Page 113 of 7+Us Makes Nine

“He’s such a handsome and polite young man, Ari,” my mother had said. “I hope you’re pleased.”

It felt weird to stress about what to wear out to dinner with him, but as I stood before my closet, wrapped in a bath-towel, I agonized over it nonetheless.

“I was under the impression we were going to dinner today still…” Gio had shouted from downstairs.

“Oh, shut up!” I yelled back, although I did feel somewhat guilty for how long I’d had him waiting.

Finally, I settled for a casual sundress and a pair of open toed sandals. I kept my makeup light, tossed on a jacket, put on some earrings, and combed my hair straight down. I then grabbed my purse and cell phone and headed back downstairs.

The way Gio looked at me made me blush all over again.

Perhaps that was part of what made him so appealing. No matter what inner turmoil I felt toward him, whenever he looked at me, he made me feel as if I was the most beautiful woman in the world. Maybe that was why he always managed to make me behave so irrationally.

“You look stunning,” Gio said, still eyeing me appreciatively. “Now I feel under-dressed.”

“Are you afraid that I’m showing you up?” I asked.

He laughed. “You would do that regardless, no matter how you dressed. And trust me—that’s a hard feat to pull off.”

Again, I couldn’t help but laugh. I’d never met someone who succeeds in being so modest and cocky at the same time, but Gio had such a contradiction perfected. I supposed it was all for my benefit though, for he was so good-looking that it felt like a chore making myself presentable enough to be in his presence.

As I stared at him, it struck me again how ridiculously handsome he was, with his long hair, amber eyes, and deep dimples.

“Any place in particular that you’d like to go?” he asked as we approached the front door.

“This was your idea. Surprise me.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

* * *

Either he thought I had extravagant tastes, or he was trying really hard to impress me. Whatever the case, we wound up at a fancy and expensive restaurant with things on the menu I could hardly pronounce.

The most troubling thing, however, was that I couldn’t tell if he was succeeding in impressing me. A part of me still felt guarded around him, as if he couldn’t be trusted for some reason. I too keenly remembered how he had made me feel the night after we first met—that emotional blow was proving difficult to move past, even though I’d learned the truth about why he had initially treated me that way. On the other hand, there was another part of me that had a hard time continuing to hate him.

There was just something about him that made it impossible to not feel warmth creeping into my face and in other areas of my body…

He glanced up from his menu, likely feeling me staring at him.

I lowered my gaze,

feeling yet another blush spreading across my face.

“What’s wrong?” he asked. “Not your kind of place?”

I glanced around the restaurant—at the dimly lit chandeliers hanging from the high ceilings, the candle-lights lining the decorative walls, and the wealthy older couples scattered about at the tables around us. “It is a little much,” I admitted.

“I just thought I owed you something like this.”

I raised my eyebrows. “And why is that?”

A devilish smirk slowly spread across his face, putting those adorable dimples on display. He leaned across the table to me. “You were making me feel cheap. You’ve thoroughly rewarded me twice already, and I hadn’t even taken you to dinner.”

I averted my gaze, feeling as if someone had just lit a match over my face. With shaky hands, I reached for my glass of water.

Gio’s chuckling drifted across the table. “I’m just messing with you. But still—it’s true.”

The ice-water was too cold going down my throat, and I had to suppress a cough.

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