Into The Fire - E. L. Todd Page 0,63

hair that wasn’t long enough to run my fingers through. He slowly rose from the chair and gave me an inviting smile.

He was cute.

Shelly didn’t show me a picture of him because she didn’t have any on her phone and he didn’t have a social media account. I had to admit, I was surprised. He was handsome in a classic way. He was tall and built like he hit the gym a few times a week. Of course, he was nothing compared to Ash. He didn’t have that cocky smile that made me weak at the knees. His body didn’t flex with power and strength. He didn’t have that twinkle in his eyes. But he was still a catch.

I approached the table and tried to retain my composure. “Brad?”

“Yes. You must be Alessandra.” He shook my hand as he kept smiling. “It’s lovely to meet you.”

“You too.” I held my clutch in front of my waist because I didn’t know what else to do. I was always nervous with these sorts of things. I hoped I was hiding it.

Brad pulled out the chair for me before he sat across the table. There were already two glasses of wine. “I hope you like red.”

“I like anything with alcohol.” I blurted that out without thinking. It probably made me look trashy so it was a stupid thing to say.

Thankfully, he smiled. “We already have something in common.” He clanked his glass against mine before he took a drink.

“I guess we do.” I sipped mine and felt how smooth it was. “Good choice. What is it?”

“1973 Merlot.”

“Good taste.” I liked wine but I didn’t know much about it.

He held his menu on the table but didn’t eye it. His eyes were directed at me.

I averted my gaze because I felt uncomfortable being on display.

“Shelly told me how pretty you were. I guess I’m surprised she was right for once.”

“Oh…” I blushed at the compliment. “Well, thank you. You’re very handsome too.”

“Thanks.” He turned his eyes to his menu. “I know what I’m getting. How about you?”

There was too much to choose from. “I’d order everything on the menu if I could afford it.”

He chuckled. “I have a feeling you’d waste a lot of food.”

When I decided, I set the menu down and the waiter took our order. Then he left, leaving us with nothing to do but stare at each other. I immediately missed Ash. With him, it was so natural. We could just sit together and not say anything at all. It was never uncomfortable. He could stare at me forever and it didn’t unnerve me.

“So, Shelly says you’re an escort just like she is?” There was only curiosity in his voice, not judgment.

“Yes. I like it.”

He nodded. “That’s good. Shelly says the same thing.”

“I feel like I really help people. Some more than others.”

“I’m sure you do.” He moved his hands from the table to his lap.

“So, what kind of law do you practice?”

“Criminal. I’m a prosecutor.”

“Wow…that sounds stressful.”

“It can be,” he said. “But I really enjoy it. At first, whenever I lost a case I felt discouraged but once I finally understood I couldn’t win them all, I finally relaxed. Now I just do my best without overthinking it.”

“That’s really cool. Do you have people coming after you all the time?”

He chuckled. “Not really. But nothing scares me anyway.” He sipped his drink. “So, Shelly told me you’ve been single for a while.”

“Yeah…about six months.” It didn’t seem that way because Ash filled all my extra time. But he was just a meaningless fling so it didn’t count…as much as I wanted it to. “I was with my last boyfriend for a year before it ended.”

“May I ask why?”

I didn’t want to talk about it, but I should probably get it over with so he didn’t waste his time. “I stripped for a while because I needed the money. When he found out, he left.”

“Oh…” He nodded but didn’t seem disappointed. “What did you need the money for?”

“Hospital bills. My appendix burst.”

“Damn, that’s terrible. I’m sorry.”

I shrugged. “It is what it is. It’s my fault for not having health insurance.”

“I’m sure the surgery wasn’t cheap.”

“It wasn’t. And I waited so long before I got there that I had other damage.”

“I’m glad you’re okay.”

“Me too.” I sipped my wine just so I had something to do with my hands. “So, does it bother you?”

“What?” he asked. “That you don’t have an appendix?”

I laughed. “No. That I was a stripper.”

“Oh.” He shook