Page 74 of Designs on You

“So, you’re ordering all three?”

She laughed. “No. I’ll figure it out. What are you having?”

“The filet. Or the duck. Maybe the lamb.”

“Now who’s having trouble deciding?”

Their server returned, opened and poured their wine, then asked if they had any questions about the menu. Natalie surprised Eugene by deciding immediately on the sea bass, while Eugene went an entirely different direction and ordered the lobster. They agreed on an appetizer, and the server left to place their order.

Eugene lifted his glass. “To us, and this trip together.”

She tipped her glass to his, her gaze locked to his. “To us.”

She sipped her wine and licked her lips, and his gaze tracked her tongue, his stomach tightening as he thought about how warm and wet her tongue felt wrapped around his.

“This is really nice, Eugene,” she said. “You didn’t have to go so fancy.”

“You deserve fancy. And a whole lot more.”

“You’ve already given me a lot. Just being able to get away for a few days is so incredibly fun and relaxing. You have no idea.”

“I’m glad you’re having a good time so far.” He picked up his wineglass and took a swallow, then set it down. “So. What are the plans for tomorrow?”

“I’m going to storm the fashion district.”

“Uh-oh. Should I warn them in advance?”

“It’s best they don’t know I’m coming.”

He let out a short laugh. “Okay, then. But, seriously, did you bring an empty suitcase for fabric?”

She shrugged and swirled the liquid around in her glass. “Everything can be shipped.”

“You’re very smart.”

She took a sip of her wine and smiled at him over the rim. “Yes. I am.”

“That means you have a list of what you want.”

“Not really. I want to explore, see what’s out there, what strikes me and I just have to have it. I’ve been meaning to reupholster one of my favorite chairs that my grandmother gave me, and I’m looking for fabric for it. I just haven’t found anything that hits the mark yet.”

“Mmm. So sometimes you look at a fabric and it just grabs you by the gut, and then you’ll know it’s exactly what you need?”

Her lips curved at his understanding. “Yes. That’s it exactly.”

He couldn’t really appreciate the whole fabric thing, but what he did get was knowing when a thing was meant to be, that it just fit. It was a lot like his job, when he was designing a game and bits and pieces fell into place. That sense of rightness, of satisfaction, really hit his happy meter. Maybe it wasn’t exactly the same as what Natalie was talking about, but he understood where she was coming from.

They enjoyed their appetizer and chatted about the kids. Eugene talked about his brothers, and he was struck by how easily conversation flowed with Natalie. Throughout their dinner, they never ran out of things to talk about, from family to work to their varied interests. He liked that they weren’t exactly the same. Thatmeant he had things to learn from her. It also didn’t hurt that he could sit and watch her for hours, because she was so beautiful and animated and passionate when she talked.

“So then Mariah had the audacity to tell me that Cammie couldn’t be in the same ballet class as her daughter because Bellamy had been dancing since she was six months old, which was the most ridiculous thing I’d ever heard.”

Eugene swallowed the bite of lobster he had taken, then frowned. “Wait. Babies can’t walk that early, can they?”

“Of course not. Bellamy might have been wiggling her butt then, but ballet? Please.”

“Wow. Some moms are really…something, huh?”

She stabbed fish onto her fork and nodded. “Understatement.”

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