Page 11 of Starry Night Kisses

Message Received.

SUBJECT: SEE YOU SOON

I’M HEADED TO THE RESTAURANT. CAN’T WAIT TO MEET YOU.

X

-NATE

My heart does a backflip, and at the same time, my stomach goes cartwheeling in what seems like the other direction.

I’m a terrible person.

No, you’re a human with needs, and Nate seems like as good a guy as any to fulfill those needs.

While the proverbial angel and devil on my shoulders argue, I reply to Nate, telling him I’m also on my way.

And I let the text from Eric remain unanswered.

“I honestly feel like I hit the jackpot. Seriously, you are a smoke show,” Nate tells me for the fourth time since we sat down twenty minutes ago.

He’s cute—with dark blond hair, hazel eyes, andan aquiline nose with a small bump in the middle. But I find myself comparing his sandy strands to a chocolate bar, the green and brown specks to the bright, clear sky, and the slight downturned ridge to a straighter Grecian-like statue.

We’re barely into our first glass of wine, and I already know I’m not going to be able to go through with it.

“Listen, Nate?—”

“Are you ready to order?” our waiter interrupts us.

Nate already informed me that dinner was on him. “None of that splitting the check bullshit,”he’d said, which makes me wish I wanted to be here more than I do. He seems like an alright guy. At least someone who can roll me around in bed like I need—and perhaps stay on thecall for a good timelist.

So I order a steak and a baked sweet potato with a side salad. Nate also orders a steak, opting for steamed veggies and a regular potato. When the waiter leaves, he claps his hands together and waggles his eyebrows.

“I love a woman with an appetite,” he says. It makes me laugh, and Jonathan instantly pokes back into my memories.

“What? I’m hungry.”

“I do love feeding you.”

The recollection has heat infusing my cheeks, and I rub my thighs together to alleviate the sudden need that settles in my core. Nate seems to pick up on my abrupt change in body language, and his eyesdarken, dipping to where the lower half of my body disappears beneath the table’s edge.

“I’m going to enjoy peeling that dress off you later,” he says thickly, voice edged in a huskiness that wasn’t there earlier.

As soon as my mouth opens to tell him I’m not sure that’s where the night is going to lead us, a shadow falls over the table. Nate drags his eyes from me to look up, his eyebrows dipping in confusion before darting back to me. I follow his gaze, but hear an unmistakable rich tenor before I realize who’s standing at our table.

“Evelyn?”

Eric?

Blinking rapidly, I stare dumbly up at the man looking at me as though he can’t believe what he’s seeing. His dark eyebrows are notched together, blue eyes glowing with confusion and betrayal. He looks fucking edible in dark jeans, a white button-up with the top few buttons undone, and a black herringbone casual sports jacket.

“Eric! Hi. What are you doing here? I thought you were in New York?” My chair makes a sharp squeak as I scoot it back and rise to my feet.

Way to go, Evie. You look guiltier than Bagel when he breaks into the treat container.

Eric swallows thickly, jaw clenching as he runs his eyes over me, then glances back at Nate, who’s staring at us like he’s about to get a show. When he turns his gaze back to me, his eyes have hardened in a way I recognize all too well.

He’s putting walls up.

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