Page 34 of Marrying Off My Husband

“No, no, that was…my fault, definitely,” I said. “I’m so sorry.”

She pulled her hand away with a fleeting smile. “I think I’ll live. Are you okay, though?”

“Uh, yeah,” I said, rapping my knuckles against my skull. “I’ve got a pretty hard head.”

A nervous laugh bubbled from her.

“I was just going to say we should go. We don’t want to be late.”

“Right,” she said with a nod. “I just need to put my shoes on. Sorry…Louise insisted these heels were best, and they aren’t very comfortable. I don’t know how she does it.”

She reached down for her shoes, her hand falling on my arm as she wobbled on one foot, tugging her second heel on. I glanced down at the casual gesture, warmth rushing through me. “Yeah, Louise is…amazing.”

She smiled at me, though I detected a note of sadness in her eyes. Was she already growing tired of Louise?

I offered her my arm, and we left her apartment behind. I made certain I had her safely tucked in my passenger seat before I raced around the car and slid behind the wheel. I didn’t want to get any bad marks from Louise when she inevitably grilled Eve about the date.

Eve offered an awkward smile as I fired the engine. We had a quiet drive on the short trip to the club.

After handing my keys over, I led her into the restaurant, and we were seated immediately at my usual table with a view of the ocean. I made sure to push her chair in before I sat down across from her. “Is wine okay?”

“Oh, sure,” she said with that nervous, sweet smile she had. It seemed like she was apologizing to the world for being there.

She glanced down at the menu as the waiter strode off to retrieve my selection. I noticed her chewing her lower lip as she studied it.

“So,” I ventured, “what looks good?”

“Oh, uh, gosh, uh, I think I’ll just have the lobster bisque.” She flicked her dark eyes to me. “What about you?”

“I’ll get the fish.” I glanced at the menu. “I always get the fish. I never get anything but the fish.”

“Oh,” she answered softly. “Well, I guess you really like it.”

“I do.” I bobbed my head way too many times. Why was I like this? It was like watching a train wreck in progress.

Eve seemed like a nice woman, and she was being a really good sport with Louise’s overbearing nature. It seemed to be salt in the wounds to force her to date me.

We placed our orders when the waiter came back before we drifted into awkward silence again. Typical of any date I was on.

“So–” I began right as she said, “Well–”

We both grinned at each other, and heat rose into my cheeks, though I took solace in the fact that her pink cheeks were now even rosier. “Sorry,” she said.

“No, it’s my fault. Go ahead.”

“No, no,” she insisted. “Go ahead.”

“Uh, I was just going to ask what you do for a living. Louise didn’t tell me.”

“Oh, I’m a translator,” she answered, her forehead pinching a little. “I’m your translator.”

Was this some sort of dating code I wasn’t getting? What was she going to translate for me? Maybe social conventions?

“I’m not sure I follow,” I said.

She leaned a little closer. “I’m the translator for your game.”

Her eyes narrowed a little as she waited for me to connect the dots.

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