Page 98 of Puck My Stepbrother

I whistled at him because I could think of no other response that suited the moment. He descended the stairs slowly, one step at a time, as if he anticipated a crowd of paparazzi at the bottom. Maybe he only meant to let me drink it all in. When he drew close, the musky scent of cologne wafted into my nostrils.

“You look like a million bucks,” I said.

He gripped his lapels and smiled proudly.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you dressed up any other time than the wedding,” I added.

“I told you, this is special. I’m going to treat it that way.”

I was starting to believe him…and feel underdressed.

“Shall we?” He offered his hand, and I accepted. Then we strolled hand-in-hand to his car, where he opened the door for me. Once inside, he closed it, walked around the side of the car, and hopped into the driver’s seat.

“Where to?” I asked.

“You’ll see.”

Again, that smile. It would’ve won me over from the start had my guard not stayed up.

He backed out of the driveway and drove downtown to the theater district, where he found a quiet parking lot. From there, we walked a couple blocks to Salvatore’s Steak and Chops.

“This is really where we’re going?” I asked.

“Uh-huh.”

“Isn’t this place seriously expensive?”

He shrugged as if to say that money was no object for him. We joined hands again when entering the restaurant, like he didn’t care who saw him acting cozy with another guy. If I needed proof that Levi was all-in on us, that more than sufficed.

When I glanced at my surroundings, I almost couldn’t believe that I was really in this restaurant. I’d never visited a place like it in my entire life, so I felt like a fish out of water. Meanwhile, Levi was playing the role of the worldly man who felt perfectly at home dining with the upper crust.

“Been here before?” I asked after the host seated us.

“Of course. Came here with the Larkin Lions after winning the national title last year. Food’s to die for.”

Then he opened his menu as if he found winning a national title as casual as eating in such a fine restaurant.

We each ordered steak, go figure, with a glass of red wine. Then we sat and stared at one another across the table like neither of us could get enough.

“Enjoying yourself?” he asked.

“It’s perfect. The only thing missing is a candle.”

Levi raised his hand as if to summon someone to bring a candle, but I stopped him.

“It’s okay, Levi. I didn’t mean you had to make that happen.”

When he smiled at me, I knew he really meant to say that my wish was his command.

“Have you ever done anything like this before?” I asked. “You know, with any of the girls you dated?”

“Not even once. Usually, I’d take them somewhere really loud and crowded, like the Colter Bay Grill or Gabriel’s Gate. We would chow on chicken wings and beer, not steak and wine. It wasn’t one-on-one, either. I usually had other people around. And those places aren’t as intimate as this one.”

“But you still want to have a hockey career, don’t you?”

“Of course I do.”

“Then you know what they’re going to say about us even before they get into our family situation.”