Page 10 of Wild and Wrangled

“Let’s do it.”

We got out of the car, and I had the urge to grab her hand as we walked toward the door, but I didn’t, of course. It was weird—before this morning, I hadn’t held her hand in nearly fifteen years, but reaching for it felt like the most natural thing in the world.

I looked over at her. She looked fucking adorable right now with her messy hair and how she was absolutely swimming in my coat and her new outfit from the gas station.

When we got inside, we were greeted by a hostess and a very bright “Hi, welcome to Chili’s. How many?”

“Two,” I said.

“Table or booth?”

“Booth,” Cam and I said at the same time.

The hostess nodded. “Right this way.” She led us to a four-person booth near the back of the restaurant. I waited for Cam to sit before I did, then I slid into the bench across from her. When we sat down, I watched Cam’s eyes latch on to the tattoo on my neck for a second, but when I caught her looking, she looked away quickly.

“Here are some menus, and your server will be right with you.” The hostess laid a menu in front of each of us.

“Thank you,” I said, and she nodded and walked away.

Cam picked her menu up. I watched her eyes track back and forth as she read. I liked watching her. I had spent so long not seeing her or only seeing pictures, so now, when I had the opportunity to look at her—which didn’t come as often as I’d like—I did it.

Her dark brown hair was longer now—and maybe darker, too. When it was curly, it fell to the middle of her biceps. Her face was less round than it used to be, and she didn’t tweeze her eyebrows as thin as she used to. They looked good on her face. She’d always been stunning. Now, she was…almost regal, too.

“Are you going to look at the menu, or…?” Cam said without looking up.

“Don’t need to,” I said. “Ultimate fajita platter.”

“Are you a Chili’s regular?” She sounded amused.

“I fucking love Chili’s,” I said. “Sometimes the craving strikes for that middle-class fancy shit, you know?”

“Like Applebee’s?”

“Meh.” I shrugged. “Not my favorite, but I like all the iterations of Applebee’s.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well,” I said, “right now, we’re at Southwest Applebee’s. Texas Roadhouse is like Cowboy Applebee’s, and Olive Garden is Italian Applebee’s.”

“Red Lobster?” Cam chimed in.

“Seafood Applebee’s. We should go there next,” I said.

“I could fuck up a Cheddar Bay biscuit any day.” She nodded, and I laughed. She was loosening up.

Just then, our server came to the table. “Hi y’all,” she said with a perfect customer service tone. “My name is Cara, and I’ll be your server today. Can I start you with anything to drink?”

I nodded at Cam, waiting for her to go first. I watched our server Cara take in her appearance. “I’ll just have a water, please.” The server nodded and looked at me. I didn’t miss the smile she gave me.

“Water, please, and also can we get a Tiki Beach Party Margarita.” I flashed Cara a smile and held up two fingers. “With two straws.”

Cara’s eyes flitted to Cam again as she wrote everything down, and then said, “Are you ready to order food, or do you need a minute?” She was only talking to me.

I looked at Cam, waiting for her. “Margarita grilled chicken, please,” she said, setting her menu down and looking over at me. I gave my order, too, grabbed Cam’s menu, and handed both to Cara. “Thank you,” I said before she walked away.

“The server is into you,” Cam said once she was out of earshot. I shrugged. “She’s probably wondering what the hell someone who looks like you is doing here with me.”

“Someone who looks like me?” I smirked. “What do I look like?”