“It’s understandable. You have a lot on your mind. Don’t worry; we’ll figure everything out. I’ll be here for whatever you and the baby might need.” I’m about to tell him that I’m not pregnant, but before I get a word out, the waitress appears at the table, ready to take our order.
My stomach makes a loud growling noise as I quickly look over the extensive menu. There are so many things to choose from that I can’t pick. To be honest, if I order everything that I want, James is really going to think that I am pregnant.
“I can’t decide.” When I look up from the menu, those concerned green eyes are staring back at me. To tell you the truth, he hasn’t taken his eyes off me since we got here. My stomach growls again. I feel myself blush. How embarrassing.
The next thing I know James is rattling off a bunch of menu items to the waitress. He orders enough to feed a small army. He thanks the server, asking her to put a rush on the food. He tells her to bring out the dishes one by one as soon as they’re ready.
I swear I want to lean over this table and kiss the heck out of this man. I know Tinsley said he’s a good man, but I never dreamed he could be this good.
“Now, you don't have to worry about it. Sit back and relax until the food gets here.”
“You’re really sweet.”
“Good, keep thinking I’m sweet.” He winks at me as someone swings by, dropping off a basket of bread. James grabs a roll out. He cuts it open and butters it before putting it on my plate.
“Now you’re trying to make me fall in love with you.” I pick up the bread, taking a giant bite.
“You shouldn’t go so long without eating.” He reaches over, tucking my hair behind my ear and out of my face. “Eating for two.”
“Right. About that.” He stares at me, waiting. “I’m not really pregnant. The test wasn't for me,” I blurt out. “I mean I’ve never even done it before. Unless it's a miraculous conception there is nothing in here but a food baby.” Oh God. I did not just ramble all that. “I kind of overshared there for a second.”
“Not at all.” He has a sexy smile on his lips.
“I would wish that a hole would open up and swallow me, but then I’d miss all that food you ordered and it would be rude of me to not help you eat it.”
“It would be.” He reaches out, buttering another piece of bread for me. I pick up the first one and let out a small breath, happy I got that stupid lie off my chest.3JamesNot pregnant. At least for now. I keep that thought to myself. No need to scare the little fawn. I watch as she eats and wish that she’d let me feed her every last bite. I have this need to take care of her that I don’t quite understand yet. I want to know everything about her, hear every story she has to tell and make all of her dreams come true. But I don’t want to overwhelm her with my questions. Nor do I want to scare her. I’m starting to even scare myself.
“Tell me everything about you. There's no detail too small.” Yeah, I’m sure that won’t scare her away. I have to rein it in. I watch as that beautiful smile graces her face. The urge to kiss her rides me hard. That would definitely scare her.
“I’m not sure where I should start.” She laughs.
“You’ve just moved here?” I know that much. Okay, I know a whole fucking lot. A week is a lot of time to dig up someone’s life. Thing is, Carly didn't have much to hers from what I found. Oh, she was busy. Her calendar is more than full with endless clubs and events. Not the fun sort of clubs you might be thinking of, either. I think her mom is prepping her to be a Stepford wife. Good luck with that. It only took one look at Carly for me to see that she was full of too much life to live a life like that.
“I did. I’m likely going to transfer out here. I thought a new start would be nice.”
“May I ask why you felt you needed a new start?” I pick up my water and take a drink. She’s so young to need a fresh start. She reaches out, taking a piece of fried cheese with her fingers.
“Sorry.” She puts it back down and goes back for it with her fork. I beat her to it, picking it up with my fingers and offering her a bite. She lets out a small giggle and takes it. I hand her the rest of it. “My mom would kill me if she saw me eating with my fingers.”