Page 41 of The Upgrade

“Ma’am?”

We both turn to face a tall waiter in a white apron. He gestures us out toward the restaurant, where a perfect, candlelit table sits right at the edge of the seawall.

“Right this way,” he tells Eve. “Your table is ready.”

“Thank you.” Eve turns and gives me a smile. “That looks great, huh?”

“No kidding.” It’s exactly the table I would have chosen.

“Maybe it’s a sign.”

“A sign?” I rest a hand in the small of her back as we make our way to the spot. “The perfect table means you’re destined for a perfect vacation?”

“Something like that.”

“Sounds like a plan.” With my hand in the warm curve of her spine, we make our way to the perfect table.

Toward a connection that’s rapidly moving beyond just a one-night stand.

CHAPTER7

EVE

Dinner with Kit is surprisingly nice.

I don’t meanniceas a negative, either. Not vanilla yogurtniceor good parking spot at the gymnice. More like the nice where we never run out of things to talk about.

“He fucked your cousin in a sex swing?”

“Yep.” I shovel the last bite of soufflé in my mouth, feeling warm and relaxed all over. “Right there in his office.”

The wine’s flowing freely, so we’ve both lost our filters at this point.

“How original.” Kit lifts the bottle of sauvignon blanc from the ice bucket, topping me off before he tips the rest into his glass. “Please tell me you cut the rope when you caught them.”

“I wish I’d thought of it. I was too shocked to do more than just stand there, watching his stupid, hairy ass pumping away.”

“Thank you for that visual.”

“I shouldn’t be the only one with that picture burned into their retinas.” Maybe it’s the wine, but I’m finding myself more bemused than angry. “Want to know what pissed me off the most?”

“Absolutely.”

“Six months before that, I bought him a gift card for Madame Butterfly.”

“The sex toy company?”

“Yep.” I trail a finger around the rim of my glass. “We’d been together a while and I wanted to spice things up. But he opened the card and you’d think I’d given him a certificate for free back waxing.”

Kit nods sagely. “Appropriate, maybe, if his back matched his ass.”

I bark out a laugh as I pick up my glass. “He folded the card back into the envelope and looked at me like he felt sorry for me or something.” I pitch my voice low, doing my best Brock impression. “‘Don’t you think that’s a little bit tacky, Eve?’ Like he thought I’d agree with him.”

“What did you say?”

Not much, I’m ashamed to admit. “I said if he could avoid kink-shaming me, I’d avoid pressuring him into doing anything sexually he didn’t want to do. I thought it was a good compromise. That’s what relationships are, right?”

“Maybe.” Kit frowns. “Some things can’t be compromised.”

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