Page 21 of French Martini

“I don’t mind.”

He winks as he bends forward to pull his jeans up. “Dinner?”

“Yeah. Let’s eat.”

EIGHT

OAKLEY

Hardest thingI’ve ever done? Pretending I’m not absolutely gone over the gorgeous man at the table opposite me. He’s going on about how much he hates the fakeness of his former life even though he was an expert at it himself. Pretty sure that life is what led to him being so guarded now.

Except when he’s on his knees.

What a fucking revelation. I’m shocked that a guy like Lowen likes to submit. He’s always so composed and in charge of every little thing, but maybe that’s the allure. Giving up all that control for a little while.

I saw the fear in his eyes though, the vulnerability in letting me in like that, so as hard as it was, I did my best to rein in my own desires to wrap him up in my arms and never let anyone else hurt him. I know he can take care of himself, but I don’t want him to have to. I want to be the guy he comes to when he’s happy, sad, angry, hurt. Any emotion of his, I want. For now, I’ll keep being his friend, because I suspect that’s all he can handle.

He did set the vase of flowers I brought on the table though.

He pauses to take a sip of wine and I jump in. “Question. Will people ask normal engagement questions like how we met, how I proposed, et cetera?”

Lowen’s expression dips as he scrunches his nose. “Probably, yes.”

“Want to knock that out then?”

“We can tell the truth about how we met.”

“Okay. How long have we been engaged?”

Lowen taps his fork against his plate slowly, mirroring his thought process. “Five months. It was a whirlwind romance.”

I nod. “We just knew. The attraction was undeniable, but the surprise was how compatible we are and how much we have in common.”

Lowen’s cheeks pink slightly as he directs his pretty gaze to his lasagna. “Like?”

“Obviously we both love design, and you captivated me with your vision. You can take something so mundane and make it luxurious.”

His gaze flickers to me briefly, a smile tugging at his lips. “For my part, I appreciated your work ethic and integrity. I saw how well you treat your team, and how collaborative you are with me on our shared projects.”

“Beauty and the brawn, huh?”

He laughs softly. “I suppose so. You also indulge me in my penchant for obscure foreign films.”

Chuckling, I nod. “And you’ve discovered a love for seventies rock.”

He glances up at me. “I can’t name a single band.”

“Fleetwood Mac is a great one, but Aerosmith and the Eagles are my faves.”

“Got it. And of course, you adore my favorite movie, the 1955 classic, Les Diaboliques.”

“Of course. Maybe we should watch it together. I’ll play you a few songs too. You especially like it when I bust out my guitar and play ‘Hotel California’ for you.”

“You play guitar?”

I shrug. “I’m rusty, but I played in a band in high school. We sucked.”

Lowen grins. “Did you have long hair?”

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