I laugh. “I can assure you, it’s not. I like to go to local chocolate or candy stores. I like to find something that is unique to that place, and I have a major sweet tooth.”
His grin is wide when he says, “I love that. And also, good to know I’m scoring points to impress you by ordering all of these.” He sweeps his hand across the table.
Butterflies flutter in my stomach at his comment about wanting to impress me. “Well, it’s working. I’m impressed.”
“Fun fact, before we moved to Nashville when I was in high school, I grew up outside of Pittsburgh, and my mom also had a huge sweet tooth. And with three kids, we didn’t have a lot of money to take vacations, so for maybe, like, five years in a row, we went to Hershey’s Chocolate World. It was my parents’ amusement park compromise since we couldn’t afford to go to Disney World.”
I laugh. “I would have loved that. Way more than Disney World.”
“After the second year, us kids were kind of bored, but we all pretended we enjoyed it because we knew our parentswere trying.” He takes a sip of his beer. “Considering your love of candy, I’m shocked you’ve never been.”
A sad smile fills my face, not wanting to go into detail about my childhood when we’re having so much fun. “My dad left when I was very young. I don’t even remember him, and he never tried to come back into our lives. And my mom couldn’t afford to take me and my brother on vacation anywhere.”
Nate makes a low humming noise of understanding. “Okay, well, I’m checking the tour schedule tomorrow, and if we go anywhere near Pennsylvania, you better clear your day because we’re going.” He gestures to the table full of desserts. “And you will eat so much chocolate, it’ll put this to shame.”
Laughing, I agree we should go. I don’t know if he would follow through with that, but the thought is fun. “Do your parents still go?”
His smile grows sadder. “They both passed away.”
A gasp tears from my chest. I reach out and grasp his forearm. “Nate, I’m so sorry to hear that. You don’t have to talk about it anymore.”
His palm rests on mine, holding me against him as he gives me a small shrug. “It’s okay. It was a while ago. It was a car accident. My parents were the best, so it was really difficult for me and my sisters. We were really lucky.”
My parents were always either nonexistent or terrible for my entire childhood, so not having them in my life is normal. I can’t even imagine being happy and having a wonderful relationship and then losing both of them so tragically. It makes me think of me and Benny. My chest tightens, heart shattering, for not only Nate, but for the fear I have over losing my brother. I’m at a loss for words, so I squeeze Nate’s arm a little more.
His smile brightens. “Let’s talk about something less depressing.” Scooping up a forkful of tiramisu, he holds it out for me to take a bite. “Like dessert. You can’t be sad while eating dessert.”
I laugh. “Being sad is the perfect time to eat dessert.”
He gives me a grin as he takes a bite of cheesecake. “Tell me about why you became a flight attendant. Was it always what you wanted to do?”
“Not exactly. But I suppose part of me decided to do it because I always wanted to travel.” I shrug. “It was a means to an end.”
“What’s your favorite place you’ve flown to?”
I tap my finger against my lips in thought and don’t miss when Nate’s focus zeros in on the motion. “Probably Italy. There’s just something magical about Italy. It’s like nowhere else I’ve ever been. Have you been?”
His eyes stay locked on my lips for a breath more before he drags them up to meet mine. “A couple of times. I agree, it’s one of my favorites, too. It’s a very romantic country. Lots of wine. Pasta. Love.” His gaze darkens in the low light, boring into me. “Sex.”
My cheeks heat as my heart beats faster. I open my mouth, but quickly close it when we’re interrupted.
“Can I get you anything else?”
I let out a small yelp when the waiter addresses us.
Nate gives a deep chuckle that hits me right between the legs as his hand lands high on my thigh, heightening my growing desire for him. “No, thanks. I think we’re good for now.”
The waiter walks away after giving us a smile, completely oblivious to my near internal combustion as the heat flows through my veins. Nate’s voice is close to my ear when he points with his fork at the dessert near my elbow.
“Speaking of Italy, you need to try the tiramisu.”
His hand leaves my thigh, which is equally as disappointing as it is a welcome reprieve from the onslaught of arousal from his touch. I swallow hard to try to get control of myself and dig my fork into the dessert. Taking the bite, I lick the mascarpone off my lips with a low moan, warmth from Nate mingling with the sugar high singing in my system from the sweetness. “This is so delicious.”
Nate’s fork is frozen in the air as he watches me.
“What?”
He shakes his head slightly. “Sorry, I got distracted for a moment.” Stabbing the fork into the cheesecake, he shoves it into his mouth, his eyes never leaving me as he swallows. His Adam’s apple jumps with the action.
