Page 13 of Alistair

They arrived at Manriados, where he gave his last name for the reservation, and they were seated at a small table near the window that overlooked a busy street. The waiter appeared and they placed drink orders and each picked an appetizer, Alistair explaining to the waiter that they were going to only have appetizers.

She’d chosen mozzarella sticks, which were her favorite. He chose bruschetta, which she’d almost picked herself.

Opting to save the glass of wine for the main course, they both got water with lemon.

“So, I haven’t been out on a date in…forever,” he said. He leaned back in the chair and lifted his brows as he met her gaze.

“Really? Me either. How long is forever?”

“Years. You?”

“A year. I never dated a whole lot anyway, but I was pretty serious with a guy for a year and then I ended things a year ago.”

“Do you mind if I asked why it ended? You don’t have to tell me if it’s too personal.”

She toyed with the fabric napkin, feeling the hemmed edge as she turned her gaze anywhere but his storm-gray eyes.

“It’s not too personal, I just feel like an idiot.”

“Why?”

“Because he was cheating on me, pretty much the whole time we were together. I saw warning signs, but I ignored them because my family kept telling me that he was a good guy and I was just being paranoid.” She was aware her voice turned bitter, and she blew out a breath and tried to push the feeling away.

Alistair placed his large hand over hers, the warmth chasing away the chill that had suddenly settled on her.

“I can’t believe your family sided with him, and I definitely can’t believe any man would have the honor of being in a relationship with you and decide to cheat. I’m blown away bythe sheer audacity and terribleness of that.” He pursed his lips for a moment and then continued. “I think cheating is one of the worst things a person can do to another. You want to be with someone else? Then say so and leave, don’t be an asshole and cheat.”

Some of the tightness she’d been feeling at sharing only the barest details of her last relationship eased with his words. His tone was honest, his gaze filled with concern.

He leaned forward. “Would you like me to beat him up for you?”

Her mouth fell open.

And then she laughed.

The rest of that tightness and tension in her body seeped away.

“You’re a little too good to be true.”

“Just for you. No one else gets my sweet side.”

She liked that a lot. “Thanks for the offer, though. It actually makes me feel better.”

“Good.”

Their appetizers appeared, set in the center of the table, with small plates and silverware. They were quiet as they started to eat, but in short order, he was telling her that he’d decided as a young man he didn’t want to date for the sake of dating, that he wanted to find his soulmate.

She dipped the mozzarella stick in marinara and paused. “You believe in soulmates?”

“Sure, don’t you?”

Um, yes, if by soulmates you mean you and me.

Clearing her throat, she took a bite of the hot appetizer to give herself a moment to not say what was on the tip of her tongue.

“I do, actually. But I was also burned pretty badly and feel like my ability to trust people has been on the fritz since then.I don’t want to make the same mistakes I did before, so my defenses are always up. My mom says I’m the most suspicious person she knows, and that’s saying something because my Uncle Tommy was a conspiracy nut before he passed away a few years ago. He was super suspicious and a little loony too.”

Alistair smiled. “I think it’s smart to be cautious with your heart. I want to tell you that you can trust me not to hurt you, but we just met and that would be really cavalier and ridiculous of me to suggest that.” He leaned in again, giving her the full weight of his gray eyes. “But I will tell you that I’m entirely smitten by you and we’ve hardly spent any time together, and however things move forward, it will be at your pace.”

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