The man waves a gun at him. “Get out of the way before I shoot you.”
“You can shoot me but you aren’t taking my woman anywhere.”
Gage is dead serious. He has no idea this is a reenactment. I tug on his sleeve. “It’s okay.”
He doesn’t bother looking at me. He keeps his gaze aimed at the two bootleggers. “No, it’s not. It’s our first date. I’m not letting anyone ruin it.”
“The Prohis are coming!” Hazel shouts from the front of the restaurant, where she has the curtain pulled aside to peer outside. “If you don’t want to be caught, you'd better hide or get going.”
The bootleggers stare at each other for a second before scurrying toward the kitchen. The second they’re out of sight, the front door of the restaurant bangs open and the Prohis – the prohibition agents – rush inside.
“Where are they? We saw them enter this restaurant. They can’t hide from us.”
Everyone in the restaurant points to the kitchen. They give chase. As soon as they’re gone, the place bursts into applause.
Gage glances around with his brow furrowed. “What the hell is going on?”
I burst into laughter. “It’s the Smuggler’s Reenactment Dinner,” I manage to say between bouts of laughter.
He rubs his neck. “This was a show?”
“Yep. It happens once a month. Why do you think I was surprised you got a reservation? And there was a line outside?”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
I point to his face. “And miss how confused you are now? No way.”
“I will get you back.”
“We’ll see,” I sing. “This is Smuggler’s Hideaway after all.”
He finally sits down. “Your hometown is crazy.”
“Takes one to know one!”
“This is some first date.”
“I think it’s the perfect first date.”
He clasps my hand. “Any date with you is perfect.”
The waitress slams two bottles of beer down on our table. “On the house. For providing us with entertainment.” She winks.
Gage bows. “Always happy to be of service.”
“Some of the tourists want your autograph.” She points to a group of women creeping closer to us.
“I’ll… um….” I start to stand. I have no idea where to go or what to do, but I don’t want to witness a bunch of women drooling over my date. He’s mine to drool over.
Nope. Not mine. This is a date, not a statement of my intention to keep him.
Gage catches my wrist. “I’m happy to sign autographs. After dinner.”
“Gotcha. I’ll deal with them.” The waitress ushers the women away.
The second they’re gone, Gage’s shoulders drop and he blows out a breath. “Sorry about them. Fans don’t always understand privacy.”
“You seemed okay with the situation.” He even flashed his dimple.
