the same. I asked what you wanted us to be because I didn’t want my answer to sway yours. I don’t want you to feel obligated to do anything just because I’m your boss.”
Hope spread through my chest, chasing away the achy heaviness.
“So this is a date-date?” I asked.
“A date-date?” His lips twitched.
“Yeah. Not something shallow and sex focused. Something real.”
“Forgive my directness, but the men you’ve dated in the past have all been a bunch of assholes, haven’t they?”
Surprised, I snorted. “Um. Yeah. You can say that again. I want something real, but like I said… I’m always on a different page than them.”
Quinn had been spot-on earlier over the phone when he’d said I was oftentimes blinded to the truth. I wanted to be loved so badly that I failed to see all the red flags.
“Aren’t you afraid of someone seeing us?” I asked as we drove through the busier part of town. Restaurants, outlet shopping malls, and other businesses lined both sides of the street. Traffic was backed up for a weekday night, but with it being around dinnertime, it made sense. The chance of running into someone we knew was pretty high.
“You’re my assistant,” Daniel answered nonchalantly. “If we bump into anyone from work, I’ll say it’s business related. I doubt we will, though.”
“Kind of ballsy, don’t ya think?”
“Don’t worry.” He cocked his head at me as we reached a stoplight. “It’ll be fine. Trust me.”
Maybe I was out of my mind, but I did trust him. In the year I had worked for him, he’d never given me a reason not to.
***
“A steak house?” I asked as we walked inside and were seated at a table away from everyone else in our own private little nook in the corner. Given how Daniel had nodded and smiled at the hostess, I knew the seating arrangement was intentional.
Daniel’s face fell at my question. “Is this okay? We can go somewhere else.”
“No, this is great. Don’t know why, but I pegged you for the candlelit Italian dinner type.”
“Sorry to disappoint you,” he said, fighting a smile.
“Oh, I’m not disappointed.” I grabbed the menu and flipped it open. “I prefer steak to Italian any day. Plus, candles make me sneeze.”
A sexy chuckle left him, and he grabbed the drink menu. “Would you like wine with our dinner?”
“Yes, please,” I said, wiggling in my seat. “I doubt you know this, Mr. Sawyer, but I am a total wine snob.”
“Oh?” His voice lifted just like his eyebrow. God, it was hot.
“Mhm.” I nodded. “Wine pairs great with steak, but you have to choose wisely. A heavily seasoned steak shouldn’t be paired with a spicy, robust wine, but rather a sweet or fruity one. It would overwhelm the palate.”
“Impressive,” Daniel said as a smile slowly spread across his handsome face. He handed me the drink menu. “Which one would a professional such as yourself suggest?”
“Let’s see. A red wine is best,” I answered, looking over the options. “White wine goes better with, like, chicken or fish.” When I glanced up at Daniel, my breath hitched in my throat. The soft smile he was giving me made the butterflies go nuts in my stomach.
“Red it is,” he said. “How about merlot?”
“I’m kind of a cabernet type of guy,” I responded. “But we can go with merlot.”
The waitress came over to take our drink orders, and I grinned when Daniel ordered a bottle of cabernet.
“You’re the wine expert,” he said, once the waitress left the table. “I’d be a fool not to listen to you.”
“Wise man.” The butterflies flared back up when I saw him smile again. “You’re different tonight.”
“How so?”
“I don’t know.” I shrugged and dropped my eyes to the food menu. “You just seem happier. Less grumpy. You’re more like you were at the manor.”
He reached across the table and touched my fingers, drawing my eyes up to him. “I missed this… with you.”
“Me too.” How was it possible to feel heavy and light at the same time? I felt like I’d float away any moment, but the touch of his fingers on mine kept me grounded.
“Here you are,” the waitress said, returning with two glasses and a bottle of cabernet. She popped the cork. “Would you like me to pour it for you?”
“No, thank you,” Daniel told her before grabbing the bottle and pouring my glass first. “We’d like to place our food orders now.”
“Of course.” She pulled out a small pad and a pen. “Start whenever you’re ready.”
Daniel ordered us