“Really?”
“Of course.” I twirl spaghetti around my fork and take a huge bite. The bite is so massive I can barely chew it. Blake is smiling.
“You okay there, champ?”
I’m trying desperately not to choke, but Blake’s expression is making me laugh. His eyes are as big as saucers and he’s grinning from ear to ear. I put my hand up as if to encourage him to look away. He doesn’t so I do instead, finally composing myself and swallowing.
“Wow,” he says. “Has it been a while?”
“Yes,” I say emphatically. That answer definitely has more than one meaning. “I skipped lunch, so…”
“In that case, you have to try this. Though this little bite might not satisfy you.” He stabs a healthy piece of salmon and holds his fork out to me. I stare at it. It’s such an intimate gesture. He moves it an inch closer to me, but I’m immobile. I consider taking the fork out of his hand but I don’t.
Finally, I reach up and wrap my hand around his wrist to guide the fork toward me. His eyes are fixated on my mouth as I take the bite slowly and chew. I release his hand and he pulls it back.
His mouth is slightly open as he watches me. I feel the urge to strip down naked, throw myself on the table, and offer myself up as an after-dinner treat. My thought is violently interrupted by Caroline’s voice. She’s standing next to the table. Blake and I both look up at her.
“Sharing forks now, are we?”
Chapter 9
“Ha!” I laugh nervously. “Oh, my god,” I say shrilly, “you’re right, Blake, that salmon is phenomenal.” I’m trying to do damage control. I jump up and hug Caroline. “I’m so glad you’re here. We were bored without you.”
Blake momentarily looks like a deer in headlights, and then he glances up at Caroline and says, “This is probably the best piece of fish I’ve ever had.” He stands and kisses her on the cheek. “Hi, CC.” We’re both trying to downplay the borderline intimate moment we’ve just shared, but we’re failing miserably.
She takes her coat off and sits down. “Oh, I doubt it beats Ray’s.” Ray’s is a high-end seafood mecca in Atlanta that every rich person raves about.
“Try a bite.” He holds the fork toward her and she waves him off.
“No, thanks. I feel like a steak tonight. By the way, you guys seem to be fast friends, sharing food already and everything?” Her smile is condescending.
I don’t know how to respond—I feel terrible and uncomfortable. I mean, what Blake and I were doing was completely innocent, platonic even. Right? But I could feel the tension between us…the pull. It definitely seems like he’s attracted to me. But if he is attracted to me, he’s got to be grappling with something much bigger than just thinking another woman is hot. Being romantically interested in another woman means that his relationship with Caroline is crumbling. I feel a pang in my chest. I wish I could have had more time with him alone at the restaurant before Caroline arrived, but I’m scared to think of what might have happened.
“You told us to go get a bite, CC,” Blake says.
“I did.” She puts her hand over his and squeezes it. “I did. You’re right.” She calms down, smiles, and then directs her attention to the kitchen. “Where the hell is the waiter anyway?”
Blake grabs a wineglass off the table next to us and pours Caroline a tall glass. “Thanks,” she says, and immediately takes a long sip.
When the waiter finally arrives, Caroline asks about fifty questions about the quality of the beef they serve. Finally she orders a steak, rare.
Blake and I are quiet. Caroline is the first to break the silence. “Well, work was a nightmare.”
Blake jumps in. “You need to tell your dad it’s too much, CC.”
“It’s my job, though, and soon it will be my company and your livelihood.”
Blake jerks his head back. There’s silence again so I try to change the subject.
“Caroline, I love the A-line skirt you’re wearing. You have a great body for it. You should pair it with a smaller blouse that you can tuck in, since you’re so fit. It would really show off your figure.” She has on a long-sleeve button-down blouse, untucked with plain black pumps. It makes her look a tad frumpy when she’s not at all.
She smiles at me and I think that’s done the trick, but then she turns to Blake and says, “What are you thinking?”
“You have a great body. I tell you that all the time.” He’s being sincere, I can tell.
“Not about that. I’m talking about what I said about the company. You seemed to have a strange reaction to my comment.”
“Because I don’t think of the company as my livelihood.”
