Page 33 of Pursued By My Grumpy Fiancé
“Oh, yeah. I’m definitely getting the Pollo Toscanini. Yum.” She licks her lips and I’m transported back to the night in the hotel.
Her licking her lips is dangerous.
“What are you getting?”
“Um…I’m going to get the Gamberoni alla Thermidor.” I recover and reply. “I really like shrimp.”
“Really? I actually make a great shrimp pasta myself.” She smiles.
I raise my eyebrows in surprise.
“You can cook?”
She looks offended at my surprise, and I quickly adjust my facial expression. Of course she can cook. A woman this incredible obviously has many talents.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean—I’m not trying to offend you. I guess I am just amazed that you have the time. It’s not that I thought you couldn’t cook, of course you can cook. You’re obviously quite smart and talented.”
I’m stumbling over my words and embarrassing myself in a way that is abnormal for me. I don’t know what it is about being around Hailey, but she makes my nerves go haywire and makes me feel like a little kid again. Hailey laughs and rolls her eyes.
“Oh my god, calm down, you dork,” she says, and I furrow my brow at being called a dork.
She smiles. “I do love to cook. Always have. I’ll have to make you dinner sometime.”
The server interrupts us by setting two prosecco glasses in front of us.
“Have we decided what we are having for our dinner tonight?” She asks.
“Yes,” I say, “I will have the Gamberoni alla Thermidor, and she will have—”
“I’ll have the Pollo Toscanini, thank you.” Hailey cuts in, gathering the menus and passing them off.
The server rushes away and I fix Hailey with a quizzical look.
“Why’d you cut me off?” I ask.
“Why’d you try to order for me?” she shoots back.
I roll my eyes.
“It was just for the sake of ease, it’s not that I don’t think you’re capable.”
“That’s good, because I am capable, and I don’t want to be treated like I’m not.” She raises an eyebrow and leans forward.
Her expression forces me to smile. The way she isn’t afraid to tell me like it is is so endearing. There are very few people bold enough to talk back to me. I can hardly believe how lucky I am to have found a woman like this.
“Now, tell me more about your family.”
I’m shaken from my thoughts by that.
“My family?” I ask.
That wasn’t where I pictured this evening going.
“Sure,” she says. “You said we should get to know each other. So, tell me about your family. You know about mine.”
I shrug. She does make a fair point.
“Okay, well, I’m the oldest of all my siblings. I have two younger brothers, Preston and Grayson—they’re twins. And you know about my youngest sister, Penny. She’s not my sister by blood—she was adopted into the family after her parents passed away. My dad passed away in an airplane accident when I was younger. You know my mom. She and Penny run that charity together, along with half a dozen others.” I can feel myself rambling.
