“Absolutely, you kids enjoy yourselves.”
Jess looked at me, excitement lighting up her face.
We stayed for a few hours after lunch. Chloe wanted some help with t
he landscaping so while they weeded around the bushes, I mowed the lawn. As much as the work wasn’t something I was excited to do, I hadn’t felt like I was a part of a family like this for a long time. Now I knew what my brother, Tim, had been on about for all those years. It wasn’t easy for me to travel when I was working since I owned the company and had a young child. But when Tim said he couldn’t visit, I never understood. This was what he was talking about. He always put his family first, while I’d always put my work first. It was better this way.
By the time we got home and showered from the day working outside, it was time to go to dinner.
“Where did you want to go?” Jess asked me as she was pinning her hair back.
Jess was a gorgeous woman, but I particularly loved it when she dressed up. It made me proud to be on her arm. Unlike Kimberly, the date that felt like a distant memory, I liked when people looked at us. Jess was adorably oblivious to the way men looked at her. And I enjoyed making them feel jealous that she’d never been theirs. Not as long as I could help it.
“How about somewhere local?” I suggested.
“There’s a nice Asian place in the town center,” she said.
“Perfect.”
I drove to town that night. Since the date night was last minute, I didn’t have time to rent a car. Besides, I was a local now, and I wanted to appear like one. Coming to a well-known place frequented by locals, it would look strange if I showed up in a town car.
And since I had time to work on my body with cycling and working out at home, I kept my drinking to a minimum. Now that I knew the truth about Chloe, I didn’t feel comfortable drinking in front of her; even though Jess had no problem with it, I felt odd. So, I didn’t. And after working on our house or Chloe’s house, I was exhausted by the end of the day, and I wanted to go to bed. Sometimes Jess and I would sit on the terrace having a glass of wine each, but we preferred to share the bed any day.
When we arrived downtown, we parked in a nearby lot. People milled around the sidewalks, walking to their Saturday night destination.
I held Jess’s hand tight in mine, keeping her close to me.
She leaned heavily against me. “I probably shouldn’t have gone with heels for tonight.”
“You look beautiful,” I said.
“Thank you,” she said with a smile. “I hope they have tablecloths, though. These suckers are coming off right when I sit down.”
I chuckled against her ear then kissed it.
The restaurant looked like a hole in the wall. But after our last date in Australia, I knew not to judge the place by its exterior.
Inside, the lighting was dim, but the surfaces still managed to reflect what little light there was. Through the dining area, there were four hibachi tables.
The hostess smiled at us. “Dining room or hibachi?”
“Dining room, please,” Jess said.
“This way, please,” the hostess said, scurrying off toward our table.
Jess struggled to keep up.
Unfortunately, there weren’t any tablecloths, but we were set back enough that Jess could take her shoes off with anyone noticing.
Our server came over right away and took our drink orders.
“Have you eaten here before?” I asked.
“Not in a long time. But the food here is fantastic. It beats several of the places in Minnesota, in my mind.”
“How come you didn’t want hibachi?” I asked, recalling how quick Jess was to turn it down when the hostess asked.
“There’s not a lot of privacy,” she said. “And I don’t want to have a loud meal.”