Page 24 of The Manny's Fiery Dragon Bond

Ollie sucked in a breath. Elation filled his face. “I love it. Thank you. Seriously. I am tempted to go shift right now so I can cuddle into it.”

My dragon rumbled his approval. Score one for me.

“You’re welcome. Shall we?” I held out my arm, and he took it… my dragon puffing up in victory.

Calm down. We still have a lot to make up for.

I led him to my car and opened the door for him. Was I being overly old-fashioned? Opening the door for him, closing it behind him, giving him my arm, following the norms of the days of old? Probably. But I didn’t care. It was how I knew to spoil him, and he needed spoiling. Lots and lots of spoiling.

“Where are we going?” Ollie asked as he buckled his seatbelt.

“Someplace I know that you’ll like.” And I did—but only because I overheard my son calling him for advice about a great place. It was when he was trying to set up a date night for him and his mate when Ollie first started. I hadn’t even met Ollie then, but my dragon knew on some level, because eavesdropping wasn’t my norm, but for some reason that call mattered. I saw why now.

We drove to the restaurant, chatting about the weather and the kids. He loved my grandkids, and that meant the world to me. The place we were going to was high-end and was known for its food and service, all that good stuff. But that wasn’t why it was a great choice for a first real date. That honor went to its view.

People traveled long distances to dine here, just to look out the windows as they ate. It was nearly impossible to even get a reservation. The only reason I’d gotten in so easily was because I somehow lucked out, calling at the perfect time, a reservation having just been cancelled. I could use my title, of course, or money for that matter, but I wanted to do this the right way, and using my power and position was categorically not that.

The restaurant was tucked away in the mountains, the entire dining room exterior made of glass, and tonight, the moon was high. You could not only see the areas surrounding the restaurant but also down to the city.

He gasped when we arrived. “I’ve always wanted to go here.”

“I know.” I parked the car. “My son mentioned that you recommended it when he wanted to surprise his mate. I listened.”

“Oh...” His cheeks pinkened. “Well, thank you.”

The food was great. The atmosphere—private enough that we could have conversations. And the company, of course… the company was fabulous.

For the night, we both put aside what had happened, not talking about anything too serious. We chatted about books we loved, places we’d gone to, favorite foods, all typical first-date kinds of things. At least I thought they were. It had been so long since I even considered going on one.

The night was absolutely perfect.

I placed my hand on his across the table. There was something I’d been wanting to ask him, something I was beyond nervous he’d reject. But it was now or never, and I was choosing now.

“I was wondering... would you—would you like to go to the charity benefit with me next weekend?”

His eyes dropped to the empty dessert dish from the soufflé we’d just shared.

“I can’t.” It was all but a whisper.

“That’s fine... if you have plans… this is pretty last minute.” It didn’t feel fine. It felt like my heart was being stomped on, but I refused to let him see that.

“No, it’s not that.” He bit the corner of his lip. “I don’t... I’m not fancy enough for that.”

“Fancy?” It dawned on me. He didn’t have a tux. Of course he didn’t. It was hardly normal wardrobe fare for most people. “How about we go shopping tomorrow then?” Problem solved.

Wrong.

“Oh, I don’t know... that would feel awkward.” He still wasn’t meeting my eyes. I hadn’t meant to offend him. To me it was another way to spoil him, but now that I thought about it, I understood.

“You know what would feel awkward? Being at such a special event knowing that my mate couldn’t attend because of some scraps of fabric.”

He turned his hand over so our palms were touching. He wasn’t pulling away. He was giving me more.

“Then I’d love to go shopping with you tomorrow.”

And my dragon felt like he’d just won the lottery.

I did too.

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