Page 51 of Love Like Lightning

“Thank you, Cam. I thought this dress was really nice, too.”

“Where are you going?” Cam’s eyes narrow, and he folds his arms across his broad chest.

“Dinner.”

“A date?”

“Not a date.”

I can tell he’s curious and wants to ask more questions, but he stops. “We’ve got another meeting at The Wright Lodge tomorrow. We’re going to go over the marketing and do a walk-through of the grounds.”

“Okay, what time?”

“If we leave here at ten, we can grab a coffee on the way.” His lips almost tip up into a smile but stop short.

“Sounds good.” I wait for him to walk away across the hall to his room, but he stays standing there in front of me, a peculiar look on his face.

“Did you need anything else?”

“No, not at all. Have a nice dinner.” He turns on his heels, leaving me a little nervous and confused.

Once I shut the door, I hear a knock from the other one and breathe out a sigh of relief.

As glad I am that Cam and Henry seemed to have missed each other, I can’t help the heaviness settling on my chest.

Grabbing my jacket and purse from the desk, I go to answer the door for the second time tonight. When I open the door, my mouth almost drops open.

Henry’s dressed in black slacks, dress shoes, and a green sweater. His hair looks slightly more styled than usual and, as always, the scent of spice clings to the air around him.

He looks good. Really, really good.

“Gia, wow, you look…”

He trails off as he checks me out from head to toe, his eyes wide.

“Yeah?” A thread of uncertainty weaves its way into the word, and suddenly I’m wondering if the dress is not enough.

“Amazing. You look amazing. Are you ready?” He holds out his hand for me, and despite knowing better, I take it.

When we get to the restaurant, Henry parks and quickly gets out to open my door for me. He doesn’t take my hand again but makes sure to open the door to the restaurant for me too. At the host stand, he mentions Betty’s name, and we’re quickly whisked off toward the back.

The restaurant is playing quiet Italian music and really leaning into the romance with dim lighting. It’s pretty classically decorated, with simple tables and red tablecloths. Scents of garlic and fresh baked bread fill the space as much as the low murmurings of the other restaurant goers.

Hank and Betty are already seated at the table next to each other, enjoying some the fresh bread while they wait for us. Once we’re seated, we both snag some of the bread too and discover it’s actually garlic knots.

“You two made it.” Hank smiles, the move transforming his whole face. “We haven’t ordered yet, but the waitress should be over for our drink orders in a minute. The service has been great so far.”

“These garlic knots are incredible.” I grab another one and pull it apart. “There was a restaurant in a really small town in Vermont—Carraway Falls—that had better ones. They were the best I’ve ever had, but these come really close.” I smile at the memory of visiting that town. It was a weekend trip I took with Simone a couple of years ago.

“Well, if these come close, those garlic knots must be pretty damn good.” Betty grins and reaches for another one.

We chat for a bit, put our drink orders in, then enjoy some more garlic knots. The waitress returns quickly with our drinks and since we all know what we want, we order our meals.

“So how’s everyone’s week gone?” Betty eyes Henry and me with a smile.

“Well, I, for one, have had a busy, busy paperwork week. Pain in the ass,” Hank answers, even though it’s obvious that the question isn’t for him. “I swear I miss the days I was back in the kitchen every day.”

“And if you were back in the kitchen daily, you’d wish for the days you sat at the desk pushing papers.” Betty slides her eyes to her husband with a laugh.

---