Page 27 of Fraud
I shrugged. “I’ve always wanted to go here. It always felt like the perfect date place, you know? Even the name suggests it. But I could be totally off base,” I said, taking a glance around at the several doe-eyed couples holding hands and sharing desserts. “Oh, crap. I was totally off base.”
He laughed. He’d obviously caught on to the lovefest happening around us. “It definitely seems like this is a place for—”
“Anniversaries? Special birthdays? Or when you really want to hide a certain type of jewelry in a piece of cake?”
“Yeah, all of that.” He grinned.
“I’m so sorry. I should have known,” I said, resting my head in my hands.
“What are you talking about? This is great. Haven’t you ever gone to a restaurant and pretended it was your birthday?”
I looked at him, completely clueless. “No. Who does that?”
“Everyone does that! You mean to tell me, you and your high school friends never went out and ordered cheap appetizers and then did Rock-Paper-Scissors to see whose birthday it would be?”
“No, I wasn’t a delinquent in high school.” I laughed.
“Well, let me introduce you to the dark side, sweetheart.”
A mixture of unease and excitement raced through my veins as I leaned forward in my seat. “We’re going to pretend it’s your birthday?”
“No.” He smirked. “That’s too easy. We’re going to celebrate our anniversary. But it’s got to be a big one. What do you think would be believable? Ten?”
I was speechless.
“No, you’re too young. Five will work, don’t you think? Most couples still like each other at five years. Okay, but we’ve got to make it believable.”
“Believable?”
“Absolutely. So, hold my hand, like the other couples in here and every once in a while, we have to laugh and make those eyes at each other.”
“What eyes?” I asked, looking around for an example, as if I were completely on board with this crazy plan.
“You know, the eyes. The ones you make when you’re so head over heels in love, you can barely keep from ripping each other’s clothes off.”
“Oh, right,” I answered quietly. “Got it.”
Something flickered in his gaze just then—a question maybe—but he let it go when he saw the waiter approaching.
“Good evening, folks. Welcome to Duos. Is this your first time dining with us?”
“Yes,” Killian said, taking the lead.
His right hand casually reached across the table, placing it on my left. I tried to appear as calm and collected as he looked, but lying was not something I was good at.
Believe me, the irony was not lost on me.
“My wife and I are celebrating our wedding anniversary.” He smiled. “Five years. Can you believe it?”
The waiter smiled warmly, his gaze moving between Killian and me. “That’s wonderful. Congratulations!”
“Thank you,” we both replied.
As the waiter took down our drink orders, Killian gave me a wolfish grin, most likely waiting for me to slip up.
But I didn’t. I let Killian fondle my hand, and I kept my cool as his fingers moved over my wrist, making a swirling pattern over the delicate skin there.
Yep, I kept my cool even though I was sure I might combust at any given moment.
Who knew the wrist could be an erotic zone?
Definitely something to research for book number three.
Another jolt of fire went straight to my belly, and I squeezed my thighs tightly together.
Yes, definitely something to look into…
