Page 25 of When Hearts Surrender

Dishes clinking against the table draw my attention as Nellie sets down two small plates and her famous pastrami sandwich.

“Thank you,” Anna murmurs, her face still flushed prettily, and reaches out to take the plates.

I grab her hand, unable to resist the lure of her smooth skin.

“Let me.” I motion to the sandwich before carefully portioning it and handing half to her.

She grins, her tongue darting out to lick at those luscious lips again.

My heart pounds in my chest, and I quickly take a bite of my sandwich. I groan at the taste of the tender meat blending with the spiciness of the mustard and the tartness of the pickles and the bread.

“This is sooo good. Excellent choice, Silas.” Anna licks the juices dribbling from her lips.

The warm glow of the candlelight lovingly caresses the smooth planes of her face, and those wayward, inappropriate thoughts of mine drift back to front and center. I wonder how silky her skin would feel under my lips. Would she bloom under my touch? My blood heats and warmth gathers in my groin.

“What? Why are you staring at me? Do I have food on my dress?” She looks down.

I shutter my gaze and shake my head. “No, you look fine.”Perfect.

Where are these insane thoughts coming from?

“So, Silas, what do you do? You’re at an event hosted by The Orchid, so you must be someone important.”

“I can say the same for you now, can’t I?”

She narrows her eyes. “Playing the dark and mysterious card, aren’t you?”

“Why don’t you answer a question from me and I’ll do the same?”

Anna takes another bite and delivers another sensual lick of her lips, which I’m sure she doesn’t even realize she’s doing. “Fine. That’s fair. I accept. I’ll ask first. What do you do, Silas?”

“This and that. I’m in the upper management of an entertainment company. It’s boring.” The biggest entertainment and hospitality company in the world, but I don’t add that, of course. “Tell me about your year of yeses. What’s that all about?”

She holds up her finger as she chases down her half-gone sandwich with a large gulp of coffee. The woman can eat, despite her slender frame. It’s refreshing, unlike the high-society women I’ve dated in the past, who’d poke around their salads like the thought of calories made them full.

“So, my friend, Taylor, gave me a book last year,The Wonderful and Terrifying Year of Yeses, and it detailed a cancer survivor who decided life was too short to be afraid of trying new things. So, she embarked on a journey to say yes to anything anyone offered—new foods, experiences, etcetera. It helped her gain a new perspective on life and instead of feeling weak or unlucky, she felt empowered.”

She clasps her hands in front of her expectantly. “I want to do the same. I’m reaching the quarter-life mark and have followed the plan everyone has laid out for me until now. I’m tired of it and decided life won’t change if I just sit here and do nothing. I need to create my own choices and make my own decisions. I just started a little over a monthago and while I call it the ‘year of yeses,’ it’s really a mindset change I’m going after.”

Quarter-life mark.She’s not even twenty-five yet. I’m twelve years older than her and yet, she seems to have the courage I don’t have to carve out a different path for herself.

“And how is it turning out? This year of yeses?”

“Terrifying.” She gives me a droll look and I chuckle. “But also awesome. I tried skydiving two weeks ago—something I’ll never do again. I got a pet, even though my apartment doesn’t allow any. I nearly lost my life in an illegal street race. And now, I’m eating in a diner at three in the morning during a blackout with a strange man.” She frowns. “Hey, that’s two questions.”

“I’m sneaky that way.” I stir my coffee. “What else do you want to know?”

“If you get to do one thing for the rest of your life, what would it be?”

“Art—painting or sketching.”

“Yes! I knew it. I knew you were an artist!” Her eyes light up and she unleashes a dazzling smile.

My heart skips several beats. “How?”

She waves her hands in front of my face. “You have this aura about you. Bad boy looks but a sensitive soul. Don’t look at me that way. I’m just telling you my gut feeling.”

“Bad boy, huh? And you still got into my car. That isn’t very smart of you.”

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