Page 29 of Audiophile

“Who is Natalia? Another sister?” I ask, running my finger over the name on her necklace.

Her body locks up as she closes her hand over the metal. “Please don’t ask.”

I get that. Tonight is an escape for both of us, and it’s working. She gets me out of my head without any effort at all. So I retreat back into my own space and open the door for her. “Dinner, then? I’m guessing Belvita is out?”

She appears relieved to move on. “Absolutely. Livi is an appetizer of my family’s chaos.”

“Now I definitely want to go.” But I climb in the driver’s side and list three I found on Yelp.

Petra scrunches her nose. “Those are all…nice.Reallynice.”

“That was the point.”

“Isn’t it better to be practical?” she asks. “If I’m going to date someone for real, that won’t be my life.”

“Why not?” I frown at her. “Your future boyfriend can’t take you to nice places?”

“Ha! No.” The corners of her eyes crinkle, as if the idea is ridiculous. She expects the bare minimum.

“I despise your ex.”

She lets out an amused snort. “He’s not worth the energy. I’ve always wanted to go to The Riverfront, but we need a reservation.”

I grin as I put the car in gear. “We’ve got one, but I need to cancel the other two.” Her wide, disbelieving eyes make me want to dote on her further. I lift her hand to brush a soft kiss over her knuckles. “Your standards are remarkably low, Petra. I’m determined to raise them.”

She rolls her eyes at me as she refolds her hands in her lap. “Only because you’re not worried about having to keep up those standards later.”

I laugh, because my other option is to reconsider exactly what my intentions are here. “If you need to tell yourself that so you can pretend you don’t want to kiss me, go right ahead.”

“That’s not—” Her face reddens under her blush, far more vibrant and glowing than the powder on her skin. I grin as I reach over and touch the back of my hand to her cheek. It’s hot.

“You haven’t contemplated kissing Knight?”

She tugs my hand down. “Knight’s not real, and he’s not you. I have to cancel my subscription, though.”

“What? Why?”

Petra shrugs. “How am I supposed to listen now? I’m not going to use you. It was different when it was just a fantasy.”

I’ve never dated anyone who offered to cancel out of deference to me. A rush of something pleasant and velvety strokes my skin. It’s comforting—I don’t remember the last time I experienced it.

I hate Livi’s rules. I want nothing more than to kiss Petra with the same care and affection she’s unknowingly given me. In one heart-pounding moment, the world shifts and Petra becomes the scariest thing in it. Because I want this to be a real date.

“You don’t have to cancel.” If anything, Petra is the one person I want to share myself with.

Petra laughs, unaware of my revelation. “Are you that hard up for money that losing my subscription will be detrimental to your lifestyle?”

I force a chuckle, steadying my shaky hands on the wheel. “Cheeky, cheeky, Petra.”

“You like it.” She looks away, but her smile is reflected in the side mirror.

“I do.”

Chapter twelve

Petra

The Riverfront is beautiful—farbeyond what I’m used to. Bella Vita is nice, and has similar white linens and elegant silverware, but The Riverfront spared no expense on decor and flooring. It’s too dark to see the river through the wall of windows, but there are fairy lights strung through the trees outside. Nate would rather go to a bar or club than a beautiful restaurant, but it’s obvious that my ex and Reed are opposites in a million areas.

---