Page 2 of We All Have A Heaven
“Could we go to lunch now?” She rolled her lips, then bit the corner as she returned her gaze to me.
I looked at the time on my Rolex. It was 1:15 p.m.
I shut my laptop, stood up, and fixed the bottom of my dress shirt. “Of course.”
Emma brightened and smiled at me like I’d told her Santa Claus was real and in the other room.
She’s too pure for this world.
“Iwas...I was thinking that the color theme could be cream, light blue, and a pop of...” I frowned as my thoughts were plucked out of my head like someone had reached into a cookie jar and taken the last crumb, leaving it empty. Nibbling on my bottom lip, I squinted my eyes as I wracked my mind for what I was just saying. Looking at Dimitri, I had difficulty understanding what was going through his head as he stared at me with a blank expression. A blush crept up my cheeks and I averted my gaze.
“Uhh,” I mumbled and raised my gaze to the restaurant’s ceiling. There were a handful of people eating and chatting with their fellow employees. Their voices were a murmur, which made it easy to hear Dimitri as he talked. I tried to remember what I was saying and for the life of me, I couldn’t. I dropped my gaze and peered at Dimitri with my cheeks warming. “What were we talking about?”
Dimitri scooped some of the gumbo onto his fork. “We were discussing the theme colors for the Christmas party,” he murmured.
“Oh, yes!” I clapped my hands. As I leaned forward, my breasts pressed against the table, and I brushed my hand against Dimitri’s. It became a habit for Dimitri to sit on the opposite side of me when we went out, especially when it was just us. He stated that he wanted to gaze at me and watch every smile I gave him. Despite Dimitri being a grumpy-butt, he still said some sweet things that never failed to give me butterflies in my stomach.
“Yes, the colors! I was thinking silver.” I scrunched my eyebrows together and leaned back in my seat. “Wait, no, it was cream, light blue, and a pop of purple.”
A muscle in Dimitri’s jaw jumped, and his eyebrow twitched as his gaze slid past me.
My smile fell and I clammed up.
“Is that, is that not okay?” I asked, now feeling stupid for offering those colors.
Dimitri set his fork down and placed his elbow on the table. He rested his chin on his curled thumb, and his index finger stretched out on his cheek toward his hairline. Now I had his full attention on me, and he slowly blinked as I slipped my shaking hands underneath my thighs.
“What makes you think it’s not okay?” he asked, keeping his voice soft.
Biting my bottom lip, I looked away to escape his penetrating stare. I bounced my leg, attempting to find some relief from the sudden anxiety. “You just didn’t seem to look happy about it. I can change the colors.”
“I assure you, sunshine, I’m fine with whatever you choose,” Dimitri said.
“Then why did you make that face?”
“What face did I make?”
I swallowed to wet my dry throat. “Like it annoyed you when I told you about the colors.”
Dimitri stayed silent. As seconds passed and he said nothing, I peeked at him to find him frowning. “Ah,” he said, now realizing what I meant. “You said nothing that I don’t agree with. The look you saw was me warning off a man who looked at you for far too long.”
My eyes widened and I couldn’t stop myself as I peeked over my shoulder as if the man might still be there. Turning back to Dimitri, I gently smiled and tucked a lock of hair behind my ear. “Okay.”
We continued eating, and I talked his ear off about my plans for the Christmas party. Dimitri remained quiet, listening to me while he ate his gumbo. Every now and again, he looked directly into my eyes. They never held malice toward me like they did months ago. I worried that my excitement about the event annoyed him, but he occasionally gave a quick nod, urging me to continue in his brooding way.
How in the world did I get so lucky with him? Dimitri made me feel so thoroughly loved and accepted. I’d never received this level of acceptance in my life. Not even from my parents or Tyler. It often felt like Dimitri and I were two puzzle pieces, with him being the perfect match for my most challenging shape.
After he paid for our meal, we walked side by side to his car. He opened the passenger door for me and I slipped into my seat. Dimitri’s scent filled the small space, and I smiled to myself as I breathed in the sweet musk with a spritz of his expensive cologne and the subtle hint of a campfire burning beneath the night sky. Once I buckled my seatbelt, he closed the door, went to the other side, and slid behind the steering wheel.
Something popped into my mind, and I frantically opened my phone’s locked screen to check the calendar. I smacked the heel of my palm against my forehead and uttered a deep groan that sounded like a growl. Dimitri looked at me with concern and narrowed his eyes.
I met his stare and sighed. “By the way, sir, you have a meeting in thirty minutes.”
Dimitri turned the ignition and pulled out of the parking space. “I know.”
“I’m sorry that I forgot,” I mumbled. I checked the rest of the day to see if he had any other meetings I needed to remind him of. When I saw today was clear after his meeting, a breath of relief whispered through me. “I need to figure out how to get my phone to notify me about meetings a few hours before they happen.”
Dimitri made a non-committal sound and stayed silent as he drove us back to the Volkov Law Firm building. A song played over the speakers, and I softly sang along to it. It was one of my favorites and I appreciated Dimitri for playing music I liked while we rode together. It’d always helped by distracting me from auditory hallucinations or getting lost in my thoughts.
