“Are you sure we should be going out with Derrick out there?”
Miller scoffs. “Let him show his face if he’s got the balls. But I don’t think he’d be allowed into the restaurant I plan to take you to, anyway.”
“What restaurant?” I murmur, curious despite myself.
The idea of going out and forgetting about Derrick for a little while appeals massively to me, and doubly so when it means we get to make this official over a meal. If he’s willing to be seen in public with me, surely that means there’s something real happening here, some undeniable heat between us.
Cruel thoughts try to shatter this moment.
My anxiety tells me he’s going to take me out with a gang of his doctor friends so they can all laugh at me.
“What is it?” he says, narrowing his eyes.
“Nothing.”
“Macie.” He grabs my shoulders and looks at me, in a way that compels complete honesty. “You don’t have to hide your feelings from me. Ever.”
“I don’t want to be a blubbery mess all the time, either.”
He grins, flashing his teeth like an animal, and then leans in and places a soft kiss on my cheek. “Maybe I like it when you’re a blubbery mess. Did you ever think of that?”
I giggle and reach up to cup his face, desperate to hold onto him for as long as I can, to prove by his physical closeness that this is real, this is happening.
And I need to stop questioning this.
“Your mom swore on her life, on your life, on your dad this is real. And even if we only spent a little time together, she doesn’t strike me as a dishonest woman.”
“She’s not,” he says firmly. “She was telling you the truth. My mom, Macie, goddamn… she’s the only person in this world who can read me. Well, before you came along.”
“You think I can read you?” I smile.
He nods, playfulness glinting in his eyes as he drinks me in with his gaze. “What am I thinking right now?” he asks.
Whispers of lust coil around my body as his eyes flit down to my breasts.
“Dirty thoughts,” I murmur, voice trembling. “You’re thinking about what we did last night… and what you want to do.”
“Exactly.” He chuckles gruffly. “This is real, Macie. You don’t have to question that anymore. Let me take you out. Forget Derrick. Forget the tears. Let’s just be together.”
I nod, shivers moving through me. “That sounds nice. So what restaurant?”
“Regality,” he says.
I gasp.
“You know it?” he smirks.
“Yeah. My aunt used to go there when huge directors were in town, but only the huge ones. It’s the most expensive, elite restaurant in the city, isn’t it? I thought their waiting list was like a year long.”
He shrugs. “It is. But I know the owner. I helped his daughter a while back. And for a woman like you, I’d be a fool not to pull a few strings.”
Butterflies flutter through my belly at the thought of going to Regality with Miller, the man who was only a fantasy for me until last night, as his date.
“I don’t know what to say.”
“Say yes,” he growls passionately. “Say oh, Miller, I have to find a way to make it up to you.”
I giggle at his bantering tone. “Yes, yes, yes,” I say. “And I will… soon, I’ll—I’ll try to be what you need me to be.”
“Oh, Macie,” he whispers, kissing my forehead with surprising softness. “You already are.”
Chapter Sixteen
Miller
“Do you think I’m underdressed?” Macie murmurs from beside me, tugging at the hem of her skirt as the limousine guides us through the city.
I look down at her, her perfect body clothed in a lilac dress with little sequins inlaid into it, glittering temptingly. The cut of the dress is high, hiding her cleavage from the greedy eyes of the other patrons… which is a damn good thing because if any other bastard tried to steal a glance at my woman, I don’t know if I’d be able to restrain myself.
The hem is cut just above the knee, offering enough of her mouth-watering juicy thighs to get my body stirring while still remaining elegant. She’s let her hair flow down to her shoulders, and she’s wearing delicate studs on her ears the same color as her dress.
“You look amazing,” I say, realizing I’ve just been gaping at her like an idiot. “You’ll be the most beautiful woman in the whole restaurant. But that’s not saying much. You’re the most beautiful woman in any room.”
“Oh, stop…”
A blush touches her cheeks. She’s only wearing a light dusting of makeup, enough to enhance her natural features rather than cloud them, letting her cute shyness gleam through.
“I mean it,” I growl, placing my hand on her thigh and squeezing with feral possessiveness. “Everything about you is perfect. But it’s not just your sweet-as-fuck body…”