Page 79 of Resisting the Grump

“That’s great news.”

“You really didn’t have to do this.”

“I wanted to,” he said with a shrug. “Your company is a privilege, and you deserve decadence.”

You deserve decadence. The matter-of-fact way he said it struck me. Was he right? I’d always thought decadence was having more than one kind of cheese in the fridge, but maybe it was time to demand more for myself. Time to expect more.

“Even if you don’t want it with me.”

My brows lifted.

“Just kidding. I take that back. It seemed like a kind thing to say, but I don’t mean it. I want you all to myself.”

I laughed.

“Not because I’m the only guy who’s good enough for you, but because the other guys don’t even come close.”

God, I wanted to forgive him, wanted to forget how easy it was for him to deceive me. Wanted to lap up his words like lemony lobster butter and not look back. But that required a leap of faith. And l wasn’t a teenager anymore. I’d been burned too many times to take leaping and loving lightly.

“Wait until we check out the restaurants in the puzzle box,” he said, cutting another lump of lobster. “I have some predictions about which you’ll like best, but I know better than to think you won’t surprise me.”

I wondered how many had bathrooms that were big enough to hook up in and whether that was a factor in his selection process. Would we take that risk again? If I didn’t leap, I’d never know. If I didn’t leap, he’d move on and make sexy secret memories with some other woman. The thought made me sad. As much as I hated that he’d kept a secret from me, I still wanted to be the woman who shared secrets with him. “How did you come up with that idea anyway?”

“They’re promises I can keep,” he said. “If you give me a chance, you’ll realize I’m the kind of guy who honors his word.... Though I don’t always speak the right ones at the right time.”

“Is that what tonight’s about? Wining and dining me and making promises you can keep?”

“That, and I figured you’d find me irresistible if I showed you how good I am at lighting candles.” He pulled a lighter out of his pocket and reached forward to light the short, cream-colored one in the center of the table.

I laughed. “You did make that look easy.”

His eyes came to rest on mine then, and for a moment we just sat there in silence, staring at each other. It felt as if there was so much to say, and yet, without a word, he made me feel seen. And safe.

“I want you, Avery. All of you. All the time. I think you’re incredible, and I really love your peaches…”

I blushed, remembering the night he sang that song softly against my breasts in the dark, his moonlit muscles moving over me. Every flick of his tongue had been tantalizing that night. The memory alone was enough to make me jealous of his lobster. “Did you ultimately have to get a restraining order against your stalker?”

“Are you kidding me? Can’t we just have a nice dinner? It’s bad enough that you’re torturing me by pretending this might be the last time you’re ever going to see me. The least you could do is not dredge up past drama.”

T H I R T YS I X

- Oliver -

Avery licked the lemon butter off her lips and leaned back. “Torturing you isn’t my intention.”

“Bullshit.”

She scoffed. “You’ve got a lot of nerve.”

“And you know exactly where they all are.”

Her lips fell apart, but she didn’t deny it.

“Just admit you love pushing my buttons.”

“I’ll do no such thing,” she said. “It’s a fair question.”

I sighed. Hadn’t we been through this? “Yes, I had to get a restraining order.”

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