I think Quinn probably had more fun than me, considering she handed me my ass. We’re heading to dinner now.
Everly:
Dinner too?!? I like it! Makes me feel better about how much she paid to help me. Try not to goad her too much. You might actually have a good time. :)
CHAPTERTEN
QUINN
The restaurant Forddrove us to was one of my favorites, a tiny little hole-in-the-wall with amazing Italian. Since I was still a little tipsy, my two choices had been riding with him and picking my car up in the morning or extending our time at Kick Some Axe to allow my buzz to fade. And given that I wanted this night to be over as soon as possible, I chose the lesser of two evils.
As we walked toward the entrance, he stared at me, his brow raised. “How do you want to play this?”
“What do you mean?”
“Should I request two tables, or…?”
“Why would you request two tables?”
“I wasn’t sure if you’d, like, burst into flames if you sat with me.”
“Oh my God.” I elbowed him in the gut, relishing in his sharpoof. “You are such a pain in my ass.”
With a chuckle, Ford lifted his hands in surrender before reaching out to open the door for me. “Just want to make sure you’re comfortable. For all I know, you stashed one of those axes in that luggage you call a purse and will have no qualms using it on me later.”
I rolled my eyes. “I already told you I’m not murdering you.”
“Yeah, well. I have a younger sister. I know how quickly a woman can change her mind, so I didn’t want to take chances.”
Without dignifying him with a response, I walked straight up to the hostess stand, not bothering to make sure he was following. “Table for two, please.”
With a smile, the hostess grabbed two menus and led us toward the back of the restaurant. I’d been here several times since moving back, but for some reason, the restaurant felt more romantic tonight than I remembered it being. It was quiet and cozy, only about a dozen tables inside, and nearly all of them were full. Candles flickered on each table, and that, combined with the low lighting, provided a warm ambience I normally loved.
Normally.
However, normally, I wasn’t with Ford McKenzie, infamous flirt and all-around playboy, and my defenses were solid and secure…something he’d carved a chink in tonight.
I reached for my chair, but Ford beat me to it and pulled it out for me. When I stared at him, mouth agape, he simply raised a brow in response. I didn’t know why, but I hadn’t anticipated he would be the kind of guy who’d open doors or pull out chairs for his date.
In fact, I’d sort of assumed he’d be the kind of guy who fucked in the back seat and then swung by a drive-thru for dinner. But if there was one thing tonight had taught me, it was that my original assumptions of Ford might not all be accurate.
Somehow, during this brief interaction with him this evening, Ford had shaken the foundation that everything I thought about him was built on. Years of preconceived notions and assumptions had fractured right down the middle, and I was left floundering.
“Well, this wasn’t on my bingo card for the night,” our waitress said with a smile as she walked up to our table. With a name tag readingEmily, she was a short white woman with dark hair cut in a severe bob, and I recognized her as someone who’d been a couple years behind us in school. “I never thought I’d see the day where you two weren’t at each other’s throats.”
“I assure you,” I said, “we are still at each other’s throats.”
“Don’t let her fool you,” Ford said with a smirk. “I’m growing on her.”
“That’s good for me, because I’d rather not clean up any food fights.” She laughed. “Speaking of, do you guys know what you want?”
I came here often enough that I didn’t even have to look at the menu, and by Ford’s raised brows at me, it seemed the same for him. After giving Emily our orders—including a glass of wine for myself because, fuck it, I needed it—we were once again alone.
Ford stared at me from across the table, something deep in his gaze I hadn’t noticed—or been aware of—before. “Okay, so growing on you might’ve been a stretch, but at the very least, I think maybe you don’t hate me anymore.”
“I neverhatedyou. I just…didn’t like you. Which isn’t my fault, by the way. You’re very annoying.”
Ford barked out a laugh, drawing the attention of a few of the diners. “I love that you never pull your punches with me. You’re the only one in my life besides my family who does that, you know.”
