“Oh, shit,” she murmurs. “Guess I’m hungrier than I thought.”
“I figured you haven’t had dinner, and food will help soak up some of that alcohol.”
She chuckles. “You’re the one who kept buying me drinks.”
“True,” I nod, turning the car off. “So it’s my responsibility to keep you from getting hungover.”
“Works for me,” she grins. My heart speeds up a bit but I ignore it as we get out of the car and make our way inside the diner.
“Oh, this place is so cute,” Sutton gushes, gazing around at the vintage-looking interior with its black and white tiled floor and red cushioned booths. We claim a table toward the back, by a window, and almost the moment we sit down, a waitress appears.
“What can I get you started with?” she asks with a polite smile.
I glance at Sutton. “You good with a cheeseburger? They’re supposed to be really good here.”
Giving me a small smile, she nods. “Yeah, that sounds perfect.”
“Two cheeseburgers and fries,” I say without looking at the menu. “And two waters.”
The waitress nods as she jots our order down in her little notebook then turns to head back to the counter at the center of the diner. Once she’s gone, I glance at Sutton again. She catches me looking at her, her gaze meeting mine, and we stare at each other a moment before we both burst out laughing.
“This is weird, isn’t it?” she asks. “Last time we were together in public, we were drinking champagne and people were eating caviar and crostini with truffle tapenade.”
I chuckle and nod. “It’s like a whole different world. Between you and me, though, I tend to prefer a simple burger to caviar and truffle.”
“Ah, but have you had a burgerwithcaviar and truffle?” She giggles “Mind-blowing.”
I scrunch my nose. “Sounds excessive.”
“Oh, it is,” she agrees matter-of-factly. “Totally unnecessary, but still strangely delicious.”
“Was there gold leaf on it? Sounds like something that would have gold leaf.”
“Of course.” She gives me an overly exaggerated shocked look. “How can you eat truffle and caviar on a burger without gold leaf? Do you think I’m a barbarian?”
I laugh again. Damn, I like this. I like her like this. Relaxed, at ease. Noticeably less tense than when we were at the gala and her parents were across the room from us. Still, there’s a nervous energy in the way she taps her fingers on the table and looks around the room, her eyes darting to and from me as we talk. Did something happen when she met with Romero today?
“How are you feeling?” I ask.
She looks up at me. “I’m fine, really. I can handle my liquor.”
I chuckle. “Good to know. So, how did the meeting go today?”
She hesitates a moment before saying, “Really good, actually. Jackson seemed impressed with me.”
“That’s great news.” I feel a swelling of pride in my chest, though I’m not surprised. After all, she’s brilliant. Anybody with eyes and a functioning brain could see that. However, that nervous energy is still hanging over her. There’s something she’s not saying. “What’s next?”
“Oh, just another presentation,” she quickly answers, suddenly appearing nervous. Before I can ask more about it, though, she switches topics. “You know, I’d never have guessed you’d eat somewhere like this place. I can only picture you eating at high-end restaurants.”
I don’t push the topic of her presentation because she clearly doesn’t want to talk about it right now. I can tell by the tightness around her lips and the forced cheeriness in her tone, which is so different from when she’s genuinely happy. It’s overly bubbly and syrupy sweet when she’s usually more cool and warm, likemelted chocolate. Damn, am I getting to know her too well? I’m not sure, but I slide into this new conversation without pausing.
“Don’t get me wrong, there are some things about having a family like mine that do prove useful.” I think of my clubs, for instance. “I enjoy the fact that I have more… control over certain areas of my life than others do. Still, I don’t always want to live like that. I like when things are simpler.”
“I totally get that.” She sighs and drops her chin into her hand, just like she did back in the bar. “You know, I used to never really want to go into the family business.”
“Really?” That surprises me, given how far she’s willing to go for it now.
“Yeah. I thought it was boring.” She chuckles. “But when we lost…”
