Page 22 of The Game Plan
Champagne sat chilled in a bucket stand, and the table had a beautiful, but small, centerpiece of dark red roses, along with some long, tapered candles glowing brightly over the small space. The table was also placed farther from the others, creating an illusion of being alone together.
“Wow,” she said, thoroughly impressed. She had never been to such a fancy place before, although she thought it might be a bit much since they weren’t really dating.
“Isn’t this a bit much for a fake first date?” she asked, leaning over to whisper.
“I don’t think so,” Reese replied, trying to hide the irritation on his face.
He clearly put a lot of effort into this, and you’re ruining it.
She pursed her lips together and tried to refrain from saying anything else, not wanting to upset him. She dropped her napkin into her lap and picked up the menu, biting her lip to keep the shock from showing at the prices on the menu.
These are the most expensive prices I’ve ever seen.
Scouring the menu for the cheapest thing she could find, she decided it wasn’t for her, so she decided to find something else. It took her a few tries, but she finally landed on a lobster risotto with veggies on the side and a salad, making a note to ask for the vinaigrette as the dressing.
Peeking over the menu, she studied him in the candlelight—his brows furrowed as he decided what he wanted to eat. His hazel eyes darkened as they looked up at her, her cheeks flushing pink at being caught staring at him.
“Is there something on my face?” he asked, a grin coming to his perfect face.
It was round but tapered to the perfect point, the scruff on his face adding to the mystique of the man.
“No,” she replied with a shake of her head. “Your face is perfect.”
Her eyes rounded when she realized what she said. “I mean?—”
He laughed and set down his menu. “I understand.”
She dipped back down behind the menu to hide, annoyed and unnerved by the whole situation.
Shouldn’t have agreed to go to dinner with him then.
She silently cursed at herself, acknowledging that yes, it was her own fault, but she could still be annoyed by it.
The waiter appeared and took their orders, removing the safety net of the menus from the table as he went to put in their food.
“Champagne?” Reese asked, motioning to the bottle.
“Please,” she replied, needing the liquid courage to get through the rest of this dinner with him.
Why are you so nervous? You were so confident the other night, and now here you are, acting like a twit.
She scowled and his brows shot up. “Is everything all right?”
“Yes,” she blurted out as she took a big drink of the champagne he set down in front of her. “I’m sorry, but I have no idea why I’m so nervous. I mean, we’ve already made out, so this shouldn’t be that big of a deal.”
Probably because before, you didn’t think it would go anywhere because he made it abundantly clear itwouldn’tgo anywhere and look at you now.
“It’s okay,” he replied, setting his glass down in front of him. “I’m pretty nervous, too.”
She leaned forward. “Really?”
He nodded. “Really.”
She sat back in her chair, surprised and a little bit elated by that.
“What should we talk about?” she asked, looking around. “We should try to get to know one another a little bit if we’re going to be around one another for a while.”
“Well,” he said, taking a sip of his glass, “what about family?”