Page 36 of Shielding His Heart
And I think I fall a little in love with him when he grins and says, “That depends on if your answer’s yes.”
CHAPTER18
ALEC
“Ican’t thank you enough for taking the girls again. I really appreciate how flexible you’ve been with us. I don’t know what I would’ve done without you.”
Mom beams at me and waves away my gratitude. “I am their grandmother. That’s what I’m here for. You two go out and have fun. You deserve it.”
“I’ll bring you back something to go.”
“That’ll be fine. Take as long as you need. All night, even.”
I roll my eyes. “Mom, don’t even start.”
She giggles and hustles the girls out the door. They, of course, put up quite a protest considering they have a new cat to play with but eventually leave. Tana is in our bedroom getting ready. My palms are suddenly sweaty, and my knees feel weak. It’s almost like our first date all over again.
I figured I’d keep it simple. I’m taking her to a restaurant near the beach with amazing food and a gigantic aquarium. We used to go there all the time, but it feels like tonight is the first time. And in a way, it kind of is. I never thought I’d see the amnesia as a blessing in disguise, but I can’t deny I’m enjoying falling for my wife all over again.
Heels click softly against the floor, and I turn to find Tana stepping into the kitchen. She’s wearing a classic black dress with a deep V neckline. And that’s as far as I get because her tits look fantastic. I nearly swallow my own tongue looking at her. When the lump in my throat dissolves, I choke out, “Maybe we shouldn’t go out.”
Her lips quiver a little as she smiles. “What do you mean? Is something wrong?”
“The only thing wrong is that I’m not taking that dress off you right now.”
“Alec!” she squeaks out.
Grinning, I say, “Well, I promised I’d be honest. And the truth is all I want to do is take it off you.” She’s frozen in the doorway, and there’s a moment of delicious tension where I almost give in, say fuck it, and take her to bed. But we both need to connect on more than the physical level. I want to take her out, treat her nice, and then bring her home and do dirty things to her. “But we’d better leave because I promised you a date.”
The newfound tension between us is electric on the short drive to the restaurant. I can’t stop staring at her legs. Or her tits, really. My eyes seem to ricochet from one to the other the whole drive there. We’re lucky we make it there in one piece.
We make small talk on the drive to the restaurant, but I don’t remember a damn word. We’re in line to be seated when a high-pitched squeal cuts through our little bubble. Tana instinctively moves closer to me, and I wrap my arm around her waist and pull her flush against my side as we follow the sound.
Her head twists around to see where the noise comes from, and we see a sharply dressed older woman with vibrant red hair and a gigantic smile. Her teeth are so white and perfect that I do a double-take.
“Oh my God, Gary! I told you that was her. As I live and breathe, it’s Tana! From The Purple Cat!” The woman beelines for us and takes out her phone. “Can I get a selfie with you? My girlfriends won’t believe me when they learn I met the real Tana Dorran. We just love your stuff. Do you ever think you’ll open up the site again?”
Tana visibly freezes. Her expression goes blank. I immediately want to put her behind me, protect her. When I move to do so, she puts a hand on my arm. We share a look, and I back off.
She recovers quickly and gives the woman a sweet smile. “That’s so kind of you. I don’t have any plans to reopen in the immediate future. Unfortunately, I’m still dealing with health issues, as I’m sure you understand.”
The woman’s discerning eyes flicker to the pink scar on Tana’s forehead. “Bless your heart. In all my excitement, I totally forgot about your accident. I feel so silly.”
Tana gives her a gentle smile. “You don’t have to apologize. I’d be happy to take a picture with you if you want one.”
The woman brightens again. “I’d love that!” She pulls Tana close and hands me the camera to take a photo. Tana looks a little wary, but the woman seems satisfied when I snap a couple of pictures.
“I’ll keep my eye out for your announcement when you want to open the store again. We all wear your stuff.”
“You have a good night now,” Tana says kindly without answering.
The woman’s husband gestures impatiently from where he stands by the hostess stand. A waitress leads the pair of them away, and I can feel Tana relax next to me.
“You okay?” I run a hand down her arm and intertwine her fingers with mine.
“Yeah, I’m fine. That just took me off guard. People have recognized me before, I assume because they’ve seen me around, but I haven’t been recognized because of my social media presence. It’s strange. Did people really recognize me before like that?”
“Not often, but sometimes. Especially people around the area because it’s not a huge place.”
