Page 21 of Falling for the Boss's Son

“Like hummus and gyros?”

The side of Jesse’s mouth quirked up in a half smile. “Yeah.”

A few minutes later, they were at a Mediterranean restaurant she’d never noticed before. It was small but not quite as tiny as the place he’d taken her to on Monday night.

Without asking her what she wanted, he placed their order.

* * *

One of Jesse’s favorite things to do was to try new restaurants. When he lived in Europe, it wasn’t the monuments that drew him in, it was the food. So much can be learned about a place through eating the food.

Jesse held out a chair for Cassie and waited for her to sit down before taking his own seat. “Have you been here before?”

“No. Have you?”

He smiled. “No.”

Cassie glanced up at the menu, then back at him. He was expecting her to question his ordering for both of them, but she didn’t. “How did you know I love the aquarium?”

“A little birdy might have told me.”

The woman behind the counter approached their table. She placed a bowl of hummus and some pita bread on the table, then left.

Jesse motioned for Cassie to help herself.

She tore off a piece of the bread and scooped up some hummus. Her gaze lifted to his as she took a bite, then lowered to the table. She was still looking down when the woman brought their salads.

When Cassie reached for her fork, Jesse covered her hand with his. “Are you upset I asked Kaden about you, or is something else bothering you?”

“Jesse, we shouldn’t be doing this. I shouldn’t be doing this.” Then her voice lowered to a whisper as if she didn’t want anyone to hear her confession. “But I can’t seem to say no.”

“I don’t want you to say no.”

Her fingers flexed in his hand. He held her gaze and knew her thoughts were going back to the last kiss they’d shared. He could have pushed things. Could have asked her if he could come in when he dropped her off at her apartment Monday night.

They were still locked in their own world when the woman brought the rest of their food. “Can I get you anything else?”

Jesse dropped Cassie’s hand. “No, I think we’re good for now.”

The woman nodded and went back behind the counter.

He picked up his fork and dug into his salad. “Eat your lunch. You may need your energy later.”

Cassie blushed as she picked up her fork and began eating her salad.

Several minutes passed and the pink was beginning to fade from her cheeks. He finished his salad and moved on to the lamb. The food was good, but it didn’t compare to what he’d had in Greece. Cassie had never traveled outside of the US, and he had a sudden desire to whisk her away on a private jet to see all his favorite places.

She caught him staring at her. “Do I have something on my chin?”

His lips curled up into a smile. “No. I was thinking I’d like to get you on a plane and take you to all my favorite places.”

“Oh.” She glanced out the window and her body went rigid.

Jesse followed her gaze, hoping to find what had caused her reaction, but he didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. People were walking down the sidewalk, going in and out of shops, but there was nothing that stood out. “What’s wrong?”

She shook her head and turned her attention back to her food. “Nothing.”

“Cassie.”

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