Page 43 of The Fangirl and the Grump

“Are…are you okay?” she asks, obviously trying not to let her humor show.

“I’m fine,” I say, moving around the table the hostess has stopped at to hold Keegan’s chair for her.

Keegan slides into the chair with a soft word of thanks, and the hostess waits for me to take my seat before informing us our waiter will be with us shortly. She scurries away, and I watch Keegan as her eyes dart everywhere but at me.

“Go ahead,” I sigh, and bright laughter peals out of her.

“Oh, my God,” she says, wiping a stray tear from her eye. “I’m so sorry. I’m a horrible person for laughing at you like that.”

“You really arethe worst,” I say with a hint of sarcasm.

“The worst of the worst,” she agrees, her laughter fading into a soft smile. “You didn’t hurt yourself, did you?”

“Just my ego,” I admit, and her smile widens.

“Well, if it’s any consolation, you still looked hot even when you were falling flat on your face.”

“It is, actually,” I say, then puff out my chest and deepen my voice. “So, you think I’m hot?”

Keegan rolls her eyes dramatically. “Seems that ego is just fine, after all.”

I laugh with her, and fuck, it feels good. I haven’t had an enjoyable night with someone like this in I don’t know how long. I feel…relaxed.

The waiter arrives with a wine list, and Keegan and I both order a glass. We chat about the menu, and when I recommend the chicken alfredo with salad and bread, she readily agrees. After we have our wine and our waiter takes our order to the chef, I lean back in my chair and watch Keegan over the rim of my glass.

She’s telling me about something funny that happened with Willow at work, and her animated movements have my lips curling upward. She’s so vibrant. So full of life. Once again, I can feel her exuberance rubbing off on me.

God, it just feelsgoodto be in her presence.

Her ex-boyfriend was a fucking idiot to let her go.

Oh, well. His loss is my gain. If he hadn’t, she wouldn’t have come to Evening Shade. We never would’ve met, and I wouldn’t be sitting here wishing I could kiss that sassy, beautiful mouth of hers.

“Are you even listening to me?”

“What?” I say with a start, then drop my shoulders. “Sorry.”

“I’m that boring, huh?” she asks with an exaggerated frown.

“No. You’re just so pretty, I keep getting distracted.”

“And you’re forgiven,” she says with a breathy laugh, her cheeks darkening with a pink blush.

Our food arrives before I can come up with a clever response. The waiter places our plates of pasta and salad in front of us, deposits a basket of bread in the center of the table, then offers us some freshly grated parmesan. Keegan nods enthusiastically, and he grates the cheese over her already cheesy meal. I decline with a small wave over my steaming plate, and he nods, then departs.

Keegan plucks a piece of garlic bread from the basket and bites into it with a quiet groan. The sound makes my dick twitch, and I silently berate it for being obnoxious. I watch as she closes her eyes and chews, then drops the remainder to her plate. Grabbing her fork, she twirls some pasta around the tines before lifting it to her lips. She pauses for a moment, inhaling its delicious scent, then pushes the bite into her mouth with another groan.

Fuck.I’m glad she likes it. This place was obviously a good choice. But if she keeps making those incredibly sexy sounds, I reallyamgoing to embarrass myself worse than I already have.

I manage to keep up with the conversation as we eat, but Keegan continues to make those little noises with each bite, driving my self-control to the very edge of its restraint. When she hums and sets her fork down, she finally seems to notice my discomfort.

“Is everything okay?” she asks, leaning slightly forward. “You have a weird look on your face.”

My eyes close as I shake my head. When I reopen them, I spear her with a heady look.

“All those little noises you’ve been making haven’t left me…unaffected,” I admit.

Honesty is the best policy, right?

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