“Okay,” I whispered. “One more night.”
“You won’t regret it,” he said, kissing my neck.
“I better not,” I warned, though there was no heat in it. “Or I’m telling the board you spent the Series A funding on helicopter rides.”
He laughed, pulling me down onto the sofa with him. “Deal.”
Chapter
Three
The restaurant wasan exercise in excess. Giant antler chandeliers, thick velvet drapes, and enough candlelight to make everyone look ten years younger and significantly richer. We sat at a corner table, secluded by a frosted glass partition etched with pine trees.
“To survival,” Marco said, raising his glass of Pinot Noir. The crystal caught the flickering light, casting a blood-red shadow on the white tablecloth.
“To punctuality,” I corrected, clinking my glass against his. “And keeping promises.”
“Touche.” He took a sip, his eyes dancing over the rim. He looked impossibly handsome tonight in a charcoal sweater. The windburn on his cheeks had faded to a healthy glow. “I’ll have the elk. Feels appropriate.”
“Cannibal,” I teased.
“Apex predator,” he countered with a grin.
The waiter arrived. We placed our orders, and soon after we had our appetizers in front of us. Scallops for me, carpaccio for him.
“Remember our first date?” Marco asked suddenly, spearing a slice of raw beef.
“Denny’s,” I said. “Because you spent your entire paycheck on RAM upgrades.”
“Hey, that 256KB stick was crucial. But I meant the firstactualdate. When I had two nickels to rub together.”
“Ah. The Italian place on 4th. The one with the plastic grapes hanging from the ceiling.”
“Luigi’s. Best garlic bread in the tri-state area.” He leaned back, his features softening. “We talked for four hours. The waiter tried to kick us out three times.”
“You told me about your theory on distributed computing.”
“And you told me I had spinach in my teeth.”
I laughed. “Someone had to tell you. It was very distracting.”
“That was the night I knew,” he breathed. The teasing edge dropped from his voice. He reached across the table, his hand covering mine. His palm was warm. “I looked at you, and I thought:There she is. The other half of my brain.”
My throat tightened. “Just your brain?”
“The other half of my soul, then. If you want to get sentimental.” He squeezed my fingers. “Twenty and nineteen years old. We were kids.”
“We were ambitious kids.”
“Look at us now. Raising four children while running a company about to change the world.” He gestured around the room with his free hand. “Eating at a fancy Michelin star restaurant in Aspen.”
“It’s been a pretty good run,” I admitted.
“It’s just the beginning, Tess. Phase One. Phase Two is going to be...” He trailed off, shaking his head as if the future was too big to articulate. “We’re going to build something that lasts. Something that matters.”
“As long as you’re around to build it,” I said, the cloud of the afternoon returning.
He sobered instantly. “I know I scared you today. I’m sorry.”
