Page 19 of Down the Aisle
Giving her a bright smile, I stepped up to her and threw an arm around her shoulders, squeezing them slightly. "Well, order and eat to your heart's content today because it's all my treat." What kind of man would I be if I let my girl pay?
Granted, she didn't need to know all of that quite yet.
Denial pulled her facial features down as she vigorously shook her head at me. "No, Adam. I can't do that. It's not like I'm going to eat much, but I should at least—"
Cutting her off with a playful scoff and roll of my eyes, I prevented her from spewing any more words by pressing my forefinger against her lips. I spoke to her in a very sure and determined voice. "You're not doing anything but making me happy by letting me spoil you and give you what you have deserved all along and then some."
Stubbornly, she glared at me softly, her bottom lip tucking itself between her teeth as she struggled with herself a bit before relenting with a huff. "Fine… But only this once!" The way her voice wavered made me smirk victoriously because she knew this wouldn't be a one-off thing with us.
"Adam! Hey, how ya doing?" A cheery voice broke through our little moment, making us turn our heads to a friendly waitress. "Do you want your usual spot at the bar, or do you want me to work a little magic for you and your beautiful guest today?"
The old woman wiggled her eyebrows at me teasingly as she leaned in and nudged my arm with her elbow. Teasing me with her words, she spoke in a low voice, "I may be an old fart, but I still got my magic touch with you younglings." She snickered with a wink.
Standing up straight, she smiled warmly at Eliza before bending down and pinching Asher's cheek. "How are you today, my dear? I would ask which order you're here for, but I doubt you're running yourself ragged while pushing this heavy little nugget around." Well, at least Claire and Eliza seemed friendly with each other.
A grateful and eager smile brightened Eliza's face when she looked at the older woman. "I'm doing wonderful, Claire, and so is the little chunkers. How are you? What about Steven? How's his wrist? Is he wearing the brace like he's supposed to?" The slew of questions flew out of her mouth, making Clair laugh while her hand waved dismissively.
Reaching out, Claire patted Eliza's arm while smiling at her warmly and reassuringly. "Oh, we're both doing as well as two old farts can do, and he's being stubborn and crabby about it, but I make sure he wears it." Then, she turned her full attention on both of us. "So, are we going to try my magic booth, or are we ordering to-go?" she asked, grabbing the menus and straightening them against the hostess booth.
Chuckling in response, I looked down at Eliza with a widening smile for a second before looking back up at Claire with determined eyes. "If she doesn't leave here with my ring around her finger, then you and Steven are going to take that week-long vacation you've been talking about, alright?" I bargained playfully with a hearty laugh when Claire playfully smacked me with the menus. Seeing Eliza's bright red face brought some amusement to me, too.
"Boy, I said magic, not a miracle," Claire remarked with a roll of her eyes. "If you want to score a queen like Eliza, then you best start getting on your knees and kissing her feet and thanking her for gracing you with her attention."
Then, a bellowing male voice joined in on our conversation, "I'd listen to her if I were you, boy! She knows what she's talkingabout!" Steven, Claire's husband, and the head chef of the place peeped his head out from the busser's window. "She might be a nag, but she knows things!" His teasing words were more for his wife, who spun around and waved a fist at him.
Placing a hand over my heart, I leaned back and feigned hurt as if I'd been shot through the heart. "And here I thought you were my fairy godmother to turn my rags to riches to impress the beautiful and illustrious queen Eliza," I joked with a cheeky grin, making Claire scoff and roll her eyes, while Eliza blushed harder. I wondered if she had blood rushing elsewhere in her body.
"Oh, stop it, you little cheeky bastard," Claire scolded me playfully with another smack to my arm, courtesy of the menus. "You're going to make the poor girl faint from all the attention."
Honestly, looking at how cherry-red her face was, that was a slight worry. Well, at least I'd be there to catch her if she did keel over. Also, I wouldn't mind having her in my arms one bit.
Chuckling with a shake of my head, I urged Eliza to follow Claire as she led us to our table, a nice little corner booth with a view of the streets on one side and the beach on the other. "You look so beautiful right now, just like a morning rose shining under the first sunlight." Was that overly sweet and cheesy? Maybe, but I didn't care.
Turning her face away with embarrassment, Eliza scoffed playfully and reached over to lightly shove my shoulder from across the table. "Oh, stop it, you. You're going to make my teeth fall out if you get any sweeter." Yet, the lovely smile remained on her appreciative face as she sat there trying to hide her gorgeous face from me.
After setting the menus down in front of us, Claire left for a moment to grab a highchair for Asher. "Is it alright for him to have some pasta with meatballs and some cut-up fruits?" Claire asked while looking up at Eliza.
Smiling and nodding, Eliza replied, "That honestly sounds so lovely for him, and I'm sure he'll love it."
"Steven makes the perfect pasta sauce with carrots, tomatoes, and sweet potatoes that our grandchildren love." With a caring and tender smile at Asher, Claire let him play with her finger as she looked at Eliza with a cheeky smile. "We like to sneak some veggies into the meatballs, too, but don't let them know that." She snickered, playfully putting a finger to her mouth and shushing softly.
"Well, Asher's just a blackhole when it comes to food, veggies and all," Eliza mused with soft and warm eyes that held so much love for her son.
Straightening herself, Claire rubbed the top of Asher's giggling head before flashing a smile at us. "What do you want to drink? I'll grab those while you two look at the menu."
Eliza didn't even take a second to debate before answering, "Water is fine with me. Thank you, Claire."
Yeah, no. Not on my watch.
Smiling warmly at Claire, I leaned back in my seat a little. "We'll have a pitcher of your oh-so-famous sangria lemonade to share, but maybe go a little light on the good stuff for today because I don't know how Eliza's tolerance is." I felt like a jerk for stepping on her toes, but like hell would I let her cheap out.
"Got it!" Claire beamed. "I'll be back with drinks and silverware and all that stuff in a minute," she informed us, turning around and leaving after giving Asher's cheek another loving pinch.
"A-Adam, I'm really fine with water, promise," Eliza squeaked up with a soft frown.
Feeling bad, I leaned onto the table with my elbows, reaching over and taking her hands in mine. "Hey, I'm sorry for dancing on your toes, but I want you to enjoy lunch today. You have water at home and everywhere else, so can you indulge a littletoday with some delicious lemonade?" I did my best to put on a soft and charming smile to sweeten my apologetic eyes.
Rubbing the back of her hands with my thumbs, I slowly brought them up to my lips to kiss her fingers. "Don't worry about the price or the financial burden this is going to be on your bank account for today." It really wasn't any bother for me, and I didn't know how to get through to her. "I want to spoil you, Eliza, because you deserve every bit of joy and happiness this world has to offer to you. I'm not doing this to get you indebted to me." I tried my best to assure her with a serious smile, but from how unsure she looked, I wasn't sure if I was moving toward success or failure.
