Page 165 of The Parkers' Handsome Holiday
“That does sound good,” she said. “I love a good sirloin.”
“You can try some of mine. I like sharing.”
She looked up at me and smiled. Before she could respond, the waiter came back over to the table to take our order.
“Ma’am, what would you like tonight?” he asked Tiffany. She looked at me like she wanted me to order for her.
“Order whatever you’d like,” I told her. “Money isn’t an issue. I just want you to be happy with your dinner.”
She glanced down again at the menu and back up at the waiter.
“I’ll have the Saltimbocca Veal sautéed with sage and prosciutto,” she told him. I was happy that she ordered something that she wanted and not something she thought I wanted her to order.
After I placed my order for the sirloin, the waiter left us alone with our wine.
“You’re a wine drinker, I take it?” I asked her.
She grinned.
“I am,” she said. “I did the whole beer thing in college, but I grew into wine after I graduated.”
“Same here,” I told her. “For some reason, I don’t get as bad of a hangover with wine.”
Our food arrived shortly, and it looked amazing. I could tell by Tiffany’s grin that she had made the right choice.
“This is great,” she said, in between bites of veal. I nodded. My mouth was full, but I agreed with her. This was a great meal.
“I would like to go to Italy one day,” she said. I was surprised that she was starting a conversation for once.
“Italy would be nice,” I replied. “I would like to go to Ireland, too.”
Her eyes lit up.
“We could do a whole tour of Europe!” She laughed. The wine was obviously giving her a giddy buzz, but I didn’t mind it. I wanted her to talk more.
“The Eiffel Tower, that would be amazing,” she continued to talk. “And we could go shopping in London. Oh, we would have so much fun!”
I liked this side of her. It was an adventurous, fun-loving side of Tiffany that I hadn’t seen before. I also loved that she was including me in her future. Wine buzz or not, this situation was starting to look a whole lot better.
After our plates were cleared and the check was left, I looked across the table at Tiffany. She had a silly, buzzed grin on her face.
“I am glad I went out with you tonight, Cayden Lewis,” she said. I laughed.
“I am glad you went out with me tonight, too, Tiffany Martin.”
“It has been a great night. Thank you.”
I felt as if she was ending the night, but I didn’t want it to end.
“Would you like to go back to my place?” I asked. She bit her bottom lip. I wasn’t sure if she had done it to turn me on, but if she had, it worked.
“For?”
“Just a night cap,” I said. “I promise, we won’t do anything you don’t want to do.”
She thought about it for a moment and responded.
“I would love to,” she said.
