“Not in season.”
“What about off season?”
A short breath punches from me. I was the one running my mouth about honesty, so I might as well lead by example.
“Not then either.”
The slight twitch at the corner of her lips tells me she got the nugget she was digging for.
“Ask me why, Alex. I know you want to.”
“Why?” When she unabashedly leans her elbows on the table and sets her chin on her thumbs, I laugh.
I relax back in my chair, more comfortable than I probably should be bringing up this topic. “It’s just tied in my mind with recklessness and bad choices. I prefer to stay clearheaded.”
“Your own or someone else’s bad choices?”
Man, leave it to Alex to cut right to the bone.
“My dad’s.”
She nods, sitting up when the amuse-bouche is presented—a mini chile-lime shrimp ceviche in a tiny tortilla cup.
“Wow,” she says once we’re alone again. “This is incredible.”
I swallow the delicious mouthful. “Kai has never led me astray. He’s quite the foodie.”
As we start on the soup course—a mouthwatering roasted carrot and saffron velouté with a hint of cardamom—we settle into easier topics. Her sister’s tormenting job at the law office. My sister’s ability to get me to do any social media dance or skit with little prompting. We even gossip about a few mutually disliked players from other teams.
I desperately want to bring up the purple elephant in the room but remember how Alex shut down the topic of our mutual past in the parking lot weeks ago. Instead, I bide my time, grinning at her happy food dance as we enjoy a baby green salad with roasted cactus pads, seared scallops with a masala beurre blanc, and saffron-inspired risotto with roasted vegetables.
When Rhett suggested I focus on Alex, one post-dinner idea trumped all the rest—surfing.
Luckily for me, they just opened a surf wave park not far from here, which should be closing right about now. We’ll have private access to the man-made ocean without displacing anyone, and Alex can surf to her heart’s content beneath a blanket of stars.
I hide my smile behind my fist, imagining the delighted look on Alex’s face when I surprise her after dinner.
Chapter 16
Alex
“Iwon’t need to eat for the next two days,” I tell Tenny after finishing the last of the chocolate chile tart with hazelnut praline and rosewater whipped cream.
“I’m so glad you had a good time. I—” He cuts himself off, reconsidering.
“What?”
Tenny shakes his head. “Nothing.”
“I’ll only get it out of you later,” I tell him with a lifted eyebrow.
He chuckles at his empty plate, and I’m struck for the nine-millionth time with how unfairly attractive Tenny is. It was downright diabolical for him to show up at my doorstep in that custom three-piece suit. The way it’s tailored to hisbody is…freaking distracting. And the color? A deep, muted blue with a woven, textured pattern that keeps calling to my fingertips like a siren? Absolutely ruthless.
This is date warfare, and I’m losing.
Or maybe winning?
During dinner, we talked about everything from road trip horror stories to pet peeves to sibling chaos. I love that he cares about his family as much as I care about mine. No topic felt stilted or weird. Not once did the conversation lag. On several occasions, I had to pause my next delectable bite because I was laughing so hard.
