“We’re not finished yet.”
His eyebrows raising in surprise makes me laugh.
“We’re not?”
I shake my head, noting that we’re still very close. It’s making my head dizzy a little. “Nope. We still have lunch at your favorite restaurant and tonight we head to the fair.”
Surprise meets his eyes, but then he gazes at me in horror. “Have I forgotten an anniversary or something?”
I laugh at his sudden unease. “No, I just wanted to do something special with my husband for the day. We should have more of these moments. How are we going to build precious memories together unless we share them?”
Shaking his head, he smiles back. “You’re seriously surprising me every day lately.”
“Good,” I reply. “It’s how it should be.”
Hand in hand, we make our way back to unpack all the gear and wait for our driver to pick us up and take us to Eli’s favorite restaurant, an Italian place Jack told me he frequented when home.
On and off nausea has been bubbling in my stomach, but I do my very best to ignore it, knowing that eating should do the trick.
At the restaurant, the staff fusses over us, and the diners stare, which is a little unnerving. You would think I would be used to all the stares by now considering I’m supposed to be this famous model and all. I note one woman trying ever so hard not to look like she’s filming us with her phone, but it’s kind of obvious when she’s pointing it directly at us.
“People are staring at us,” I note to Eli once we’re seated and have ordered our drinks.
Eli frowns but seems highly amused at the same time. “You normally love being stared at.”
“Well, now I hate it,” I reply, not understanding how anyone can love the feeling of being in a fishbowl, or in an open pen in a zoo.
“Yep… Twilight Zone.”
I laugh back as this is the third time he’s said this. “You have an obsession with The Twilight Zone.”
“That’s because it feels like I’m in one.”
Ignoring Eli’s amazement for now, I pick up the menu. “What do you recommend here?”
Placing his hands together on top of the menu, he leans forward. “The spaghetti Bolognese is my favorite.”
Still staring at my menu, I smirk. “How original.” I glance up to find Eli taking the joke as what it is.
“Hey, I can’t help that I’m a comfort food type of guy. Fancy foods are not my thing.”
I place the menu down and lean forward too. “Hey, I’m not knocking it. Whatever floats your boat.”
At that moment, the waiter arrives with our drinks and asks Eli if he wants his usual. Eli replies yes and then the waiter asks what I would like.
“The same.”
“Very good,” he replies, taking the menus from us and walking off.
Eli and I exchange knowing smiles. “How original,” he jokes back.
“Touché,” I tease in response.
“I’ve had a really nice time so far. Thank you.”
“As I said, it isn’t over yet.”
He quirks his mouth to the side like he’s thinking about something. “You have nothing planned for us after lunch… other than the fair later, right?”