“But you won’t,” she shot back with a cheeky grin as I closed the door.
“But I could.” The quick trip back to her place was mostly quiet, both of us deep in thought and probably embarrassed as hell that we’d revealed so much of ourselves to each other. After all the loss we’d experienced, it was odd to share so much so soon. “Thanks for sharing dinner—or breakfast—with me tonight, Vanessa.”
She flashed a smile across the car and her shoulders sagged in relief. “Thanks for asking, Emmett. I had a great time.” She leaned forward and I froze, unprepared for what I thought was about to happen, which ended up being a pretty chaste kiss on my cheek. “Good night.”
“Not so fast,” I told her and jumped out of the car, determined to walk her to the door because I was a gentleman and because of my vow to protect her. “I’ll walk you to the door.”
“Next time I promise you can roll me to the door, if that makes you feel better.”
“It does.” It felt even better that she said there would be a next time. “Good night, Vanessa.”
The night had turned out better than good, something I hadn’t thought, much less experienced, in too fucking long.
Chapter Twelve
Vanessa
“This seems a bit…much, doesn’t it?” I didn’t want to offend anyone but Kat and Maisie had knocked on my door about ten minutes ago so we could spend the day doing wedding planning activities, and now we were seated in the back of a limo. With champagne.
Kat tossed her head back, thick brown hair cascading down her back, and laughed. “Not at all. This is how the other half does wedding planning. Or so I keep hearing from Terry.”
“And me,” Mace said from the passenger seat up front. He’d volunteered to act as Kat’s private security since the shooting, escorting her almost everywhere. “This shit is fancy schmancy, yo!”
“He’s not wrong,” I said and ran a hand up and down the soft, buttery leather. “But damn, this is traveling in style.”
Maisie laughed. “I know, right? It’s easy to get used to this kind of luxury.”
“Oh please, don’t listen to her, Vanessa. She grew up on a big ass sprawling ranch in Texas. It’s not like she’s some country bumpkin. Oh, sorry,” Kat said.
“It’s all right,” I laughed and shook my head. “I no longer feel like the country bumpkin I once thought I was.”
“You’re too damn pretty to be a country bumpkin,” Kat insisted and I felt my cheeks flame with embarrassment. “Maybe an uber sexy country Barbie or something?”
Maisie smacked Kat’s thigh with a laugh. “You’ve spent way too much time with your brothers if you think that’s any kind of compliment.”
“Pretty is a compliment, thank you very much. And Barbie is like the standard of beauty, I’ll have you know.”
“Yeah,” Maisie rolled her eyes. “If you’re a nine-year-old girl. You’re beautiful, Nessa, full stop.”
“Uhm…thanks?”
“Don’t embarrass the girl,” Kat said and handed me a glass of champagne before handing one to Maisie. “To new family, friends and eating a fuck ton of wedding food today!”
We clinked our glasses and drank our champagne in silence as we drove to the upscale part of town and pulled up to a heavily landscaped elegant store front with a sign indicating it was our first caterer.
“Are you doing a plated dinner or buffet?” I asked.
“Plated, I think,” Maisie said hesitantly. “But is it tacky to have nonstop appetizers? I always get hungry with those delicious but tiny plates.” Maisie was stressing too much, and I hoped Kat and I could take some of that away.
“I’ll never say no to more food, honestly. And if you keep people fed, they won’t get totally smashed.”
“Good idea,” Kat said as the limo came to a stop. Mace got out first, keeping his eyes on everything and everyone in sight. He stepped inside the building first and waved us in.
The driver opened our door and helped us out.
“All right ladies, I’ll be right here if you need me,” he said as we entered the shop.
“Thanks, Mace.” I flashed a grateful smile, ignoring the unease that slid through me at the thought of having a bodyguard. I barely had time to notice that the front of the catering facility was set up like four different wedding tables, each separated by dividing walls for privacy. “Wow, this place is great.”
“It’s impressive, right?” Maisie’s face lit up. “I requested the midnight table setting because I’m thinking of going with a dark theme. Virgil will look so damn sexy in a midnight theme, don’t you think?”
Kat held her hands up. “I’m not touching that shit, sister.”
“I think he’ll look very handsome,” I told Maisie with a smile.
“Thank you.” Her blue eyes didn’t look as bright and cheery as they normally did, and I wondered if she was having second thoughts.