Page 28 of Ronen (Sweet Alps Legacy #1)

He quirked his lips at me, trying not to smile too broadly at my aversion to what I considered fake chocolate. Sorry, scientists could say what they wanted, in my book it wasn’t real chocolate and should just take its too sweet ass home. “Duly noted.”

Our server, who had patiently been waiting to get our drink order, also looked like she was trying hard not to laugh at my aversion. Instead, she told us, “We have a heart shaped pizza on special tonight. ”

“That won’t be necessary,” I responded, not looking up from my menu.

“This is our first date,” Mason felt some need to tell her.

“Ohhh,” she seemed extra excited by this information, enough to make me look up from my menu. “How fun to have a Valentine’s first date!”

“Valentine’s is tomorrow,” I deadpanned, only to see her face fall.

Mason tilted his head at me, giving me a look that said I was being rude or something, but his eyes held the slightest hint of amusement.

“Ronen, I know your parents raised you with better manners,” Gigi appeared in the empty seat to my left, and I made sure to keep my eyes locked on Mason’s. Even though I wanted to respond so badly to her. Why was she even here? I didn’t need a chaperone for fucks sake.

“I’m sorry,” I apologized softly to our server, and even added a smile. The smile seemed to take her back for a minute, as she just stared at me, eyes wide. “First dates make me nervous without the added pressure of a romantic holiday.”

Never mind that we had already gotten naked and dirty with each other well before this first date. More than once.

“Another one ensnared by the Sinclair smile,” Gigi sighed.

When the server continued to say nothing, I looked to Mason for help, but he was also staring, eyes wide.

What the fuck is wrong with everyone tonight?

“Ronen, I told you, that man has heart eyes every time he looks at you. But now I swear, I see hearts above his head too. He gets that dopey look on his face whenever you smile at him. That’s what happens when you are always Mr. Grumpy Pants.

When you start smiling, people have no idea what to do with themselves. ”

Our server finally seemed to remember she had a job to do and shook her head like she needed to clear it. “Would you like to hear the other specials we have tonight?”

“Sure,” Mason told her, and she rattled on for five minutes about…

well, I stopped listening after the second word because I already had chosen what I was having and couldn’t be bothered to care.

That and Mason stared at me the entire time she talked, his amber eyes soft and tender.

His look made my body heat up, warmth spreading throughout, clear down to my toes.

At the end of her spiel, he told her we would need a few minutes, and we placed our drink orders–a beer for him, and a glass of their house red that I knew was good–for me.

“We do have some games on the table for couples to play for fun while you’re waiting for your orders,” she pointed to two decks of cards.

“Since it’s your first date, you should probably use the pink deck if you want to play.

The red one is geared more for mated couples, or couples that have been dating for some time. ”

When she hurried away to get our drinks, I sighed softly. “We’re in Valentine’s hell.”

Mason picked up the pink deck, doing an impressive shuffle of the cards. “Stop being so grumpy all the time.”

Gigi tossed her bright red head back and cackled, clapping her hands together. “Oh ho, Ronen, he’s got your number. This is going to be fun! I need to go tell the others!”

She disappeared and I could only assume she had gone to gather her band of misfit ghosts. Fucking hell. At least they had made themselves scarce when we had been fucking.

“I’m not!” I huffed, crossing my arms over my chest in a defiant manner .

He waved the deck of cards at me, “Your body language says the opposite. And I was just thinking I liked this side of you I was seeing tonight.”

Narrowing my eyes at him, I asked, “What side?”

He dealt me five cards and did the same for himself before answering. The waitress brought our drinks and asked if we were ready to order. When Mason gave me an inquiring look, I nodded my head.

“I’ll have the shrimp and scallop scampi, please,” I ordered, and she turned to Mason after writing it down.

“The lasagna, please, and an order of garlic bread for the table.” When she hurried to her next table, he gave me a small smile. “I love lasagna, but a whole pan is too much for even me. I tried freezing it once, but it just wasn’t the same.”

“How do we play this game you’re forcing on me?” I asked, not knowing how or if I should respond with my opinion on lasagna. It was fine, once in a while, but I could take it or leave it.

Mason looked at one of his cards, reading it. “I think it’s a get to know you game. It looks like we ask each other questions? There doesn’t seem to be any instructions, so I’m just winging it here. I don’t think the game police will stop us if we end up doing it wrong.”

Taking a sip of my wine, I picked up one of my cards, reading the question. “What if I don’t like a question?”

“Do you not like it for any other reason than you think it’s dumb, and that you want to be a complete pain in the ass?”

If I narrowed my eyes any more than I was at him, I might as well just close them completely. How did this man know exactly what I was thinking ?

“No,” I finally conceded. “But what’s your favorite color is just...” I waved the card at him, “trite.”

Mason’s lips were doing that pursed, trying not to laugh thing they did.

“Why yes, Ronen, that question is overused and lacking originality, but it’s also a very important question when you are getting to know someone.

What if say, I were to buy you a gift and instead of getting your favorite color, I buy a color you don’t like.

And stop sprinkling words in your sentences just to see if I know what they mean. It’s rude.”

“Fine,” I sighed, putting the card down. “Mason, what is your favorite color?”

“Thank you for asking,” he said sweetly, “it’s blue. But I’ve recently developed a fondness for green. At least green eyes. Now, I think we should both answer the questions, so Ronen, what is your favorite color.”

“Also blue,” I rolled my eyes at him, then said, “no yellow. If you were to ever buy me anything, that is. I don’t like yellow. It’s so sunny and…joyful. Blech.”

Mason barked out a laugh. “Well, we wouldn’t want too much joy now would we?”