Page 46 of The Finder

Garrett pulled out, and Emma couldn’t help but wonder what the night would hold.

Chapter 26

They drove in silence except for the soft music playing on the radio. Emma focused on calming her breathing. She was so nervous. Finally, they pulled into the parking lot of a restaurant. Emma didn’t recognize it, but it looked fancy. They drove up to the front, where a valet met them. Garrett climbed out and came over and opened her door. Taking his hand, she allowed him to help her out of the car, which she tried to do without flashing anybody. It was harder than she had anticipated.

Once she was out, Garrett extended his arm and she wrapped her hand around his huge bicep. She knew his muscles were big, but feeling them was another story. She tried to focus on staying calm and not tripping in her heels. The hostess greeted them with a smile. “Mr. Lozano, right this way.” She led them to a private room, seated them at a table, and left the room. They were seated in such a way that they sat almost next to each other instead of across from each other. This way they could look at the beautiful view. Emma looked out the French doors that led to what looked like a private balcony. Beyond the balcony were beautiful fountains that were lit with color-changing lights.

“This is beautiful,” she said quietly.

Garrett looked at her. “It is,” he agreed.

“Do you come here often?” Emma asked. She couldn’t help herself. She didn’t know him very well. She didn’t know if this was a common thing for him. Maybe he brought all his dates here.

Garrett put the menu down and sat back in his chair, watching her. Emma nervously tucked her hair behind her ear. “I come here from time to time for business meetings. Do I bring other women here? No.”

“Oh,” Emma said. Thankfully she was saved from having to say anything else when their waiter appeared. Emma looked at the menu, trying to decide what in the world to get. Everything was so expensive. She finally decided on king salmon, whipped potatoes, and creamed spinach—it was the cheapest thing on the menu. Not that it was cheap of course. She saw so many things she didn’t recognize. Garrett ordered a ridiculously expensive steak and asked them to bring out truffle mac and cheese first. Emma had no idea what truffle mac and cheese was, but anything mac and cheese had to be good. Right?

After the waitress left, Garrett turned his full attention on her. Emma felt her nerves hit her afresh. “Thank you for bringing me here,” she blurted out.

He nodded. “I’ve wanted to have a chance to talk, just the two of us. Emma, there are some things I need to discuss with you. Some things I haven’t told you about myself. I don’t want there to be anything but truth between us.”

“Okay,” Emma said slowly.

“Emma, I—” he started.

Emma put a hand up stopping him and cringed. “If we’re going to be honest with each other, you should probably start by calling me by my real name.” He didn’t respond, didn’t blink. She took a deep breath and continued on. “My name isn’t Emma. I-I changed it when I got here for fear of my step-brother. My real name is Emersyn,” she said softly. Then she waited to see how he would respond.

“Emersyn,” he said softly. “It’s beautiful,” he said in a deep voice. He reached up and touched her hair gently. “It suits you.” Emma smiled. He pushed her hair off her shoulder and behind her. Whatever he was going to do next was stopped when the door opened to their private area, and the waiter came in. He set the truffle mac and cheese down in front of Garrett and left the room. Garrett picked it up and placed the dish in front of Emma. “Try that,” he said, nodding at the dish. Emma picked up her fork and took a small bit.

Flavor exploded in her mouth, and she made a small sound. After swallowing, she looked at Garrett with big eyes. “That’s amazing. Have you tasted this before?” He nodded with a smile. Emma took another bite. “That is literally the best thing I’ve ever tasted,” she said when her mouth was clear. “You’ve got to try some of this.” She held out a bite to him. He opened his mouth and took the bite from her, holding her hand still. He watched her as he swallowed and didn’t release her hand.

“The best I've ever had,” he said in a low voice. Emma just stared up at him, captivated. He gently released her hand and looked out at the balcony, releasing Emma from the hold he had on her. She felt like she was finally able to take a breath. Emma looked down and focused on eating the mac and cheese. Just as she finished, the waiter came in and placed salads in front of both of them. It had a lot of stuff Emma didn’t recognize on the plate, but she picked up her fork and dutifully tried to eat it. She mostly ended up pushing the pieces around on her plate. “You don’t like the salad?” Garrett asked, watching her.

“Oh no, it’s uh, it’s... good?” she finally finished, the end coming out more as a question. “It just looks like something they dug up in the backyard,” she said quietly.

Garrett belted out a loud laugh. “Are you saying it looks like grass?”

“More like weeds,” Emma said, wrinkling her nose.

Garrett laughed again. “I’ll be sure to tell the chef. He’s a friend of mine.”

Emma’s gaze shot to his. “Oh, no, please don’t do that. It’s fine. It's great, really.” She took a rather large bite to prove what she was saying was true and about choked on it. When she had finally gagged it down, she took a large drink of water. “Nope, I can’t do it,” she said, grimacing.

He laughed and took the plate from her, putting it on top of his empty one. The waiter came after that with their meals. Emma took a bite. “Okay, this is much better,” she said. She tasted the whipped potatoes and smiled. She looked up and saw Garrett watching her intently.

“You like it,” he stated rather than asked in a low voice.

Emma nodded. After a few bites, Emma looked at Garrett. “So, what do you do for work?” Madison had told her of course, but she wanted to hear it from him.

Garrett told her all about the work he did, explaining how he got started. Apparently, it was a family business, passed from his great-grandparents to his grandparents to his parents. Emma asked him questions about his work, and the time passed quickly. Soon, the waiter took away their plates and asked if they wanted dessert. Garrett ordered a coffee and a piece of chocolate cake. The waiter asked if she wanted anything; she shook her head no.

The waiter was back momentarily with Garrett’s coffee and a large decadent piece of cake. When the waiter left, Garrett slid the cake over to her. She looked up at him with a smile.

“I ordered it for you,” he responded with a smile.

Emma waited about 2.1 seconds before she took her fork out to try a bite. She bit into the moist cake and her eyes widened. Her eyes opened and she looked at Garrett. “That is the best chocolate cake I’ve ever tasted; actually it’s the best cake, period.”

Garrett chuckled. “I’m glad you like it.”

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