She nods, looking down at the menu. “So the plan is to make a show here, make him jealous, then leave and lure him someplace?”
“The plan right now is to pick something to eat,” I tell her.
“Okay, snappy,” she murmurs, tilting her head.
“I’m sorry, beautiful,” I say. “This is all new to me.”
“Just remember tosmile, Rhett.”
I realize she’s right. I’ve let it slip. I put a smile on my face again.
“I’m going to get the steak,” I say.
She laughs, and it sounds real. “You didn’t even look at the menu.”
“I don’t need to.”
“Why? Did you look at it before we got here?”
“Nope. I just always order steak.”
She laughs again. “The big, strong, macho man needs meat to feed those big muscles, huh?”
“Something like that,” I tell her. “Or maybe I just need blood to be fully satisfied.”
Her smile falters for a moment. “Are you okay?”
Goddamn. What am I doing? I need to turn off the jerk switch. Whatever else is happening here, I’m on a date with a woman I actually like. That means something.
“Sorry, Sunshine,” I mutter.
“It’s okay,” she murmurs. “I know this can’t be easy. But… but thank you for doing this with me.”
I smile widely. Fake as hell. “So,girlfriend, what areyougoing to have?”
CHAPTER 24
ELARA
It’s difficult to read Rhett as he cuts into his steak. He stares down at his plate like he’s trying to crack it with force, but the smile hasn’t left his face in almost twenty minutes. From the outside, we’re everything. On the inside, things are much more complicated.
“What do people talk about on dates?” I ask, smiling, smiling…
“Apart from—” When he cuts himself off, I know he was about to reference our macabre plan. “I’m not sure,” he goes on. “Favorite colors. Holiday destinations. The… future?”
“The future,” I mutter. “Nowthere’san idea. I have to admit, I haven’t let myself think too deeply about that for a long, long time. Maybe you should start.”
“We’re in the same spot, beautiful. I’ve never given it much thought either. I’ve always lived day-to-day. My legacy, my future, what I’m going to do when I’m an old man… well, an evenolderman. Yeah, I’ve never really thought about that.”
“Maybe this is your chance,” I tell him. “Do you want a family?”
“I always thought I was too cold, too distant,” Rhett mutters. “And since I started my current line of work…” A pause as we both silently acknowledge the fact he’s not talking about his bounty hunting. “I always thought I was too dark. Too broken. Too corrupted by what I’ve done and what I’m going to do.”
“You’re talking in the past tense,” I point out. “Youthoughtyou were too dark. Has something changed?”
He looks at me for a long time without saying anything. A tingle dances up my spine and settles between my shoulder blades.
“Has something changed?” He finally echoes. “Sunshine,everythinghas changed—” He stops, not giving me time to let the compliment fill me with love and belonging. His gaze moves across the room. “What the fuck…”
