Page 49 of Restless Ink
Chapter 20
When Thea met him in the parking lot of the restaurant, Dimitri almost fell to his knees, his breath catching.
“You look fucking phenomenal.”
She was in a red dress that went to her knees with a little flair. It had lacy sleeves that ended right below her shoulders, and one of those necklines that made her breasts look so fucking edible, he had a hard time keeping his mind on the rest of her. Her long legs were bare, and he knew she’d be cold if they weren’t quick, but he had a few ideas for how to keep her warm. Those shoes, however? Fuck-me heels if he’d ever seen them—black with long spikes. She’d done something smoky with her eyes, her lips matched her dress, and she had her long, black hair in soft waves that tumbled over her shoulder.
He'd always thought she looked sexy andhiswith flour on her face and an apron covering her.
He loved this just as much.
He lovedher.
She grinned, doing a spin. “You think?”
“I fuckingknow. And if I wasn’t worried about putting a hole in one of my two good suits, I’d pray in front of you right now.”
“I don’t want you to get messy Mr. Sex in a Suit. It snowed earlier, and I’d rather you stay all warm and very hot. Thank you for keeping the beard, by the way.”
He ran a hand over his scruff that was a bit longer than scruff. “I know you like it. I trimmed it a bit, though, so I don’t look like a ruffian in a suit. I want to look nice for your friend so they don’t kick us out.”
She went up onto her toes and kissed his cheek. “You look damn edible. I love the fact thatIknow you have ink under all those layers. It’s just for me.”
He cupped her face. “They’re always just for you. Now, let’s get inside so you don’t freeze, and I don’t take you back to one of our cars and take you home.”
Her eyes widened, and she laughed. “I forgot. I got blown away by you in a suit.”
“Same could be said about you in that dress.”
She winked but tightened her long coat around herself so he couldn’t see her dress anymore, her sparkly handbag just as bright at her eyes. “Let’s go play at being fancy.”
“Nothing playing with you in that dress, babe.”
“You say the sweetest things.” She laughed, and he helped her navigate the icy patches as they talked about his last days of school and how nervous she was about the loan paperwork for the bakery since she hadn’t heard anything back yet. It was just easy. He liked things being easy since they hadn’t been in far too long. He just liked being near Thea.
The hostess sat them at a table in the back that was private and looked perfect for their quiet night. When the water came, they explained that their food would be out in stages since it was a tasting, and they were aware of Dimitri’s shellfish allergy and had a special menu prepared for the two of them.
“I feel special,” he whispered once the waiter left and the sommelier moved toward them.
Thea squeezed his knee. “Youarespecial.”
He kissed her softly, and she smiled sweetly.
The sommelier gave them a wine list, and both Dimitri and Thea decided to go with whatever wine the restaurant had paired with the meal. That meant a few small glasses of wine and lots of water since they were both driving.
They were on their first glass of wine, a light Pino that made him hungry for something other than the bread at the table, when a familiar voice made him freeze.
“Dimitri? Thea? I never thought I’d see the two of youhere. What a coincidence.”
Dimitri froze, blinking over at Thea, whose eyes had widened before the two of them almost comically turned in unison to see Molly standing in front of their table. She wore a perfectly snug white dress, her long hair pulled up in a fancy twist he’d once known the name for, and she was covered classily in diamonds.
What. The. Hell.
“Molly?” Thea’s voice was a bit of a rasp, and Dimitri didn’t blame her.
“I love seeing you two on a date at one of my places.”
He frowned. “Your place?”