“You just have an oversensitive nose.”
His nose wrinkles in response. “I do not. It’s an overrated tourist trap.”
“You told me I could choose,” I point out. “And I’ve always wanted to go there.”
He blows out a long, loaded sigh, his hand tightening around mine. “Fine. Crab Shack it is. But if you tellanyonewe ate there, it’ll be the last time you pick the restaurant. I have a reputation to uphold, you know. I run a—”
“—company,” I finish with a teasing smile. “Trust me. I haven’t forgotten.”
I follow his Audi in my car. You can see the rustic, nautically themed beach-front restaurant miles down the road, because the sign that readsWelcome to The Crab Shackis about forty feet tall and impossible to miss. We pull into the crowded parking lot, our feet crunching over gravel as we approach the main entrance, and I point to the giant wooden cutout of a cartoon crab standing next to the door. There’s a speech bubble next to his head that reads,Have a CRABULOUS Day!
“Look, they even have amascot,” I say and give a giddy little clap.
“Christ, it looks high.”
“It does not,” I say, but the longer I stare at it, the more its pupils appear just a little too dilated. “Okay, yeah. Maybe it does.”
As we wait at the hostess stand, I glance around the restaurant. Landon’s suit looks so out of place amongst the tourists, wearing tropical, Hawaiian shirts, and their over-excited children that I laugh. I can’t help it.
“I think you’re a little overdressed.”
He shoots me an annoyed look. “You think?” And when a hyperactive kid runs past him, bumping into his arm, he starts muttering to himself. “This is purgatory. It must be. There’s no other explanation.”
Finally, a teenager wearing a t-shirt with Casey the Crab on it leads us to a table outside, overlooking the water and beach below.
“Wow, this view is incredible,” I say, glancing back at Landon. “You can’t tell me this isn’t a good view.”
“It’s fine, I guess,” he says with a sigh.
I shake my head at him. “You’re crazy. You can see the boardwalk from here. And feel that breeze? It’s amazing. I have no idea what you’re talking about. This place is awesome.”
When Landon doesn’t retort, I glance up at him, only to find him staring at me with an unusually intense expression. “What? Why are you looking at me like that?”
“You’re pretty, that’s all.”
I blink at him. “Pretty? Did the hostess slip you whatever Casey the Crab’s on when I wasn’t looking?”
The corner of his mouth twitches into a small smirk. “Someone needs to learn how to take a compliment.”
“I can take a compliment,” I say defensively. “It’s just unexpected coming from you.”
“Ouch.”
“You once told me you were immune to my charm because you weresmarter than most people.”
“Well, I was an idiot for saying that,” he says, lowering his voice. “I was never immune. Not even a little bit. You had my full attention from the first moment I saw you. I hated you for it.”
His words make my heart expand, but I’d never tell him that. “You also said the idea of sleeping with me was completely unappealing,” I point out. “Actually,horrifyingis the word you used. Really made a girl feel special.”
“It was the opposite,” he tells me, eyes intent on mine. “The idea was too appealing. I couldn’t get you out of my head, especially when you walked around the kitchen in those spandex shorts and white sneakers every morning after your run.”
“You said I looked—what was the word you used?—trashyin those shorts!”
“They weren’t trashy. They were sexy as fuck. Drove me up the damn wall.”
My face grows warm, and I look down at the menu to hide my blush. “You really need to learn to express yourself better.”
“Trust me, baby. I’m trying.”
