Page 51 of Storm's Embrace

This wasn’t the first time the three of them had gone out together in the past month. Eli had been insistent on spending as much time with her and Zoë together as he could—almost as much time as he had spent alone with Miriam. She let out a satisfied sigh. He didn’t want her daughter to feel like she wasn’t a part of things, and to know she was important to him too.

But this was the first time Eli had said he wanted to take histwo best girlsout for a real dinner date. She had to admit, she’d been about as excited as Zoë had. And they weren’t going to just any restaurant, but to one of the nicer ones in town she’d never been able to afford.

So Miriam had dressed herself with extra care and supervised Zoë to make sure she’d put on her best dress. She grinned at Zoë admiring her sneakered feet she had stuck out in front of her. “I thought you were going to put on your black patent shoes.”

“I was.” Zoë twisted her feet back and forth. “The pink glitter goes better with my dress.”

“Yes, I guess it does,” Miriam said on a slight chuckle. “So, are you excited?”

“Yeah. But…” Zoë scrunched her face. “Do I have to eat snails and fish eggs?”

“Snails and fish eggs?”

“Mmm-hmm.” Zoë nodded vigorously. “Danny said that’s what you have to eat at fancy restaurants.”

Miriam held in her twitching lips as she stood, and then grabbed her daughter’s hand as she hopped off the bed after her. “Well, Danny’s probably right, but I’m pretty sure you can eat chicken or pasta if you’d rather.”

“Good,” she said just as the doorbell rang. “He’s here.” She quickly pulled her hand from Miriam’s and jumped up and down before rushing out of the room. “I got it.”

Miriam followed at a much slower pace down the hallway, with Zoë’s, “Mom says I don’t have to eat snails and fish eggs,” reaching her as she entered her living room.

“Yuck,” Eli said laughing. His smiling gaze met hers over her daughter’s head. “I don’t want to eat those either.” His eyes traveled over her, their depths heating. “You look beautiful.” He took a deep breath before his gaze bounced back to Zoë. “Both of you do.”

“Do you like my shoes?” Zoë shoved one foot out.

He nodded with another laugh. “They’re very sparkly.”

“Zoë, sweetie, go get your jacket.”

“Okay.”

She waited until her daughter had run from the room before meeting Eli halfway as she held his gaze. As always, she was drawn to him and couldn’t help moving into his arms and welcoming his mouth on hers.

She and Eli hadn’t been overtly affectionate in front of Zoë, but she hadn’t seen him since leaving work the previous day and had to have a kiss from him. She pressed into him and grinned against his lips as he groaned, and then reluctantly pulled her mouth away as she wrapped her arms around his neck. “I’ve missed you.”

“I’ve missed you too,” he whispered, pressing his forehead against hers. “More—“

“Mommy.”

Miriam pulled her arms from around Eli and glanced where her daughter stood looking between them and then out the front storm door. She hadn’t even heard her come back though. Heat traveled up her cheeks at what she had just witnessed. But if the grin on Zoë’s face was anything to go by, it hadn’t bothered her.

“Yes, baby?” She took Eli’s hand and squeezed it as she met Zoë’s broadening smile before her daughter peered back out the glass door. “There’s abigcar outside.”

She turned her confused gaze on Eli, who answered her unspoken question with, “It’s another part of ourdate.”

Several minutes later, Miriam found herself ensconced in the back of a black stretch limousine on a buttery leather seat, with a fascinated Zoë bouncing up and down beside her. This wasn’t anything she had expected and she kind of had to keep from bouncing up and down herself.

“How about a toast,” Eli said as he handed them each a fluted champagne glass and then lifted a bottle of sparkling cider from a bucket of ice. Then she lost a little bit more of her heart when Eli poured them each a glass then lifted his up. “To us.”

She eyed him over the rim of her glass as she sipped at her cider as they road toward their destination. Then she smiled as Eli patiently showed Zoë how each of the buttons worked along the door handle and middle console.

“I like this,” Zoë said. She raised her gaze up as the sunroof opened. “Neat.”

By the time they pulled up in front of the restaurant, she was fairly certain the driver had answered at least twenty questions from her daughter, because that was about how many times she’d lowered and raised the privacy window. But he hadn’t seemed to mind and had laughed at several of them before answering.

Once they’d gone inside and Eli had given their reservation information, they were led by the maître d' to a table in the center of the dimly-lit restaurant, where Eli had been an attentivedateto both her and Zoë. Her daughter’s little face had beamed throughout their meal. And she had the firm suspicion hers had been too since her cheeks ached from constantly smiling.

“So,” Eli said, leaning toward Zoë once their dinner plates had been taken away. “How were the chicken fingers and mac and cheese?”

---