Page 24 of He Will Come for Me

He squats down next to my chair and places his hand over mine. “How do you know I know you need to prepare for these things?”

I stare at him in confusion. “Huh?”

He lifts his hand and pushes a piece of my hair behind my ear. I suck in a breath and hold it. He’s done that before. That wasn’t a fantasy, it was a memory.

“You said, ‘you know I need to plan for these things.’ How do you know I know that?” he asks.

I have to force my brain to keep up with him. It’s still stuck on him pushing my hair behind my ear. “I… uh…” I try to think.How would he know that? Why did I know he would know that?“I don’t know,” I admit.

Disappointment flashes in his eyes, but he hides it quickly. He rubs his knuckles along my jaw. “You will.” He says it with such conviction I can’t help but believe him.

He stands and walks to the other side of the table. I don’t move though. I still can’t get past the fact that I wasn’t fantasizing about him, but it was a memory. How I know I’m not sure, but I know it is.

Turning in my seat to face him, I force a smile and try to relax the muscles in my shoulder and neck. I want to feel normal. I want to be normal.

The server stops at our table. “Good evening, Mr. Stone. What can I get you to drink tonight?”

Phoenix watches me for a few more seconds before turning his attention to the server. “We’d like a bottle of Merlot and water.” The server nods and walks away.

“Are you okay?” Phoenix asks. I open my mouth, then close it again.What do I say? How do I tell him?He slides his hand across the table and rubs his thumb along my wrist. “Kenz?”

“I…” My eyebrows cave in. “Were we in a relationship?” He turns to stone, which is fitting, considering that’s his last name.

“Why do you ask that?”

“You’re evading my question with a question,” I say, calling him out. He doesn’t deny it, but he doesn’t say anything else. He’s not going to tell me until I answer his question.

“Just now when you pushed my hair behind my ear. I’ve had this recurring visual of you doing that.” I suck in a breath through my teeth. “I thought it was me fantasizing about it.” My face heats up at the admission, but I power through. “But whenyou did it just now, I realized it wasn’t. It was a memory. So, you’ve done it before.”

He brings his thumb up to his lip and rubs it a few times. “Yes. I have,” he finally says. He doesn’t say we were in a relationship, just that he’s done it before.

“Oh.” It’s the only reply I can come up with. Before either of us can say anything else, the server comes up again, setting the water down and pouring us wine, then placing the rest of the bottle on the table.

“Have you decided what you’d like to eat?” he asks. I haven’t even looked at the menu.

“You can choose for me. I’m pretty sure you know what I like.”

He stares at me for a moment before turning his attention to the server. “She’ll have the lobster ravioli with a baked potato and caesar salad. I’ll have the filet, medium rare, with mac and cheese and a garden salad, ranch dressing.”

The server grabs our menu. “Yes sir. I’ll bring you some bread and your food will be out soon.”

“Thank you,” Phoenix replies, and he faces me again. The power of his gaze causes heat to stir in my stomach. I have so many questions, but I don’t know if I want to know the answers to them.

I rub my hands along the white tablecloth and gaze out over the river. “Wow. This view is beautiful.” I can see across the river to the hotel that’s there. There are ships floating down the river to drop off their cargo.

“This is the best table in the restaurant,” Phoenix replies. The server brings the basket of bread and our salads. I feel Phoenix’s eyes on me, but I keep my focus on the river.

“You know, I’ve always wanted to do a riverboat cruise.” I grab my glass of wine and take a sip from it. I stare at him over the rim of my glass.

“Then we’ll go.” He takes a sip from his glass, like going on a riverboat cruise isn’t a big deal. Maybe to him it isn’t, but to me it is.

“Okay,” I whisper. “Could we maybe make a day of it? Go to Tybee Island, do the riverboat cruise, and walk River Street?” I don’t know if I’m pressing my luck, but it’s worth asking. One side of his mouth tips up and he nods.

“Let’s do it next weekend. We can watch the Christmas Parade too.”

I smile at his response and nod. “Clara told me you’d let me out of the house, but I didn’t quite believe her.”

He leans back in his chair and chuckles. “Because you don’t trust me?”

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