Page 179 of The Maxwell Brothers
"I know. You told me at the cabin. That's why I made reservations there."
I warmed up in all the places where we were touching. He still had an arm possessively around my waist as if he wanted to make sure anyone passing us knew exactly what was going on here. This was surreal. Ever since I met him, I sort of felt like I was living in a parallel universe.
A gust of wind blew around us, chilling me completely. November was here. The air was brisk and a bit foggy. Thank God for the lampposts, because it was already pitch dark.
“How was your day?” he asked.
“It was great. I started it with a visit to my house. A moving company took my boxes there. I’m keeping them in the basement.”
“You’re really looking forward to moving, huh?”
“Yeah. I feel like I’m almost living there because at least I brought some stuff over.”
“You’re cute.”
We arrived at our destination a few minutes later. The restaurant was very cozy, giving off a cosmopolitan vibe with wood-paneled walls and brass chandeliers—it was an eclectic mix. Some seemed to be of oriental origin, while others were more industrial.
Tyler and I were seated at a corner table with a bench, so we sat on adjacent sides of the table. He had a particularly smug smile.
"Why are you smiling?” I asked. I didn't mind at all. I just wanted to be prepared for whatever he had in mind.
He didn't say anything because the waitress appeared, bringing us the menus. After she left, he looked at me out of the corner of his eye.
I was acutely aware of him sitting very close to me. My eyes popped when I glanced at the prices, and my stomach sank.Holy fuck.Steak was usually expensive, but this was completely ridiculous. How could a steak cost as much as a dress?
They didn't have too many options, so I glanced quickly to see what else I could order.
"Um, I'm not that hungry. I'll just take a Caesar salad." It was by far the cheapest thing on the menu.
Tyler's brows knitted together. "What do you mean? You like steak, right? You were excited about it."
"Yeah, but I'm not feeling too hungry." I sounded ridiculous.
"Kendra, what's wrong, baby? If you don't like it, we can go somewhere else."
"It's just so expensive," I whispered, looking around.
"Babe, this is a date. I'm taking you out. You don't have to worry about anything, and you're not paying for any of this."
I shook my head. "That's not the point. I feel guilty spending anyone's money like this."
"If I want to splurge to treat my girlfriend, I will.”
Okay, wow.He just called me his girlfriend.
I looked back at the menu, biting the inside of my cheek. Splurging had never been part of my vocabulary. It couldn't. The most splurging I ever did was treat myself to popcornandnachos when going to see a movie.
"Kendra, if you're feeling uncomfortable, tell me, and we'll go somewhere else. But if you want to stay here, if you're curious to try this, just let me do this for you, okay?"
"Okay," I said.
"You promise you'll enjoy it? We don’t have to stay because we came here. I don’t want you to be uncomfortable."
I sighed, looking up at him. "How can I not enjoy it? I'm here with the sexiest guy alive."
He smirked. "The sexiest guy alive? I don't think anyone's ever called me that."
It was my turn to cock a brow in disbelief. "Maybe not to your face. I’m?—”
