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To convince people, of course.

“Great, I’ll do the ravioli,” Reyna said. Then to me, “You better be right about this.”

I let out a low laugh. “Oh, I am.” I turned to Marco, who was staring at Reyna with interest and said, “I’ll do the same.”

It looked like it took effort for him to look at me. I fucking knew how beautiful Reyna was, but she was on a date withme.

“Reyna, honey, you don’t want an appetizer?”

Reyna blinked at me once, like she had to process some reaction to that nickname. “We’ll do whatever thechef recommends,” she told me, more so than Marco. Good.

Marco mumbled a quick affirmation and scurried away. As he was about to turn the corner behind Reyna, he doubled back, clearly remembering that he’d left the wine bottle on the table without pouring.

I waved him away with a quick pass of my hand. No more of him for a while.

"So,” I said, grabbing the bottle and topping off Reyna’s glass. “About this relationship.”

“Yes,” Reyna said, somewhat hesitantly.

“We need to talk some ground rules. How long, what level of intimacy in public, backstory.” The details were good. I needed something rational to fall back on.

“Well, clearly nicknames are already in the picture,” Reyna said, leaning back so she could cross one of her legs over the other. My stomach pulled tight in response. “And you've decided on a pet name without consulting me.”

“I certainly did. Unless you have a problem with that, honey.”

“Fine,” Reyna said, after a quick sip of her wine. Something must have been happening with the dim lighting, because her warm skin practically shimmered each time she moved. “But that means I get to pick one for you.”

“Babyworks just fine.” Hell, I’d probably pay her to do call me that.

“Notcupcake?” She asked, pushing her full lips into a pout.

I shook my head. Even though I was regretting offering upbabyin the first place. That word on her lips threatened to conjured up a dangerous image. I pushedpast it, focusing on what I could control. “I’d prefer for this relationship to last six months to a year. But,” I added, when Reyna looked like she wanted to protest, “I know you might not agree.”

“If you already know what I’m thinking, why don’t you just tell me how long I’d want?”

“Smart ass,” I grumbled under my breath, with not an ounce of protest behind it. “Three months?”

Reyna’s eyes narrowed, looking at me skeptically. But I knew I had her. “Let’s start with that.”

I opened my mouth to speak, but she cut me off. “But before I agree, you need to tell me everything. You won’t offend me. Or turn me off of this, I already decided it's a good idea. But you need to tell me the whole story.”

Somehow I’d known that I wouldn’t be able to get away with the reputation excuse with her for long. “I will.”

Reyna’s eyes flashed with something. I didn’t know what, only that I would be trying to replicate it.

Her lips parted—probably to protest—but I finished. “Not here. I’ll show you everything. But I promise you this, I will never let an ounce of harm come to you.”

I immediately took a sip of my wine, having to clear my throat after the surprising force with which I’d said that promise.

“Okay,” Reyna said. “Then we need to cover our bases. Backstory, general favorites, stuff like that.” I grinned. I liked the way her mind worked. “Oh, and also a disclaimer.”

“The one where you warn me not to fall in love with you?” I asked, just to beat her to the punch. “Make sure you remember that.”

Reyna’s eyes did that flash thing again. Okay, so rilingher up made them do it. I’d remember that. “We’re in no danger of that, Adrian. I’m not even sure I like you yet.”

I grinned at her over the lip of my wine glass. “And why’s that?”

Reyna studied me for a moment, her eyes dropping to the sliver of skin at the base of my throat that I’d carefully exposed, making sure that it still hid what was beneath the rest of my suit. “Does this whole cold and calculated thing work on other people?”