When Stars Collide (Light in the Dark #2) - Micalea Smeltzer Page 0,36
and says, “You know, I never actually thought we’d end up here.”
“Married with a furbaby?” I ask, raising a brow.
He laughs and puts the car in reverse. “Well, that too, but I meant going on a date.”
“Man, we do everything ass backwards.” I laugh and bend down to adjust the strap of my heel.
“I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
When I look over at him, he’s grinning from ear to ear, and I can’t help but smile back. “Yeah, I wouldn’t, either,” I admit.
“You know—” he clears his throat “—I wanted to take you on a date long before this.”
I lean my head against the headrest. “Really? And when was the first time you thought about it?”
He shrugs and keeps his eyes on the road as we exit the neighborhood and head for the highway.
“Come on,” I plead. “Tell me. I won’t be weirded out.”
He wets his lips and glances at me quickly. “I was sixteen and you were thirteen and you were going out for pizza with that weird kid that only wore polo shirts. I have never been so jealous of a dorky-braces-wearing-kid in all my life. I felt like shit for feeling the way I did. You were practically just a kid and I was … not.”
I laugh lightly and glance out the window. “That’s the summer you basically ignored me.”
“Yeah, well, I was afraid I might do something stupid.”
“I wouldn’t have minded, you know? If you’d done something stupid.”
He smiles crookedly. “That so?”
“Hey,” I say defensively, “crushing on your brother’s best friend is nothing new and you’re hot, who could blame me?”
He shakes his head. “So you still think I’m hot?”
“I did marry you.”
“So you married me because you think I’m hot?”
“No, I married you because I wanted to.”
The words slip out so quickly and there’s no way for me to take them back. It’s the first time I’ve admitted the part I played in us getting married, and the fact that I remember more than I originally thought.
He chooses not to mock me for what I said—like I might him in this situation—and instead, reaches for my hand.
We arrive at the restaurant soon after, and I marvel at the niceness of it. I’ve never been here before, and I wasn’t lying when I said I’d be happy with McDonald’s but something tells me this is going to be much better.
Xander pulls up to the front and hops out, handing his key to the valet before turning to grab my door and help me out.
A restaurant with a valet? This place is even snazzier than I originally believed.
Xander guides me inside and straight to the hostess.
“Reservation for Kincaid,” he tells her.
She looks at us questioningly, probably noting our young age, before her gaze drops to the list. “Ah, here you are.” She turns sharply on her heel and expects us to follow.
My heels clack against the black marble floor and my eyes keep roaming over the white walls and chrome fixtures. It looks like something out of a Bond movie.
The restaurant is large, with many seating areas that are somehow designed so they seem relatively private, and the kitchen is viewable to the eating area through a thick glass wall.
She leads us to a table near the kitchen in a prime spot to watch all the action.
Xander pulls out my chair for me and I mumble a thank you.
“Enjoy your meal,” she says, handing us our menus.
I take the menu from her and open it up, nearly falling out of my chair at the prices. “Xander,” I hiss. “I’m going to have to sell a kidney to be able to afford this meal.”
He chuckles. “Nah, I got it. Don’t worry.” And then he winks, fucking winks at me like it’s no big deal, which I guess to him it’s not. But I still don’t want him spending his hard-earned money on a meal this expensive.
“Xander—” I start.
“Thea,” he says my name the same way I said his. “Don’t worry about it,” he assures me. “I want us to enjoy tonight and not worry about the little things.”
I press my lips together and say no more. A waiter comes and we both order water and Xander also requests a bottle of wine. I’m surprised when the waiter doesn’t card either of us—Xander’s legal, but I’m not—but I choose not to say anything.
By the time the waiter returns, I’ve picked out a pasta meal that I can’t even pronounce and definitely can’t spell, but it sounds good so