Page 434 of His Virgin Romance Series

BRIE

Ihad decided to wear my silver mini dress with the lace inserts. It was sexy, yet sophisticated, and it showed just the right amount of skin. I had arranged my hair into careless waves that fell over one shoulder and had applied only light makeup with dark lipstick to complete the come-hither look. I was hoping that my outfit, in combination with my date, might bring about the reaction I was hoping for.

At the very least, Gregory seemed to appreciate my effort. “Wow,” he said, the moment I emerged from my room. “You look drop dead gorgeous.”

I smiled. “Thank you.”

He offered me his arm like a true gentleman, and we headed downstairs to Pepe Albero. I was looking forward to the meal and only slightly wary of taking Gregory as my date. But I figured either Seth would be completely indifferent or only slightly indignant. It didn’t matter to me…much anyway. I was starting to resign myself to the fact that Seth would never see me as anything but Jason’s little sister. He had frozen me in place in the image of the fourteen-year-old girl I had been when we had first met.

The first time I had set eyes on Seth, he had been getting out of the car just in front of our house, and I had been hiding out in my room. He was over six feet tall, a particularly impressive feature considering that I was much shorter at the time. He had been wearing a black t-shirt and printed shorts, and his hair had that carelessly windblown look that every young aspiring model lusted after.

I had frozen the moment I saw him and the world had slowed down for a moment. And in those five seconds, I had gone from infatuation to love to longing. A part of me realized, as Gregory and I exited the elevator, that nothing had really shifted all that much since then. Ten years had passed, and it appeared I was still the same fourteen-year-old girl who was staring at Seth, desperate for him to notice me.

“Just have fun,” I told myself harshly.

“Sorry,” Gregory asked, alerting me to the fact that I had spoken out loud. “Did you say something?”

“No,” I said quickly. “Nothing.”

We entered the restaurant, and I was shown to what had now become my usual table. I looked around subtly, but it was clear that Seth hadn’t arrived yet. Nakoa approached with his ready smile and two menus. “Good evening, Ms. Sinclair,” he greeted. I saw him turn to my date and a glimmer of surprise flitted across his face. In the next second, however, it was gone. “And to you, as well, Mr. Winchester.”

“Thank you, my good man,” Gregory nodded, as he accepted the menu.

“Thank you, Nakoa,” I said, giving him a smile. “Any recommendations for me tonight?”

“What are you in the mood for, ma’am?”

“Something light and delicious.”

Nakoa smiled. “Might I suggest the shrimp gnocchi with salmon then?” he suggested. “It’s superb.”

“Have you tried it?” I asked, with interest.

“Just yesterday,” Nakoa nodded.

“And, did you like it better than the tortellini?”

“I did.”

“That’s all the encouragement I need then,” I said. “I’ll try the gnocchi.”

“Excellent,” Nakoa nodded. “And for you, Mr. Winchester?”

“I’ll have the Ragu,” Gregory replied as he handed Nakoa the menu.

Once we were alone, Gregory turned to me with a touch of surprise in his eyes. “You’re very familiar with the waiters.”

“I come here almost every night.”

“So do I,” he pointed out. “And yet, I still don’t have conversations with any of them.”

I raised an eyebrow at him, and he smiled in an embarrassed sort of way. “That came out sounding a little…”

“Elitist?” I offered bluntly.

“I suppose it did, didn’t it?”

“What’s your point, Gregory?”

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