“Don’t we need to get the check?”
Cooler under his arm, he pressed against her back, ushering her toward the front of the restaurant. “Why? I own the place.”
* * *
“Where are we going?” Sienna asked, matching his stride as her heels beat against the sidewalk.
“Short walk. Are you cold?” Beau watched as she ran a hand up and down her bare arm before she folded her arms across her chest. “Where’s your coat?”
He had been so infatuated with Sienna’s body in that dress that he hadn’t noticed the jacket she had been wearing when he picked her up was nowhere to be seen.
“I left it in the car.”
He moved to the side, placing the box on the ground. “Here,” Beau said, taking off his suit jacket. Sienna smiled gratefully as he stepped behind her, slipping it over her shoulders. He lifted her hair, letting his fingers comb through the silky strands before he picked up the box and extended a hand. “Come on.”
“So you bought the restaurant too?” Sienna asked from beside him.
“I told you,” he said, running a thumb over her knuckles. “I wanted a stake in the place. I didn’t want to risk losing it. Plus,” he added, “my accountant told me to diversify my investments.”
Beau kept his head down, avoiding the odd gaze from others walking in the opposite direction. There was a side of beingBeau Walkerthat Beau didn’t always like but was forced to appreciate. When he felt a group’s gaze burn into his back after they passed, Beau pulled Sienna to his side, protectively.
“Sorry,” he whispered, even though he didn’t feel bad the situation brought her closer.
They hurried a few more blocks before crossing the street and heading down a back alley.
Looking skeptically at their surroundings, Sienna popped an eyebrow, and her head snapped forward when a door opened.
“All set, Mr. Walker.” A woman appeared, motioning them in. “Take your time.”
Beau thanked her before stepping inside, leading Sienna through the dim corridor until they reached the lobby. Their feet echoed in the large, open space absent of anyone else.
“Where are we?” Sienna tugged his hand, but Beau said nothing and continued through the Science Center. “Do you own this place to?
“It’s not for sale. Don’t think I didn’t check.”
Pulling open a door, Beau motioned with his head. “Il Cielo was where the old planetarium was. But it’s still not a planetarium.”
He waited, watching Sienna bite her lip in question before she peeked into the dark room, hesitantly walking inside. He leaned against the wall, watching her small steps as shadows flanked her silhouette. The deeper she went into the auditorium, the more her body came into view. When Sienna stopped and looked up at the illuminated ceiling, her hair cascaded down her back, over Beau’s suit jacket.
“Wish list?” he asked.
The ceiling—the sky—didn’t just light up. Sienna did too, and Beau pushed off the wall, his mouth stretching with a grin of delight when she lifted her hands to the air and twirled.
“Wish list,” came her voice, light and airy, when she stopped circling, not letting her head fall from the ceiling.
“How about dessert?” Beau asked, approaching.
Sienna finally turned back to him, staring at the package he held out. She slipped off his jacket, dropping it to a chair. “Back then, those melted,” she said about the ice cream before taking it.
Beau nodded, swallowing heavily, as he recalled licking the ice cream that dripped down her chin to her neck.
“I’ve stepped up my logistics game a bit,” he rebutted, placing the box on the floor and pushing it to the side with his foot. “Dry ice. But damn. You don’t know how hard it is to find Chipwiches these days.”
Sienna ripped open the package, holding the treat to the lit ceiling to examine the chocolate chips lacing the vanilla ice cream between two soft cookies. She stepped closer, offering him the first bite.
After an evening of Sienna’s body pressed to his side, of her fingers wound between his own, Beau could no longer not touch her. He grabbed her wrist, holding it as he bit into the ice cream before gently guiding Sienna’s hand back to her as she did the same. Beau’s next bite was different—he could feel where her mouth had warmed the cookie, softened the ice cream, and a tingle swirled down his chest to his toes now curled inside his dress shoes.
They finished it in silence, until there was nothing but cookie crumb left on Sienna’s fingers, which she licked off before wiping a smudge of ice cream from Beau’s mouth. He immediately pushed his tongue forward, swiping his lips to get a taste of her. Sienna let her finger linger.