Page 43 of The Disasters of Dating
Whirring Mercury can still cause a stir in your sphere. And while you may long for calm, you may need to accept that you won’t find it where you currently are. Leave your comfort zone. It might feel strange at first, but soon you’ll come to love it!
I stepintoLa Vie en Fromageand look around. I don’t see Keaton, so he must not have arrived yet.
The hostess looks at me. “May I help you?”
I smile. “Yeah, I made a reservation for 6:00.”
“Name,” she asks without looking up.
“Ashcombe,” I glance down at the iPad sitting on the countertop. I can see my name. I’m not sure why she hasn’t found it yet.
Finally, she looks up and flicks up her lips in what I’m sure she thinks is a smile. It can only be considered a half-grin, if anything. “For two?”
I nod.
“Do you want to wait for your whole party?”
I look behind me. “He should be here any minute.”
Her brows tick up ever so slightly in impatience. “It’s up to you.” She taps a long, bejeweled nail on the side of the hostess stand. I’m about to say I’ll wait, when she says, “Why don’t I take you back now?”
I smile and cast one last glance behind me. There’s a large group just coming through the door. I turn around and follow the hostess.
“Hey, Poppy!” Keaton calls before I go behind the wall that separates the waiting room from the dining room.
My shoulders relax. I guess I was worried he might not show?
“Hey, Keaton. I hope you didn’t have any problem finding the place.”
He shakes his head and comes up beside me, his hand resting on the small of my back. I twitch but try to minimize it so that he doesn’t think I’m weirded out. Even though I kind of am. It’s like his hand was Thor’s Thunderbolt. A thunderbolt that settles into a pleasant, toasty heater on my back.
I smile back over my shoulder at him. “I hope this place is okay. I’ve never actually eaten at this location, but they have another place downtown that I’ve been to with my mom. It was pretty good.”
He nods. “The pictures on the website looked delicious. But I’m mostly here for the company.”
Oooh, he’s smoother than I expected him to be.
He pulls out a chair and waits for me to sit before scooting it in. It’s like we’re on a date or something…which we’re not. Rules and all.
He slides into the chair across from me and rests his elbows on the table, steepling his clasped hands. “Okay, I think some ground rules are in order.”
I stare at him with a slight tilt of my head.
“First rule, if a napkin falls on the floor, we either leave it there or we announce we are picking it up.” He gives me a serious look.
I lift a hand to my forehead and smile. The goose egg has gone away, but there is still a yellowish hue under my makeup. I nod. “That seems like a sensible rule.”
He sighs. “Second, we will each stay on our respective sides of the table.” He holds up his hand as if to stop my protests. “I realize that might be difficult for you, as I’m fairly irresistible, but I’m afraid I’m going to have to insist on it.”
My brows raise, and I grin. “Again, very sensible.” I pretend to look serious. “I’ll do my level best to keep my hands off you.”
He frowns. “I didn’t mention that in the rules. Touching is acceptable…just from across the table.”
My eyes drop to his visibly defined chest and biceps. Heat floods my face when I glance up and see him watching me, a grin on his lips. “Thanks for the clarification.” I pull my lip between my teeth, biting back my embarrassment. “Is that all? Or are there more rules?”
He nods rather severely. “Neither of us will order any food with even a hint of color to it.” He glances down at my black shirt. “Although it looks as though you have already taken steps toward that.”He taps his lips—very kissable lips, I might add—before speaking. “Okay, I’m amending rule number three.”
“Oh? Already? But you only proposed it seconds ago.”
