“That wasn’t so bad,” she says when we get to the restaurant and she plants her feet. Her cheeks are flushed and she’s still a bit unsteady.
“Did I tell you that you look beautiful?” I say, reaching up and playing with the end of her braid. I can’t seem to keep from touching her.
“A couple of times on the way here, but you can say it again.”
“You look incredible.” My hand trails down her arm until my fingers find hers and I twine them together.
“You look big,” she says as her eyes run up and down my body. “And handsome.”
For a second I think about flexing and maybe even spinning around so she can get the full view. I don’t know why, but I like showing off for her. I feel like one of those birds on the Discovery Channel where they preen and do a dance and make a kickass nest so the girl bird will choose them.
“Right this way,” the hostess says as once again I wrap my arm around Pepper to keep her from tumbling over.
I see her give a side-eye to the hostess as we walk, and I lean down and keep my voice quiet. “Is everything okay?”
“It’s nothing,” she says with a wave of her hand, but I can tell something bothered her.
“Do you want to go?” I ask, stopping in my tracks. I don’t want her to be here if she isn’t happy.
She smiles up at me. “You’d really do that, wouldn’t you? If I didn’t like the place you picked we’d turn around and leave?”
“Of course,” I answer honestly.
“Gosh, you really are so much different than I first thought you’d be. No, this is perfect. I’m starving.”
Yeah, I’d build the best goddamn nest in the world if it made her keep looking at me like that.
We sit down and the hostess gives us our menus, but I have a hard time concentrating on anything other than her. She’s right across from me and I want to ask her a thousand questions, but I don’t want to bombard her.
“What are you going to get? They have, like, twenty types of pasta—this place must be heaven.” She beams at me, and I can feel my face mirror hers.
“I’m not supposed to eat pasta right now,” I say, realizing I’m going to have to order something boring. Even I can hear the sulk in my voice.
“You murdered that cupcake,” she giggles, just as the waiter brings us water and tells us about the specials.
“That cupcake was the second-best thing I’ve ever tasted.” My mind goes back to that kiss and how it consumed me. As soon as my lips touched hers, all of my control was done for and I had to have her. Thank god there was a small shred of decency left in me, because I had the strength to keep from mauling her like a literal bear.
When she brings her fingers to her lips I know she’s having the same thoughts as I did. That kiss was spectacular.
“Are you two ready to order?” the waiter asks, and I nod to Pepper to go first.
She gets the pasta with cream sauce with a side of vegetables. When she finishes ordering she hands the waiter the menu. I hand the menu to him and then tell him what I can have to eat.
“Absolutely, Cannon, the chef is excited you’re dining with us tonight,” he says, then excuses himself.
“Does everyone know who you are?” she asks, sipping her water.
“Just people around here. It’s where I grew up.”
She asks me about my childhood and I explain to her that I never knew my dad and my mom died when I was young. I was raised by my aunt just down the block.
“Really? Me too,” she says, then waves her hand. “I mean, my parents passed away when I was young, but I was raised by my aunt. My dad was actually a fighter.”
That perks my ears up. “Who was he?”
“Charles Wood. But everyone called him the—”
“The Renegade,” I say, interrupting her. “Sorry, I just know who he was. He was one of my favorite fighters when I was a kid. I used to watch old tapes for training.”
“I’ve never seen any of them. Do you still have them?”
“Yeah, of course. I’ve got some at the gym where I train and a few at home. You can watch them any time.”
“Wow, I’d love that,” she says, and I see excitement in her eyes. “From what I read about him, he was pretty aggressive. It was kind of the reason I was intimidated by you when we met.”
“My size tends to do that for a lot of people. But it’s useful in the ring. In real life I’m a lot less aggressive.”
“Not when it comes to kissing,” she says and then covers her mouth quickly. “Sorry, I tend to blurt stuff out when I’m nervous.”