“I really don’t thi
nk I can stomach cafeteria food right now,” I told him as he hit the button for the first floor, where the cafeteria was.
“I would never make you eat hospital food, Kitten.” The doors opened again, and we walked off, my hand securely in his.
Outside, there was a small line of cabs, and we walked up to the first one. He got in first, something he always did when we went anywhere in a cab or Uber. The one time I’d tried to get in before him, he’d growled at me how dangerous it was. It had melted me, and instead of rolling my eyes at him in annoyance, I’d promised never to do it again.
Leaning forward, he told the driver where to take us then sat back. I shifted on the seat, unsure what to say. But when I finally opened my mouth to speak, he lowered his head and brushed a kiss over my lips. “Don’t,” he murmured. “Just let me have a little longer with you. One more meal. Please. That’s all I’m asking.”
Lifting my hand, he pressed it to his chest as he leaned back, and I quickly snapped my mouth shut.
The driver stopped in front of one of my favorite restaurants, a little Italian place that looked like a hole-in-the-wall but served the best food. My parents used to take us there when I was younger, and they would tell us the story of how they had dinner there before they even started dating. It was the same story every time, one that wasn’t even very romantic given that Mom was only seventeen at the time and Uncle Shane was a third wheel. But I loved that damn story, and the food was amazing.
There was no way Braxton had known about this place on his own. I’d never told him about it. Which meant Mom must have.
As we entered, a hostess came out from behind the podium with a welcoming smile on her face. “Table for two?”
Braxton nodded, my hand still pressed to his chest. I could feel how hard his heart was pounding, and it worried me that he was going to have a heart attack if he didn’t calm it down soon.
The hostess beamed at him and picked up two menus, leading the way to a quiet booth in the back. With the promise of sending someone to take our order quickly, she left us alone.
I glanced down at the booth, and Braxton finally eased his hold on my hand so I could take a seat. But instead of sitting across from me, he nudged me to scoot over and took the place beside me.
As soon as he was seated, he retook my hand. Lifting it to his lips, he kissed my knuckles and then pressed it back over his heart. The quiet between us was deafening, and I’d just opened my mouth to ask him if he was okay when the waitress arrived to take our drink order and ask if we would like an appetizer.
“Just water,” I told her with a tiny smile, and then Braxton ordered the same and an appetizer sampler.
Moments later, we were alone again, and I couldn’t stand the silence that shrouded us in return. “Braxton—”
“I know your dad probably told you to cut your losses and move back here. I’ll accept that and won’t make things more difficult for you, Kitten. Just…” He released a heavy sigh, and I watched as a single tear fell from his dark eyes. “Just let me have one more hour with you.”
I pinched my brows together. “Why would you think Daddy would say that?”
“I told him everything. If it were my daughter, I would be telling her to dump the douchebag, and then I’d kill the bastard.” His shoulders lifted in a shrug, and my heart twisted with love for him when another tear dripped off the end of his lashes.
I wiped it away with the thumb of my free hand, then leaned in to kiss his scruff-covered jaw. “Good thing you aren’t Daddy, then. Because that would have been a stupid thing to tell our daughter.”
He jerked in reaction to my words. “What?”
I shook my head at the confusion in his tear-glazed eyes. “Daddy didn’t tell me to dump you, but he did mention killing you if you break my heart again.”
“As he should,” he said gruffly.
“What he said was that I should give you one more chance, because you have never once broken a promise before.” I bit my lip, thinking just how smart my dad was because he was right. About everything. “That was what hurt the most, Brax. Not so much Darcy, because she is just an attention-seeking bitch. And not the wedding, because I knew you would never actually do something like that to me. But when you kept it all from me… That was what broke me.”
“Baby.” He cupped my face and pressed his forehead to mine. “I’m sorry. It’s never going to happen again. I never meant to hurt you. It’s killing me that I did. Causing you pain causes me pain.”
“You better not. I don’t think I could stop my dad from killing you if you do.” I’d meant to tease him, but his face was serious when he stroked his thumb from the corner of my eye down my cheek.
“If I so much as make a single tear fall from these beautiful eyes again, I’ll let him do his worst,” he vowed. “I love you more than life, Kitten. Because you are my life.”
The waitress cleared her throat to announce her arrival as she placed our glasses of water on the table in front of Braxton. “Er, sorry. Um, are you two ready to order?”
I swallowed a laugh at the scowl on Braxton’s face and quickly saved the girl from him. “Salad starter for both of us. Dressing on the side. Chicken parm for me, and he will have the lasagna. And please keep the breadsticks coming.”
She let out a relieved breath as she scribbled everything down, promised the appetizers would be out shortly, and booked it back to the kitchen.
Grinning up at Braxton, I kissed his chin. “I’m assuming Mom told you this is one of my favorite restaurants.”