Page 21 of Down the Aisle
Those beady gray eyes of his glimmered with mischievousness as his lips curled up into a catty smirk. His delicious lips parted slightly with a quick swipe of his tongue before he covered his jaw with his hand. Slowly, his head tilted as he eyed me for a second, and he gave it a quick shake as if he'd changed his mind about something before turning his attention to the board.
Mindlessly, I watched his index finger travel along his stubbled jaw as he read the board carefully. After his eyes traveled up and down the board a few times, he turned his head back to me to list off the items, "Soup of the day is clam chowder, special of the week is wagyu, chef's special is a halibut and crab pasta with creamy alfredo, and the dessert of the week is a Marionberry cheesecake."
Okay, not gonna lie, all of that sounded delicious as fuck. For a split second, I debated the wagyu, because I honestly hadn't had anything beyond a cheap piece of chuck or skirt if I was lucky enough to get a whole piece of steak to myself. Otherwise, it was scraps from my ex, if he felt generous enough to leave me any.
However, my carb-craving heart decided on the plate of creamy and starchy deliciousness. "I think I'll have that chef's special. It sounds so good." My mouth was watering so badly at the mere thought of it, and I was afraid that if I opened my mouth too much, then I'd start drooling out a waterfall.
Reining myself in, I looked at Adam pleadingly. "If that's fine with you?" I tried to keep my voice stable, but it wavered timidly out of habit.
Although, I probably should have checked with him before even deciding. After all, he was the one paying.
"Eliza." His stern voice made my nervous eyes settle on his unamused face. "I already told you before to get whatever you want, and even if I hadn't, whether I am fine with it or not shouldn't matter." Reaching back over, he took my hand in his, playfully tickling my palm with the tips of his rough fingers. "Never ask anyone if it's okay for you to eat something, unless it's something questionable looking." He cracked a chuckle at his own joke.
Not even bothering to suppress my chuckle, I let my body relax with the joyful tremble of my amusement. "No promises, but I'll try." Bad habits were hard to break. "I just… I don't want you to be disgusted with the plate of food when it comes and when I eat it… I mean, if you're not fine with it, then I can always get a salad." Or maybe I should get the salad and lie about changing my mind.
Adam's eyes immediately rolled in an exaggerated manner at me as a tiny groan left him. "Salads are for herbivores, which you are not, last I checked," he retorted with a firm but playful look. "As long as I'm around, you are always going to be eating your fill of actual food that's not jammed packed with preservatives."
I probably shouldn't have doubted and challenged him, especially with how sharp his eyes were with determination, but I couldn't help it. "You can't just feed me three meals a day, Adam. That's just insane," I joked with a nervous chuckle, afraid he might actually try to prove me wrong.
"And why can't I?" he smugly asked, in a much too amused voice.
Gulping nervously, I chuckled sheepishly with an awkward smile. How the hell was I gonna argue with him? It was his money, time, and effort at the end of the day. I had no control over him or his choices.
"W-well, I mean… W-what if I don't eat it? Then it's a waste." Yeah, that was probably a stupid rebuttal, but it was the only thing my flustered mind could come up with right now.
Of course, being a smart-ass, he had the perfect response. "Then I guess you better be sure to eat it all so none of it goes to waste." An urge to shoot across the table and swipe my hand across his face twitched at my fingers as I glared at him softly in response. "You gotta take better care of yourself, Eliza, and if you're too busy to do that, then I'll do it for you and do whatever I can to help."
Huffing, I stared at him for a good moment, waiting for him to go 'just kidding' or crack some kind of laugh and dismiss this whole thing, but nothing of the sort came. There was no way in hell Adam was this amazing of a person... Or maybe he was crazy. Seriously, no sane person would stick their neck out so much for a single mother who was way down on her luck.
Adam said my name with a soft sigh, "Eliza." And a squeeze of my hand pulled me out of my thoughts.
"I'm not worth it," I bit out with a frown. "I have nothing to give you return." It felt so unfair the more I thought about it.
I grossly lacked the money to pay him back or to gift him something in return, and my time was mostly spoken for. A pit of guilt already welled up inside my chest at the thought of him putting forth so much of his time and effort into this, only to receive the bare minimum in return.
Scoffing, Adam rolled his eyes at me. "You are worth everything. Every second of my life is worth dedicating to you." The sheer warmth in eyes made me freeze with panic because I'd never seen such intensity directed toward me before. "I am not doing any of this to get you into bed or to get anything in return from you. Honestly, as long as what I do makes you smile and happy, then that is more than enough payment for me."
Okay, that sounded a little too deep and heavy there, bud. Seriously, can I tell him to back up a little?
How could a man be so head over heels for someone like me in such a short amount of time? It felt too surreal, and I was terrified because this sappy shit didn't happen in real life! I mean, how was I supposed to respond to that? Not saying I disliked it or anything because, strangely, I didn't.
Growing up, not even my parents looked at me with endless wonder and grace like Adam, and I got none of that shit from James. So, it bewildered me to no end that Adam could seem so sure and awestruck with me when he barely knew me. Granted, there wasn't much to me for him to know, but still.
Probably sensing my wariness, Adam shrunk his shoulders a little with a nervous chuckle. "Sorry if it was a little much. It kind of just came out," he apologized with a smile, before bringing my hand up to his lips and kissing the back of it again. "You have a lot on your shoulders, and I really want to help because Iwantto. So, please, let me?"
Before I could try to awkwardly remove myself from him, Claire's hearty chuckle interrupted us and sent me down a different path. "He's not going to take no for an answer, so you might as well make your life easier and agree now before he ups the charm," she told me as she set the pitcher filled with a red liquid down between us with some glasses.
Patting my arm with a warm smile, Claire leaned in close to me with a giggle. "He's a stubborn and persistent one, but his heart is in the right place." Her voice was soft and low as she spoke to me like a loving mother advising her child. "You don't have to carry everything on your shoulders alone, and a person like Adam only comes around once in a lifetime."
Claire's head looked over at a laughing Steven with a nostalgic and content smile. "Take it from me, Eliza." Her voice softened almost pleadingly as she looked back at me. "Don't letwhatever is holding you back win. Not everyone gets a chance at miracles, and Adam is definitely one. If he wasn't, then I would have snuck you out the back by now," she joked at the end with a chuckle, making me crack a smile.
Standing back up, Claire finished setting out the table, leaving us with a basket of seasoned fries after she informed us of our food's ETA.
Unfortunately, she took the peace with her, because an awkward tension mugged up the air between Adam and me.
I didn't know what to do or say because I didn't know what I wanted.
Do I let him in? Or do I push him away and slam the door in his face?
