Page 21 of Divine II

His family was a lot like mine. For some reason, the men from my world didn’t interest me. I wanted someone who had to work for what they had. Trust fund babies were spoiled andentitled. I was spoiled enough for the both of us, so the dynamic never worked.

Zane was handsome with light caramel skin and thick curls on top of his head that tapered off into a temp fade. His eyes were a deep brown that glistened when he smiled and gave him a youthful appeal, although he was in his early thirties. Not only did he look good, but his fresh scent took his overall appeal up a few notches. If I had to pretend to be in a relationship with someone, he seemed like the best candidate at first glance.

“Shall we?” he asked, keeping his hold on my forearm.

“Um, sure.”

“I love your hair,” he commented as we made our way to the door.

“Thank you. You smell really good.” I smiled.

“For future reference, I don’t really like for my lady to wear shorts. My woman needs to keep it classy at all times. It’s hard to make shorts tasteful.”

I scoffed to keep from laughing at his statement. “I don’t usually take fashion advice from men.”

“Good because I wasn’t giving you advice. I was telling you what I expect from my woman,” he responded.

“Is that right?” I chuckled.

“Absolutely. We can both set some ground rules over dinner. I figured it would be best to get that out of the way up front so there’s no room for speculation.”

“Sounds like my kind of night.” I rolled my eyes.

“You can drop the attitude. Be as mad as you want, but when we are in public, you will smile.”

“I would laugh if I thought you were joking. Something tells me you really believe what you’re saying.”

“Good, then we’re on the same page,” Zane stated as he released my arm and opened the door so that I could walk into the restaurant ahead of him.

“Good afternoon. Welcome to The Platter. Are you already on the list, or should I add you?”

“I have a reservation for two for Whitmore,” Zane stated.

“Sure. Let me just verify that,” the hostess said, swiping the tablet in front of her.

“Have I told you how beautiful you look tonight?” Zane asked, turning his attention to me.

“Even if you did, I never get tired of hearing it.” I beamed.

“Well, you’re absolutely beautiful, Ms. Reign.”

“My last name is actually Gold. Reign is my cousins’ last name.”

“Noted,” he said with a single bob of his head. “To reiterate my statement, you are absolutely radiant, Ms. Gold.”

“Thank you, Mr. Whitmore.” I smiled.

It was the first genuine smile of the night, and I kinda hoped that it wasn’t the last. If I had to be here, the least I could do was enjoy myself. I was open to forming a friendship or at least having an understanding to be tolerable if Zane could do the same. I wanted this to go as seamlessly as possible.

“Whitmore, your table is ready,” the hostess announced, prompting us to approach the podium.

A short red head came out to get us and direct us to our table. Once we were seated, she placed menus in front of each of us.

“I’m Sandy. I’ll be your waitress for tonight. Can I get your drink orders started?”

“Yes, Sandy, I’ll have a double scotch on the rocks, and my lady will have a glass of white wine,” Zane said, ordering before I even had the chance to think.

I pursed my lips, unsure of how I felt about him ordering for me. On one hand, I liked that he was assertive. I was probably going to order a white wine anyway. On the other hand, I didn’t like how he didn’t consider asking what I wanted. He didn’t know me well enough to take the liberty of ordering for me. Icould have been on antibiotics and not able to drink tonight. Hell, maybe I didn’t drink wine. He didn’t know me. Instead of telling him that, I picked up my menu and began to scan for something that caught my eye.

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