I plopped Tiffany on my Dad’s lap and he grabbed the TV remote. “I got you a new movie,” he said.
Tiff’s face lit up. “The one with the ice princesses?”
He nodded, and I groaned. “I’ve been avoiding that one. The little girls are obsessed with it.”
“Pshaw,” he said. “Let her enjoy it.”
It wasn’t about her enjoying it. It was about me distinctly not enjoying it. But, of course, I’d let her become obsessed with it if that’s what she wanted. “Sure, Daddy.” I dropped a kiss on his head and headed for the door.
At the last minute, after I said goodbye to my mother, who was still bursting with excitement, Tiffany called out my name. “Mommy, wait!” She jumped off my dad’s lap and hurried across the room. “I need another hug.”
I nearly canceled the date right then. “Are you okay?” I bent over and gathered her into my arms.
“Yes.” She squeezed my neck with her strong little arms. “I just needed another hug.”
“Tomorrow we’ll spend the day together, okay?” I whispered in her ear. “And do something fun.”
My mother sniffed and held out her hands. “Come on, sweetheart. Let’s go see if I’ve got some cookies in the pantry.”
Tiffany brightened up and lunged for her grandmother. “Don’t expect the worst,” Mom said. She couldn’t resist a bit more advice. “Just relax and try to have fun.” Mom winked as I slipped out the door. “Let things happen naturally,” she called.
I yanked the door shut before she could think of any more advice, then hurried to my car. Suddenly, now that it was time to drive to the only restaurant in town that could be considered a nice date night, I was nervous. I wanted to do exactly as my mom had said and let things progress naturally, but it wasn’t easy.
It was just dinner. No big deal, no strings attached. Just two people eating to see if we could start a conversation without arguing or saying the wrong thing. There was no reason for the butterflies in my stomach.
I pulled into the restaurant’s parking lot far too quickly. I was a good fifteen minutes early, but I spotted Maddox standing outside the restaurant’s front door as soon as I parked.
He hadn’t seen me yet, I didn’t think, so I grabbed my purse and checked my hair and makeup. I wasn’t one to wear a face full or try all that contouring stuff people did these days. Just the thought of trying to contour my makeup made me nervous.
I had on a light layer of base, a brush of lavender shadow in my crease, and mascara. At the last second, I dabbed on a neutral lip gloss, tossed my blonde hair around a little, and stared at the restaurant.
“It’s no big deal,” I whispered. “Just dinner.”
Steeling my nerves, I made myself get out of the car. As soon as I stood, Maddox’s gaze darted toward me and glued to mine.
Walking toward the front, I had to make myself stop staring. I was about ready to drool. He wore a snug button-down shirt that accentuated his muscles. And he had the sleeves rolled up to just underneath his elbows. Why was that so hot on a guy?
And how had I been able to ignore how buff he was? I mean, I’d known he was attractive, but his shirt and crisp slacks accentuated what a perfect body he had.
I thought about the few stretch marks remaining around my belly button from having Tiffany. They were my tiger stripes, and I tried to be proud of them. But would a man like that want me with my imperfections?
Maddox stared at me as I stepped onto the sidewalk beside him. He shook his head and grinned. “You look amazing.”
I looked down at my dress and feigned modesty. I’d tried on what felt like a million outfits before settling on an LBD. “Oh, thank you. You look nice as well.” What an understatement. He looked like a million bucks, easily.
Maddox held the door open and when we went in, the hostess nodded at Maddox and led us past the people waiting in the lobby. He put his hand on the small of my back and I said a prayer of thanks that I’d worn the bra with light padding. As soon as he touched me, my nipples hardened like rock candy ready for a lick. “I came early and put our names down,” he whispered. “And greased her palm a little.”
I tried not to shiver, and Maddox kept his hand on my back the entire walk to the table. Normally, I might’ve seen that as slightly chauvinistic, but when Maddox did it, it just made me horny. Great.
The hostess seated us at a small table right by the huge windows that made up the back wall of the restaurant. They were treated somehow so the glare of the restaurant didn’t obstruct our view of the mountains and moonlight. “It’s beautiful,” I said. “This is pretty much the only date restaurant in a half-hour drive, but I never mind.”
“Neither do I,” he agreed. “The food is excellent, and I could watch this view all day.”
We slipped into a slightly awkward silence. The server came and dropped off goblets of ice water and took our drink orders. We both laughed softly when we each ordered iced tea.
The uncomfortable silence stretched through our menu selections, though we did each say a few lines about what we were going to have. When the server came and took our orders and left with the menus, I sighed. “I’m sorry,” I said bluntly. “I can be harsh sometimes. When I feel cornered, it would be fair to say I can get nasty.” I ducked my head and battled guilt for my previous behavior. “We got off on the wrong foot, and it wasn’t your fault for putting your foot in your mouth. It was mine for responding rudely. You didn’t
