Page 87 of We Own Tonight
He shrugs. “I thoughtso.”
“People will seeus.”
“Good.”
“They’ll know you’redating.”
Eli puts the sandwich on his plate and leans on the counter. “Good.”
“We won’t be able tohide.”
He moves around toward me, still watching my reactions. “It’s not my life that will no longer be hidden, Heather. I’m ready for every woman to know that I’m not interested, the question is . . . areyou?”
My mind recalls the conversation with Savannah. I know that as soon as we step out from behind our curtain, all of that will follow, but I meant what I said to him. I’m not going anywhere. His life and mine are becoming entangled, and I don’t want to see what would become of me if the threads werecut.
“People are looking at me,”I whisper as Eli looks over themenu.
“Yup.” He grins. “You’re kind of hard toignore.”
I tilt my head and sigh. “Don’t becharming.”
“Can’t help it. You bring out the romantic in me.” Eli shrugs and goes back toreading.
I try to stop fidgeting, but it’s hard when I can feel people’s eyes on me. At least when we were in the park, I was invisible to the woman. Here, it’s the completeopposite.
I straighten my back and follow his lead. I can do this. People look at me when I’m in uniform, so this is nodifferent.
The waitress takes our drink order, spending extra time attending to Eli’s request for water. Iswear.
“You look beautiful,” he says, taking myhand.
I glance at my navy one-shoulder cocktail dress and then back to him. I spent extra time getting ready, making sure I looked like someone who belonged with him. My hair is curled and pulled over to the side, exposing my neck. The nude pumps I stole from Nicole six months ago are killing me, but I wore them. And even with the extra makeup, making me feel less like myself, I’m totally freakingout.
“I feel like I’m naked in front of a crowd.” Once again, I look around at all the people, some of whom are whispering andstaring.
Eli’s mouth turns into a sly grin. “I would be perfectly fine with that aswell.”
I glare at him. “Funny.”
“Relax, Heather.” Eli gives my hand a squeeze. “People look, and people talk, but we’re the only thing that matters rightnow.”
He’s right. I’m on a date with Eli, and we both love each other. This is a part of who he is, and that means, it’ll be a part of my life. I might as well get used toit.
“Okay, I’msorry.”
“Don’t be sorry, it’s an adjustment, I’m sure. You get used toit.”
Something to look forwardto.
The waitress returns, giving me a sour look. “Wine,” she places it in front of me while looking at Eli. I go to open my mouth to let her know she’s brought the wrong wine, but she turns her back to me. “And for you, Mr. Walsh, we’ve selected our top-of-the-line bottle of cabernet, on thehouse.”
“Thank you,” he says politely and then his eyes meet mine. “However, my girlfriend ordered the Pinot Grigio, but you brought her red wine. Why don’t you fix her drink first since I only asked forwater?”
“Oh, I’m so sorry.” She grabs the glass and walks awayquickly.
“I think she might cry.” I fight back laughing. Her face was priceless. It’s clear she’s a fan, or at least thinks he’s hot, and he just dismissedher.
Eli raises and drops his shoulder. “Maybe if she didn’t ignore you, then I wouldn’t have to be adick.”
