her eyes. “Yeah, go ahead and get the forbidden garden comment out of your system. And no matter what witty snake joke you’re considering? Trust me, I’ve heard it.”
“Gabriel’s going to have a field day with this one,” he muttered.
Eden startled as the waiter dropped a basket of bread onto the table. She waited for him to elaborate, but instead Az took a slice and buttered it as she peeled the wrapper from her straw, dunking it into her glass of ice water.
Eden eyed him over the bread basket and grabbed a roll. What happened between us on the beach? The question bobbled around her head, but she couldn’t bring herself to voice it. Not yet, anyway. “So I assume you’re on vacation? Couldn’t afford to go somewhere good?” she asked. At least it would tell her what he was doing here, how long he’d be in town.
“Jersey’s far enough away for us to relax, but I can get back to the city.” Az unwrapped his silverware slowly. “We.” He paused. “We can get back to the city if we need to.” His fingers slid down the hem of the napkin, straightening it before he dropped it to his lap.
Eden stared at him, her knife dipping into the unwrapped pad of butter. “The ‘we’ would be you and Gabriel? So you go to school together?”
Az shifted. “Kind of.”
“College?” He didn’t answer. Maybe he’d dropped out. Great, she thought. The guy’s got one touchy subject and you zero right in on it.
“Things have been crazy lately. We needed a vacation. So you live here?”
Subject change. Thank God. Eden sipped her drink before giving him a sarcastic smile. “Lucky enough to be stuck here year-round!”
Az looked surprised. “Are you kidding me? It’s gorgeous here.”
“Sweatshirts in August aren’t gorgeous.”
“True. But you can’t let a little rain ruin your fun.” He caught her eye across the table, smiling. “Besides, it cleared up just in time for things to get interesting.” She felt a blush creep up her neck, her face growing hot. Az glanced over her shoulder. “Looks like our mystery dinner is coming,” he said, sweeping his bread plate to the side. “I hope you’re in the mood for…” He trailed off, pausing as the waiter set down the plate. “Lobster tails.”
“You’re not allergic to shellfish or anything, are you?” she asked.
“Nope.”
“Good, because that would have been a deal breaker. Their lobster’s pricey, but it’s to die for,” Eden said, taking up her own fork. Az cocked his head, his jaw dropping a bit.
“Here I thought we were on this grand adventure into spontaneity.” His eyes danced. “You knew what we were having the whole time, didn’t you?”
“I live here. You think I don’t know what they serve?” Eden smiled.
Tinfoil swan of leftovers tucked under her arm, Eden stepped through the door Az held open. A thrill jolted through her when his hand touched her back, guiding her past him.
The temperature had dropped while they were in the restaurant, the cold air rousing her a bit from her food coma. When they reached the boardwalk, Az turned to her.
“I should get going,” he said. “Gabriel’s probably hungry.” He held up the dinner he’d ordered to go, but didn’t move, almost seemed to hesitate.
She nodded, shifting to lean against the railing, struggling to think of something to say, an excuse to keep him there. “Thank you, for convincing me to come,” she said finally. “I was having kind of a shitty night.”
“Me too.” Az tapped the heel of his hand against the bag he held. “It’s been a while since I had one this good.” Something in his gaze stopped her from calling him out for how cheerful he’d been on the beach, made her take him at his word. She wondered how he managed to hide it so well. “You know, I’m gonna be in town for a while.” He pulled his phone from his pocket. Eden took it from him, entered her number.
“There,” she said handing it back. “Maybe sometime we can go for the least expensive thing on the menu.”
He laughed, tucking the phone away. “You buying that round?” She rolled her eyes.
He reached for her, his hand cupping around the back of her neck, easing her toward him. Eden’s heart jumped at the sudden touch of his fingers. She closed her eyes, her body rocking forward, anticipating the kiss.
It never came. She opened her eyes, and he pulled back another inch, face lit up with his smile. “I’ll call you