Page 21 of Mass Sins

“Yes, fairly. We moved it over there a little while ago. We were on the other side of the city before that,” I explained. I kept my eyes on his while trying not to let my gaze wander all over his handsome face.

“I’ll have to come by someday. Do you and your dad sell suits?”

“Oh, yes. We have a variety of suits. We often get businessmen coming in to either get theirs fitted, or to buy new ones. Actually, all of Sin’s men got new suits from us just last month.”

Joska smiled before turning his attention back on the road ahead of us as the light turned green. “I’ll have to come by someday. Do you design clothes yourself too, like Sin does?”

Him asking all these questions would’ve seemed normal to any other woman, but to me, it was everything. No man had ever been this interested in what I did.

Not even my ex.

In fact, he didn’t ask me anything. Ever.

I smiled and kept looking at him. “I love designing clothes. Actually, I made this skirt I’m wearing.”

“You did? That’s amazing. It’s very pretty.”

“Thank you.” My cheeks were burning up. His questions about my job and hobby, added to the compliments he kept giving me, were something I would have to get used to.

Something I washopingto get used to.

I hadn’t asked him how long we’d be driving, but before I had to chance to ask, we pulled up to a very fancy-looking, white Victorian building. There was a large fountain to the side, with trees surrounding the property, making it feel like a hidden place in the busy city of Boulder.

“Oh, wow…” I breathed, taking it all in. “This is a restaurant?”

“It sure is.” He parked the car while I kept looking at the architecture, amazed by how large and beautiful it was. “It’s even prettier on the inside,” he added.

I looked at him and smiled, my excitement rising. “You know, I would’ve been okay with a beer and a burger at some bar downtown.”

Joska chuckled with a shake of his head. “I’m sure you would’ve been okay with that, but when you said yes to go on a date with me, this was the first place that came to mind.”

It was the type of compliment you didn’t get at first, but once the words kicked in, you knew how meaningful it was.

Shivers ran down my spine, and a sense of happiness and contentment filled my chest. Maybe I was just easy to impress because I never had a man care so much about a first date with me, or maybe Joska was truly a gentleman, though with a dark side that I had yet to explore.

Whatever it was that made me want to jump on him and kiss his face a thousand times, I was ready to let myself go.

In the restaurant, we were greeted by the staff, and one of the waitresses showed us to our table. The inside of the restaurant was stunning, with pretty flowers and plants everywhere, and even a small waterfall close to the back where our table was.

Joska pulled out my chair, and I sat down, thanking him for the hundreds time since we got here. I was used to being the romantic one in any situation—mostly because I was a woman and apparently it was a woman’s job to be romantic—but tonight, Joska showed me that a man could take over that role too if he truly wanted to.

“I’ll let you two settle in, and I’ll be right back with an appetizer. Would you like a glass of champagne as well?” the woman asked, looking at me the whole time.

“Oh, yes. Thank you so much,” I replied, smiling up at her.

“My pleasure.”

Once she left the table, I took in our surroundings, amazed by everything. “So you’ve been here before?”

I didn’t mean to ask that to find out how many women he had taken here before, but I could see how my wording could’ve intended that.

“Well, I only ever came to pick up the food. I never actually came inside to sit and eat,” he explained. “Wait, that’s a lie. I did sit here and eat before, but it was a wedding celebration of a couple I married. I didn’t stay long though.”

I looked at him and pursed my lips. “So the food must be really good then.”

“It truly is.”

“What would you recommend?”