Page 27 of Seduction

“What does it mean?” I ask when he slides in next to me.

“The equation?” He turns his head to me, pushing up his glasses with his index finger.

“Yeah.”

I buckle my seat belt, watching him do the same before he starts the car and pulls out onto the road.

“Well, the equation itself means energy, E, is equal to mass, M, multiplied by the speed of light, C, squared.”

“Oookay.”

He chuckles, continuing, “It basically means energy and mass are the same. The theory of special relativity is all about what’s relative and what’s absolute about time, space, and motion.”

He launches into an animated explanation of the theory. Most of it goes over my head, but watching him explain it is entertaining and insightful. I always knew he was smart, but I didn’t know he wasthissmart. It’s sexy as hell. Every now and again I ask a question, just to get him to keep talking. If anyone had told me a couple weeks ago that I’d be sitting here enjoying a physics lesson on Einstein’s theory of relativity, I probably would have smacked them over the head.

When we pull up to the restaurant, he opens my door, then takes my hand as we walk inside. The Brook. I’ve heard of it, but I’ve never been here. It only opened a few years ago, but it has a reputation for some of the best food, and for being one of the most romantic restaurants in Georgia. Even if Eddie were alive, this isn’t the kind of place he’d take me to—not his scene. The décor is black and shades of red, making it dark and sultry. Even the linens are black, each table topped with low bouquets of red roses and place settings. The lighting is muted, making the atmosphere cozy. The hushed chatter and the clink of glasses and silverware on fine china echo through the room.

Once we’re seated, Einstein shakes his head. “I’m sorry. I’ve been going on and on. You must be bored out of your mind.”

The waiter hands us our menus and fills our glasses with water, saying he’ll be back to take our orders.

“No,” I assure Einstein. “I love hearing you talk about it. I mean, I picked up a few things here and there, but I mostly enjoyed how passionate you were.”

“Okay. Let me give you a practical example, and then I’m done. I promise.”

He grins, pushing his glasses up his nose again. I can’t get over how I didn’t realize just how gorgeous the man is until now. Damn.

“From where I’m sitting, my glass of water is to my right. From your point of view, my glass is to your left. Right or left, that’s relative based on the point of view. However, we can both agree that the glass is filled with water. That’s absolute, regardless of point of view.”

“That’s it?”

“That’s it.”

“Wow. You don’t need to be a genius to understand that. I guess you just need the right teacher.”

“I guess so.”

Biting my lip, I look down at the menu to avoid his stare. Why am I so shy with him? I’ve known him forever; I didn’t expect to have these first-date jitters with him.

“Know what you want?” he asks.

“Huh?” I stare up at him blankly.

“For dinner.” He chuckles.

“Oh. Still looking.”

He raises a brow, the corner of his lips curling into a smile. “Don’t take too long now.”

“I won’t.” I return his smile, realizing he just shifted gears on this date.

“Good.” He closes his menu, setting it aside. “How’s Mikey?”

“He’s okay. Happy to be spending time with his grandpa. I swear I’m gonna go crazy if he mentions wanting a bike one more time.”

“Hey, what do you expect? It’s in his blood.”

“I guess.”