that can lead to everything else. My mom and dad are both pissed at me for moving across the country. To this day, they still don’t believe Axel is the possessive, violent person he is, and because of that, they’ve never visited since I don’t trust he won’t manipulate them into giving him my address. I know I’ve said before that I may be over-dramatic and he has probably moved on and all but forgotten about me, but I’m not willing to risk it. Not even for my parents. I talk to them on the phone, but not often, and I miss them like crazy. I would love them to see where I live and what I do, but I don’t know if that will ever happen. They know I’m an author, but they don’t know I write under London. They never ask, and I don’t tell.

“Hey, did I lose you?”

I snap my head up to Blake and realize I’ve stepped into my bubble. My bubble of hiding and feeling sorry for myself. “No, I’m sorry. I just got lost in thoughts of my childhood. How about you? What was your childhood like?”

He takes a long sip of his beer and gives me a half-smile. “It was like any kid’s, I guess. My parents both worked their asses off to pay the bills. I was home alone a lot. Being home alone makes you feel like you can do just about anything and I did. Jax and I got into a lot of trouble as teenagers. Brody cracked down on both of us, and I think if it wasn’t for him, we’d both be the hottest guys in county jail.”

I don’t even know what to say to that. It’s definitely not what I expected. I don’t know much about him, but I’ll admit the bad boy in him turns me on.

“You’re right about that, you two are much too sexy for jail,” I say, forcing a smile.

He winks at me as the waitress brings our food to the table. It smells amazing. “Wow, this looks great.”