“I’m so proud of you, Sarafina.” Carter said, his eyes soft and shimmering all at once. Carter reluctantly let go of me as I headed towards the gallery desk.
“I’ll be right back.” I said over my shoulder.
“Take your time, just know I’m waiting ingreat anticipation.”
I caught his eyes traveling down the back of me as I walked away, and I smiled to myself.
CHAPTER 28
Michelin Star Rednecks
SARAFINA
In the car, Carter rested his hand on the middle console, palm up, and wiggled his fingers in request. “You waiting three whole business days, or are you gonna get in here, pretty girl?” Carter crooned, while the dim glow of the console illuminated his devastatingly beautiful face.
“What does this mean?” I asked nervously, sliding my hand into his. We’d held hands lots of times, but not just because, not like this.
“I just want to be close to you tonight, that’s all.” He shrugged casually. “Is that okay?”
“Yeah.” I smiled to myself. “I guess that’s okay.” I tried to steady my breathing as his callused thumb stroked over the back of my hand, making me feel all kinds of things that I tried to shove down and forget about.
Entirely distracted by the feel of his hand around mine, we drove along the scenic waterfront for some time before I suddenly realized where we were going.
Carter pulled up at The Pearl, a seafood restaurant that I’d been dying to eat at for years, but for one reason or another, I’d never booked the reservation. How he’d remembered that, I had no idea.
Carter rounded the car and opened my door, extending his hand to me. “How did you get a reservation at the last second?” I asked as he guided me inside with his hand on the small of my back.
Carter shrugged and raked his free hand through his hair. “I know a guy.”
Inside, a very pretty woman greeted us, and she gave me a warm, polite smile before she gave Carter an extra-long look. My stomach clenched as I waited for him to reciprocate, and to my relief, he didn’t seem to notice her at all.
Carter and I were shown to a candle-lit table in a quiet corner of the solarium that jutted out over the river, and the view was incredible. Boats drifted by with twinkling lights, while the moon reflected off the rippling surface of the water, and just beyond the solarium was an art déco inspired bar. There was a live band serenading us with sultry music, the entire space was beautiful, and utterlyromantic.
Was I reading into things? What did all this mean, exactly?
Carter stepped in front of the server and pulled out the tufted, high-back chair for me and then settled into his own, a mischievous look in his eye as the candlelight flickered between us.
“I’ve always wanted to eat here.” I said suddenly, wondering if this was a date. It couldn’t be though—right?
“Oh, I know.” Carter smirked.
I fidgeted nervously while the server placed our napkins on our laps and took our drink order.
After our glasses of white wine were sampled and then poured, Carter grinned, unable to contain himself as we started on an appetizer of chilled oysters and caviar. “I have a surprise for you, and if you’re not into it, you can totally veto it.”
“Okay?” I placed my empty oyster shell back on the pebbled ice with peaked curiosity. “What is it?”
“I know you’ve wanted to eat here for a while, and if you want something off the menu tonight, we can totally do that.” He leaned forward on his forearms. “But, I also know you wellenough to know that you typically prefer Burrito Bell over caviar, and since this is a special occasion,” a small smile tugged at the corner of my mouth as I listened intently. “Remember that one summer at the beach house?”
Of course I did. That had been one of the best summers of my life. The boating during the hot summer days, the big family meals in the evenings, the campfires and s’mores on the beach, long after our parents had gone to bed. The flirting. Even back then. Well,I’dbeen flirting, or trying to at least. “What about it?” I asked, turning the memory over in my mind fondly.
“I thought maybe we could share a seafood boil tonight instead of whatever stuffy menu they have planned.”
“Like where they dump it on the table?” I quirked a brow, looking around. Carter nodded, a grin spreading even wider across his face. “How did you even remember that I liked that?”
“It’s not hard to remember the important things.” He watched me intently.
I blushed, unable to hold his gaze. “I don’t think they do that here, Carter.” In fact, I knew there was no way they were dumping a giant pot of seafood directly onto the pressed tablecloth in front of us.
