Page 26 of Michael's Awakening
“Indeed, it is.” I looked at him, puzzled. “Why?”
We arrived at a small booth in the corner of the room, right beside a window framed with more green ivy. It was a romantically lit area, with a small chandelier hanging above the table giving off a dim light.
“Alright. Here are your menus.” The hostess placed them down in front of us. “Your server will be Jackson, and he will be with you shortly to take your drink orders.” She then walked off without another word.
“Okay.” I looked back at Gabriel. “To continue with our discussion. Why are you amused by my last name?”
“Well, think about it.” Gabriel smiled and leaned closer to me from across the table, “You refer to me as ‘Princess’ and your last name says you’re a king.”
He giggled and moved his hand to cover his mouth. It was the most adorable thing I had ever witnessed and I couldn’t help but grin like a fool.
“So, should you refer to me as ‘Your Majesty’ since I’m king?” I arched an eyebrow at him.
“I bow down to no one. So, that would be a hell to the no.” He spoke with a hard punch of sass and then picked up his menu to examine it.
I felt my heart constrict, making me realize I had missed his prissy, snarky attitude more than I had thought.
“Hello, my name is Jackson and I’ll be your waiter for the evening. Can I start you two off with one of our bottles of wine?”
The waiter, Jackson, had short, dark brown hair that was neatly styled, a semi-muscled body, and wore the required white button-up shirt and black pants that all the other servers were wearing. I was surprised they weren’t all wearing togas or something to go with the theme of the restaurant.
Personally, I thought the whole theme of the place was overly exaggerated and on the verge of cheesy, but Gabriel seemed to like it, and that’s all that mattered.
I ordered a glass of the restaurant favorite wine for us and glanced at Gabriel. He was staring at the waiter with an odd look on his face and I instantly became jealous.
“That’s a very nice choice, sir. I’ll be right back with that.” Jackson walked off.
“Do you know him?” My voice sounded a little snappy.
“Why? Are you jealous?” Gabriel grinned and I had a thought of smashing the waiter’s face in when he returned with our drinks. Of course I wouldn’t actually do it. Maybe. I had never been jealous over anyone before, so these feelings were new for me. As I’ve grown to frequently notice, Gabriel brought out feelings in me I didn’t know I possessed.
“No, I’m not jealous.” I lied. “You just looked at him like you knew him.”
“I’m not sure if I do.” He chewed his lip as he pondered something. “I mean, I’ve never talked to him before. His name just rang a bell. So, get your panties out of a wad, Mr. Grumps.”
I scoffed and looked down at the menu, despising myself for already ruining the date. I sucked at dating and socializing.
“So… Kingston. Are you from England?” Gabriel thankfully changed the subject and I glanced up to meet his gaze.
He was still leaning in toward me, which provided me with some comfort that he was still somewhat interested in the date.
“I never knew my father growing up, so I’m not sure about his side of the family. To be honest, I never knew much about my mother’s side of the family, either. As a kid, all I had was my mother. No grandparents or other family ever came around. It was just me and her. She never spoke to me about her family. I was born and raised here in the United States. Never been to England.”
“Ah, darn. There goes my fantasies of you being a super-secret spy or something.” He sighed. “I’d love to go there someday. The fashion is amazing.” He set his mouth into a grim line as he scanned the menu. “Wow, everything is so pricey…”
“Don’t worry about the price. You get whatever you want, Princess. I have it covered.”
His blue eyes flickered to mine. “What do you do for a living?”
“I’m a prosecuting attorney,” I said and watched as his eyebrows shot up in surprise.
“Oh, wow. But, you’re so young. I always imagined attorneys to be hateful old men.”
I chuckled at him. “I’m thirty-four.” His brows rose again. “Hey, don’t look at me like that. I’m notthatold. How old are you?”
“Twenty-one.” He answered with a grin. Damn, that really made me feel old. He winked before adding, “So, compared to me, you are ancient.”
The waiter returned with our drinks and we ordered our dinner. Gabriel tried to order the least expensive thing on the menu, but I scoffed at him and insisted that he get what he wanted to eat, the price be damned. I had plenty of money, and I couldn’t think of a better way to spend it than to spend it on him.
