That has her lips curving up in a devastating smile. “You’re nervous?”
“Very. I have no idea what the hell I’m doing, and I’m worried you’re going to realize how out of my depth I am and break up with me.” Holy shit. I have a girlfriend who could break up with me. That’s…wild.
“Logan, I’m not going to break up with you. And I think it’s cute that you’re nervous.” Her slender fingers go to the hem of her coat and she fidgets with it. “I’m a little nervous too.”
I have no idea why Blair would be nervous. She’s too good for me, and eventually she’ll realize it. But her admission makes me feel better, and some of the tension bleeds from my shoulders.
After starting the car and pulling out of the parking lot, I reach across the center console and link our fingers. Hers are warm and soft, and I never want to let them go.
“Well, now that we’ve both admitted to our nerves, we can let them go and have fun, right?”
“Right.”
It feels like it takes no time at all to get to La Vie D’Or, and then I’m helping her out of the car before the valet takes it away. The restaurant is beautiful. The exterior drips with twinkling lights, and the ornate double doors are flanked by small ornamental evergreens festooned with big, red bows.
Inside is even more stunning. Tables glitter with flickering tea light candles, surrounded by sprigs of greenery and little red berries. French music plays softly throughout, and the low lighting gives everything an intimate, romantic vibe.
“Wow,” Blair whispers. “This is gorgeous.”
Her eyes are wide as she takes it all in, and the soft, diffused glow of candlelight makes her look even more angelic than normal. I can’t look away. Clearing my throat, I manage to say, “Yes. Very beautiful.”
Her cheeks flush when she looks up and finds me staring. Yeah, the restaurant is beautiful, but that’s not what I’m talking about.
“Good evening,” a young woman with curly red hair says from behind the hostess station. “Welcome to La Vie D’Or. Do you have a reservation?”
“Yes, we do. It should be under Byrne.”
The woman nods. If she recognizes me, she doesn’t give any indication, which I appreciate. “Perfect. Your table is this way. Please follow me.”
With my palm on Blair’s lower back, I usher her forward. We follow the hostess to a quiet table in the corner. She tells us our server will be right with us, and I thank her as I pull Blair’s chair out for her.
“This place is fancy,” Blair says, her intelligent eyes assessing as she takes it all in.
“You deserve fancy.”
I love the way her lips twitch in response. “I’m not used to fancy, but I don’t mind it.”
“Good. Get used to it, angel. I’m going to spoil you rotten.” She and her brother, both, if I have any say in the matter. The more time I spend with the two of them, the more I want to take care of them. Blair has done an amazing job providing for herself and Reed, but it can’t have been easy. I have more money than I know what to do with and have never had anything worthwhile to spend it on.
Now I do.
If she lets me. I have a feeling I’ll have to ease her into that. Blair is a proud woman, and if I’m not careful, she could misinterpret my desire to make things easier for her and Reed as me believing she can’t do it herself.
But that’s a problem for another day. I’m getting ahead of myself, especially considering this is our first real date.
Before Blair can argue that she doesn’t need to be spoiled, a man who looks to be about our age steps up to the table in a white button-down shirt, black vest, and black pants, and introduces himself. We listen as he tells us the specials and recommends wine pairings. We order a bottle of red, and he disappears to put in our order.
“Thank you for this,” Blair says after he walks away. She plays with the stem of her water goblet as she looks at me with those stunning brown eyes of hers. They glow like faceted dark amber in the candlelight. “It’s been a while since I’ve done anything quite so…adult.”
“You didn’t go out to places like this with your friends in LA?” I want to hear more about her life before Minnesota and the Rogues. She’s told me a bit about how things went right after her parents passed away, but there’s so much I don’t know about her. I want to change that.
Blair blows out a slow breath, her brow furrowing. “No. I didn’t really have many good friends in LA.” She winces a little at that. Like it’s something to be ashamed of. “That sounds pathetic, doesn’t it?”
“No, of course it doesn’t.” It makes me sad for her, but it’s not pathetic.
“I had some friends at work, but they were moreworkfriends, you know?”
I guess I don’t really know. My job isn’t exactly a normal nine to five, and my teammates and I spend so much time together, they become much more than work friends pretty quickly. And some of them become family.
