I swallowed the saliva flooding my mouth and accidentally groaned aloud. Curtis gave me a look, one which I wasinterpreting as “you’re such a turn on” but was probably “have you got a stomachache?”
Curtis pulled a chair out and looked at me. “Let’s eat.”
“Yes, please.” I went to the chair opposite him, where the other place setting was, and sat.
Curtis’s brow furrowed, and Arnold’s lips twitched as he held in a smile. Curtis shook his head. “I was holding the chair out for you.”
I bit my lip and smiled. “Oops. Sorry. I’m not used to that. In my world, the only time someone pulls a chair out for you is if you’re in the middle of sitting and they take it away so you fall on your behind.”
Curtis sat. “Hmm, classy.”
“I know, but that kind of life gives you survival skills.”
What looked like respect shone from his eyes. “True. You looked like you knew what you were doing at the café the day we almost met.”
“When I’m wearing my Docs, I’m unstoppable.” I chuckled. I also felt uncomfortable with praise because I wasn’t used to it, so best to cut that off before it began. I did okay that day, and I knew it. I didn’t need anyone else to agree. “You finished things off, though. Quite well, if I may say. My knight in shining armor.” I laughed at how corny I was, but I couldn’t resist.
He put his hand to his belly and inclined his head as if he was bowing. “At your service.”
Arnold placed our plates in front of us. I inhaled the fragrance of the expertly cooked steak. This was going to be so good. “Thank you, Arnold.”
“You’re welcome, Miss Faith.” He grabbed a crystal carafe of red wine from the island and presented it to Curtis. “The Chateau Lafite Rothschild, 1986. I took the liberty of decanting it earlier.”
Curtis gave a nod. “Perfect.” He looked at me. “Do you drink wine?”
“I’ve been known to partake. Thanks.”
Once the wine was poured, Arnold left us to enjoy the meal alone. There wasn’t a candle or anything on the table, but it was rather cozy and romantic. Curtis raised his glass. “To us—a great team I didn’t see coming.” He smiled softly, setting off gentle flutters in my belly.
I couldn’t help but return his smile. I lifted my glass and clinked it against his. “To us.” I took a sip of the wine. My eyes widened. “This is so smooth and goes down so easily. Delicious. That is the nicest wine I’ve ever had.”
He smirked. “It should be, at almost four thousand a bottle.”
I gasped and choked on my own spit, which made me cough until my eyes watered. “Excuse me?” How many glasses were in one bottle? Had I just drunk a day’s wages in one sip? That was insane.
He laughed. “What’s the point of having money if you don’t enjoy it? I give plenty of it away, so I don’t feel guilty when I enjoy it. Besides, it keeps people in jobs. I’m spreading it around.”
“Um, okay. It’s just… it’s nuts. One bottle for that much. You rich people are out of touch.” Was I being mean? Maybe, but it was true.
“Would it make a difference if I said it was a gift from a client who was particularly happy with the job we did? I was saving it for a special occasion.”
“Oh. Thank you for sharing it with me.” I wanted to argue that this wasn’t a special occasion, but I needed to shut my mouth. He was doing something kind, and I was being ungrateful. If his aim was to spoil the heck out of me, it was working. “I’ll make sure I enjoy every sip.” My stomach grumbled, reminding me there was more to this meal than wine.
Curtis grinned. “You’d better start eating before the neighbors complain about all the weird rumbling noises.”
He didn’t need to ask twice.
CHAPTER 28
FAITH
After dinner, we went back to work. At eleven, Curtis’s phone alarm sounded. He looked up at me from across his desk. “Right. Time to stop work.”
I finished editing the page on my screen and saved the document. “Done.”
Sometime since we’d come back into the study after dinner, he’d rolled up his sleeves, revealing his muscled forearms. I’d been so engrossed in my work that I hadn’t noticed, which was probably a good thing, because there would’ve been no concentrating on scripts after that. Before I knew what I was doing, I was licking my bottom lip.
Curtis’s gaze fixed on me, setting the hairs on my arm at attention and my cheeks to flaming. I raised my eyes to his.
