"And are you that partner?"
"I could be."
"You're different tonight," he says.
"So are you."
"How so?"
"Less arrogant." I smile slightly. "More human."
He laughs and I realize it’s the first time I’ve seen him genuinely laugh. "I'm human every night."
"Are you? Because most of the time you seem like you're performing. Playing the part of the powerful underboss who has everything figured out."
"I do have everything figured out."
"Do you?"
His smile fades. "Most things."
"But not me."
"No." His eyes lock on mine. "Not you."
We finish dinner without incident. I eat my entire meal. He eats his. No food stealing. No reality TV recaps. Just conversation and comfortable silences and this growing tension I don't know how to name. When the check comes, he pays without comment.
"Thank you for dinner," I say as we walk to his car.
"Thank you for being normal."
I laugh. "Is that what this was? Normal?"
"Compared to the other nights? Yes."
"I can be normal when I want to be."
"The question is whether you want to be."
He opens my car door. I slide in, and he closes it behind me. As he walks around to the driver's side, I watch him. The confident stride. The way he moves like he owns the space around him.
He's attractive. I've known that from the start. But tonight, I'm seeing more. The intelligence behind the arrogance. The humor he usually keeps hidden. The way he actually listens when I talk.
This is dangerous territory.
He gets in, starts the engine. The car roars to life. It's a sports car, sleek and powerful, and the sound alone tells me this is going to be a problem. We pull out of the parking lot, and immediately I notice his driving. He drove carefully on the way to the restaurant but not anymore.
He's fast. Really fast.
"You know the speed limit is low here, right?" I say carefully.
He accelerates. We're definitely going faster than we should be now.
I grip the door handle. "Maybe slow down a little?"
"I'm fine." His tone is dismissive. He weaves around a slower car, cutting back into the lane with inches to spare.
My heart jumps. "That was close."
