He sighs. “It would make a lovely plan A, but if that’s what you wish.”
We head into the diner, meet up with Vince, and are led to a table. The waiter is eyeing both men with barely veiled contempt, tossing menus on the table. Soren pulls my chair out before I get a chance, and I mentally applaud him for his foresight. I have no idea the sort of things he’s been through, but he made sure to put me in the corner seat where my back and side are to the wall and I can see the room in its entirety. He takes the seat beside me, a barrier on my one exposed side, leaving the both of us able to watch the entire room without having to guard our backs as well.
Vince sits across from me, scowling at Soren. “Isn’t this a little overkill?”
I thank the waiter that brings me a glass of water, sipping before answering. “Why, trying to get me alone?”
“Well, yeah. It’s kind of hard to get to know someone with a damn audience,” he replies with a scowl that Soren mirrors back at him.
We place our orders and I shrug. “Take it or leave it. It was hard enough getting my brothers to let me start dating in the first place and this seemed a solution that made everyone happy,” I lie to a certain extent.
Before he can start objecting, I decide to just dive in to try and get this over with. “Okay, so what do people do on dates?”
He stops focusing on his hatred of Soren and falls into conversation with me. “I haven’t exactly been on any either, as you could guess. But I hear rumors you talk about yourselves a lot to get to know each other and do something together, then end with a kiss if it goes well.”
The warning sound emanating from Soren’s chest is a stark reminder of the dragons lurking in our blood waiting to break free. He doesn’t say anything, but then again, he doesn’t have to; it’s pretty damn obvious what he’s thinking.
But he’s also kind enough not to pull some macho bullshit and forbid it, knowing I get to make my own choices and a kiss isn’t the same as mating. As Kahl pointed out, as long as I don’t sleep with anyone, I don’t have to be completely innocent.
“Okay, twenty questions and a burger, I can do that. What do you want to know?”
He cracks his knuckles and leans back in his chair. “I already know nearly everything about you, but you know next to nothing about me. Ask away, I’m an open book.”
I roll my eyes, not even trying to hide it. “What do you do for a living?”
“Trade industry.”
Soren leans forward in his seat. “Trading what?”
Vince grins. “Little of everything. Weapons mostly.”
Soren’s hand tightens into a fist at his side and I put a hand to his wrist to try and calm him down without drawing attention to it. I brace my elbows on the table and interlace my fingers, resting my chin on them and watching Vince.
“How long have you lived in Hadeon?”
“Four years, on and off” he replies just as quickly.
“Hobbies?”
He grins. “Hunting.”
“Hoard of choice?”
He tsks his tongue. “A man doesn’t spread that information around.”
“How big is your flight?”
He shrugs. “Don’t have one yet. Haven’t met the right people.”
The waiter brings our food and it gives me an excuse to not have to talk for a little bit. Honestly, if this is dating, I’m not a fan. I can grab lunch just as easily without having to pander to a man’s ego.
This is just awkward.
We fall back into a similar pattern as I just rattle off questions I don’t really care about the answers to. Vince eventually throws a few my way, but when the waiter comes back with the check I could practically kiss him in gratitude instead of my date.
I pull out money to cover Soren’s despite his loud protests. “One, I’m fully aware I’m paying you less than you deserve. Two, it would be a dick move to make Vince pay when I invited you along, and three, I want to. Humor me, will you?”
We follow Vince back out to his car, but Soren’s hand falls on my shoulder when I get too close, as if he’s afraid Vince will toss me in the trunk and drive off with me like I joked about. After being subjected to an hour of the guy, I wouldn’t put it past him to do it thinking he was doing me a favor or some shit. The guy is so conceited it’s nauseating, and that’s coming from the most badass woman in the tri-county area.
