Page 46 of The Hallows Queen

I shoot a text to Katie as I walk, letting her know I’m going to meet him now, and then I put my phone on Do Not Disturb. I want this time with him, no interruptions, and no distractions. Maybe Katie is right when she says I’m just being stubborn – unable to accept love when it may be right in front of me. I can’t help it, though. Everything in my life has been so temporary. I mean, except my parents, but even then, I had to wait until I was a teen to feel love.

I have trouble letting myself accept people into my life because of the trauma I experienced when I was little. It’s hard to release the feelings of abandonment and rejection after being discarded by your birth parents, then floating around in the foster care system for so long.

Since it’s Friday evening, there’re a ton of people downtown walking around, heading to dinner or just enjoying the fresh air. I walk slowly, keeping my gaze ahead while I work on getting the nerves in the pit of my stomach to go away.

By the time I reach the restaurant, I'm feeling better.

I don’t see Hayden, so instead of standing around outside like an awkward teenager on her first date, I go inside. Most of the indoor tables are filled, and the guys behind the counter are bustling around, making food so quickly that no one notices me. I wander to the dessert case and distract myself with the thought of eating an entire Tiramisu after we’ve had dinner, then I stare at the cannolis and my stomach growls.

“Penelope.” Hayden’s voice pulls me from my daydream, and I turn to find him standing behind me.

He’s dressed in black slacks and a white tee, a pair of sneakers on his feet, and that backwards hat on again. Even in my three-inch heels, he’s still a head taller than me, and it makes me flush hot.

God, he’s delicious.

I smile without meaning to. “Hi.”

His lips tip up at the side, and he nods his head toward the dessert case behind me. “Went straight to dessert?”

I chuckle. “Just dreaming.”

His eyes travel down my body, then back up. “You look beautiful.”

“So do you.” I grin with my lips pressed together, and he chuckles.

“Food?” he asks, waving a hand to the counter to order.

I nod and follow behind him when he moves, and once he’s reached the counter, he calls out for the guy standing at the pizza oven. He holds two fingers up when the guy gives him his attention. “Two slices of Sicilian.”

He nods, moving to the case to grab them, and Hayden looks over his shoulder at me. There’s something incrediblyhotabout a man ordering for you without asking what you want, and the feminist inside me is shaming me for thinking so – butI don’t care.My mouth waters. Whether it’s from the smell of the pizza or how attractive I find this man, I’ll never know.

Once our food is in the oven, the guy comes over and rings us up. Hayden pulls his wallet out, and I put a hand on his arm. “I can pay.”

He raises a brow. “No.”

I laugh, understanding that his dominance won’t let him accept my offer, and I slide my hand off. When he hands a credit card to the cashier, I take a step toward him and kiss him on the ear. “Thank you.”

His arm goes around my waist, and he pulls my body against his so he can press his lips to my temple. “You wanna sit outside?”

I nod against him, unable to get words to move up my throat. Butterflies are attacking my stomach and chest with him so close, and the smell of his skin is making me dizzy.

You’d think after all the wicked positions he’s seen me in by now, I wouldn’t get nervous with him, but tonight feels different somehow.

He slides his hand around me, then trails it down my arm until he can slip his fingers between mine to lead me outside to the patio. There are only a few people out here, and he chooses the table farthest away from the door so we can have some privacy.

I sit before he can do something stupid like pull my chair out for me – I don’t know if I can handle that level ofgentlemanfrom Hayden – and he sits down across from me, propping his elbows on the black, iron table.

I find his eyes, dark with the reflection of the sun from behind me shining in them, and a smile touches my lips.

“Penelope?” he says, his face lifting in humor. “Is this a date?”

I choke on a laugh and roll my eyes at him. “What? No.”

He sits back in his seat, letting his legs hang open carelessly as he crosses his arms over his broad chest. “It feels like a date.”

“No,” I say, unable to find any other words.

He laughs, letting his head roll back and his arms fall to the sides of his chair. “Okay.”

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