Page 22 of The Heir

A miniature one like the one she drew up for the real restaurant.

"Wooowwww!" Isobel breathes, her eyes go wide as she smiles brightly, stepping into the room and turning several full circles as she attempts to take it all it. "Fabian, I've never been to Paris before, is this what it'slike?"

Oh yeah. I'm fixing that. That'll be our first stop.

"Oh, sweet sweet girl, Paris is much much prettier than this!"Fabian jokes.

I clear my throat and hold out the chair for her to sit, which she does gracefully and without any fuss. Thank God. I sit across from her and cross my ankle over my knee and get comfortable. The initial excitement is wearing off, leaving a carefully hidden nervous expression on her face. But she doesn't need to be nervous because I already took care of it.

"We're going to start you off with an appetizer of homemade mozzarella sticks, with homemade mozzarella and marinara sauce, and our finest bottle of red wine," Fabian says excitedly.

"Ohhh, Ilovewine, Fabian!" Isobel says, clapping her hands lightly and throwing me a cheeky smile. Her sassy tone is back, and I find myself hardening.

This is most definitely a date, but I won't ruin it by verbalizing it. I tuck it in as a secret just for me.

I take a sip of the wine as it's offered and hum appreciatively. Isobel widens her eyes at me and gives me a rather shocked look. "Holy cow! That's…that's the most amazing wine I'veever tasted,"she whispers to me.

The mozzarella sticks come out and I laugh as a piece of cheese stretches all the way over to my side of the table, and I grasp the stick from her and turn it, putting it into my mouth and chewing playfully, relishing in her laugh. She throws a napkin at me and I reach forward, wiping some grease off her chin.

I really want to lick it off and goddamn it, if she weren't with that fucker and didn't have higher morals and it'd insult her by doing so, I would. But I have to bide my time.

But the real fun for me comes when the waitress come with an array of small bowls. The visible relief that crosses Isobel's face makes my throat tight. I look down, seeing all the pasta samples have been prepared with zucchini noodles like I requested.

Glancing up, I catch Fabian's eye. He gives me a knowing smile and disappears behind the curtain, leaving us to it. I'm busy eating up all the little happy noises she's making as she tries dish after dish while we talk quietly comparing our favorite ones, and trying to make a ranking system.

We both love the alfredo.

"It'd be nice if they had acajunalfredo!" Isobel says with a sparkle in her eyes. She licks her lips and takes another sip of wine, and it's interesting to see her lips get darker and darker the more she drinks. It makes me want to lean in and kiss her.

Fabian comes back when we've finished, holding out two gold coins. "For the fountain. Make a wish and toss it in." I look at the water trickling over the stone into the ceramic below. "It's a wishing well, for lovers!"

"Oh Fabian, what a brilliant idea!" Isobel croons, she clutches her gold coin to her breasts with both hands held tightly together and closes her eyes for a few seconds before opening them and then she tosses it in the water with a tiny splash. We watch it settle at the bottom. It's silent for too long because she tilts her head up to look at me and grab my attention.

"Well?What about you? You don't have a wish?"

I eye her for a second before holding up the coin in front of my face, turning it. I stare hard before flicking it, making it rotate over and over as it falls into the water.

"What did you wish for?" I ask as I ever so gently press my arm into hers. My fingers twitch, itching to take her hand in mine. Does she feel even ahintfor me the way I feel for her?

"If I tell you my wish, it'll nevercome true."

"Nope, a wish is strengthened if you share it with another person, that way the other person can also help strengthen the magic of the wish."

Isobel looks at me doubtfully. "I've never heard of that before," she says skeptically.

I know, because I made it up."So come on. Tell me."

She gives me another look before she leans into my ear, making me bend down to accommodate her size. "I wish to always be satisfied with the life I am given."

I blink. "Hm," I grunt, because we can totally make that work. "I'll see what I can do to help with that."

She gives me a little laugh. "Okay, thanks. Start by getting that fountain in for me." At my look she turns back serious. "What about you? What's your wish?" Isobel asks me, making me hot with the look she gives me. I clench my fist, willing myself to keep my hands off her. Just a little while longer, Hendrix.

"I wish to always feel the way I feel right now."

"Oh yeah, and how's that?"

"Content, Isobel. Content."

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