“Really? Wow. Good for him.”
His brother Brody had been in the same grade as he and Rose. Brody was smart but painfully shy thanks to the scars left behind by his abusive father. He’d come to the Garden of Eden after his dad lost it and dumped battery acid on Brody’s face. He was never comfortable in his own skin and until recently was never comfortable around women. His fiancée, Sam, had hunted him down like a lioness stalking a gazelle. Brody hadn’t even known what had hit him.
“I know. I guess I’d always consoled myself with the fact that I wouldn’t be the last to get married. I figured I had plenty of time. I was wrong.”
“Don’t look at it that way,” she said. “It’s better to think that if Brody could find someone, there has to be a woman out there for you. You just haven’t found her yet.”
Or maybe he had and he’d been a fool and thrown his chance away. That thought had crossed his mind more than one time over the years, but even more so as two of his brothers had gotten engaged. Wade and Tori were getting married in a few months. Brody and Sam were marrying in the spring. Thank goodness his younger brother was not the settling-down type. Heath was always quick to find a flaw in the women he dated. He had some ideal that no woman could ever meet. Xander understood. Every woman that drifted into his life was measured against Rose and came up short.
“You were always good at putting a positive spin on things.”
“Spin is your department, Congressman Langston. I just call it like I see it.”
Somehow, her using his official title struck him wrong. He wasn’t even used to her calling him Xander, so his title felt completely alien. In high school she’d called him Z. No one else had ever called him that before or since. “Please don’t ever call me that again. With you in that dress, it makes me feel like a dirty politician out with a young girl.”
Rose laughed. “I was just using it for effect. I’ll stick with Xander from now on.”
He slowed and pulled the car into the restaurant parking lot. “Well, I hope you’re hungry. Home-style Italian food is not designed for dieters.”
“You know me,” she said with a smile. “Salads are for rabbits.”
Xander laughed, remembering their dates in high school. Rose had enjoyed eating, whereas some girls he’d dated picked at their food and complained they were fat. That had annoyed him then, and it annoyed him now. Back then it was because he’d worked hard to pay for the food they were wasting. Now he had plenty of money but it annoyed him because he didn’t enjoy the company of people who couldn’t indulge themselves now and then. Everything in moderation, of course, but he didn’t want a woman who would run in horror at the thought of splitting a piece of cheesecake with him.
Once inside the restaurant, he was very pleased with Molly’s recommendation. The space was warm and inviting. Nice enough that his tailored gray silk suit and tie weren’t out of place, but not so fancy that they couldn’t relax and enjoy themselves. The wine bottles on display behind the hostess’s station were high quality and not the kind you could buy at the liquor store or order down at the local bar, the Wet Hen.
Their table was intimate, in a dark corner of the restaurant. It was lit by the flicker of ivory candles that gave everything a warm golden glow, including Rose’s flawless complexion. He’d always admired her peaches-and-cream skin. She’d never worn makeup in high school and she didn’t need it now, although she’d lined her eyes and put a glossy color on her lips.
They quickly ordered and settled in. Their waiter brought their wine and bread with oil and herbs.
Rose pulled a hunk of bread off the loaf and moved it to her plate. “So what brings you back to Cornwall, Xander?”
That was a good question. What had brought him back to Cornwall? The truth wouldn’t work. He’d given Ken and Molly a lame story about needing to get away from D.C. for a few weeks and prepare for the launch of his book. Molly had eaten it up. Ken had been more suspicious, but he was glad to have him home for a while. That story probably worked just as well as anything.
“Congress is out of session. I was feeling a little burned out, so I decided to come home instead of staying in Washington. With my book coming out and a reelection year on the horizon, I needed it. Come the fall, it will be twelve solid months of campaigning and fund-raising on top of finishing out my term. It’s exhausting. I needed to get away for a while and recharge before I jump back into the fray.”
“That’s understandable. When you work that hard for that long, you’ve got to get away every now and then or you’ll go crazy.”