Lyric: She said yes! And the parents and Aunt Emmie are already here to start the wedding plans. Please. You have to come. I know you don’t want to see Luca, but I need you both there. And Mila wants to meet you.
I sighed and texted him back.
Me: I wouldn’t miss it for anything. Just keep your brother away from me, and I promise I’ll be there.
Almost instantly, I got a reply.
Lyric: You got it. I’ll let you know when and where. Hugs.
“Something tells me this wedding isn’t going to take long to plan,” Shaw said as she pulled on her jeans and buttoned them. “Are you going to be okay with seeing Luca?”
“Yes,” I answered without hesitation. “It’s time.”
“It’s time?” she repeated, her brow furrowed. “Time for what?”
I thought about how I couldn’t make up my mind if I wanted Remington to kiss me, and I smiled. “Time to really move on.”
Chapter 32
/> Violet
After a quick stop at our hotel where Shaw and I both changed out of our jeans into something dressier, Remington took us to dinner. I’d been to London enough times to know where the best places to eat were, and one of the posher restaurants was owned by a friend of my family.
When Remington asked where we wanted to eat, Shaw and I were in agreement about where to go. Walking in, we were greeted by a hostess who gave us a smile in welcome, remembering the last time we’d eaten there with our moms. But it was Remington she tripped over herself to please when he told her we didn’t have a reservation but we’d like a table for three.
There were at least a half-dozen people waiting for tables, all of them with reservations, but she took us straight back to a secluded booth and assured us the chef would be out to speak to us personally soon. I was used to this kind of treatment, so it didn’t matter to me if the chef came to talk to us about our dinner or not.
I sat down first, and then Shaw slid across from me, leaving Remington to choose which of us he wanted to sit beside. When he didn’t even hesitate to next to me, I felt my entire body heat with pleasure and want. Under the table, Shaw nudged me with her foot and winked before mouthing, “Told you so.”
A waitress appeared to fill our water glasses and ask if we wanted wine. Remington ordered a bottle of red wine for us and then turned his body so he was pressing his thigh up against mine.
“How did you like the car?” he asked casually, but I felt like he was holding his breath while he waited for our answers.
“It’s sexy,” Shaw told him before taking a sip of her water. “My brother is going to be so jealous when he sees I got to sit in it before he even knew it existed.”
His face clouded, and his gaze dropped to my mouth at the mention of Cannon. “How is that douchebag these days?”
Shaw choked out a laugh. “I’ve always liked that about you, Remington. You don’t mess around. A person always knows where they stand with you.” Setting her glass down, she grinned. “Cannon is doing a lot better these days. Military school beat some respect and even a few manners into him that our parents never quite could. Ever since he graduated, he’s been trying to get Violet to forgive him.”
Blue eyes landed on me once again. “And has she?”
I shrugged. “I forgave him a long time ago. He just doesn’t know it.”
His brows lifted in speculation. “You forgave him so easily?”
“It was part of therapy. But just because I forgave him doesn’t mean he needs to know that. Let him suffer a little longer. Especially if it keeps him at my beck and call like he has been.” I smirked. “If he knew I was so forgiving, he might suddenly stop rushing out to get me a burger, fries, and shake at two in the morning when I casually mention I’m hungry.”
As he leaned into me, Remington’s breath brushed over my neck when he murmured close to my ear. “Then tell him you forgive him. I’ll gladly fetch your late-night cravings for you from now on.”
Holy shit. I felt like my entire body was going up in flames. I wanted to grab his head and pull him in for a kiss. I wanted to know what he tasted like, if kissing him would be just as wild as kissing Luca once was. If he could drive me crazy with the brush of his tongue over mine as easily as his touch on my back earlier had done.
Before I could even take another breath, a shadow appeared over our table, and I stiffened, remembering we were in a crowded restaurant. And while the booth was designed to offer us privacy, I wasn’t sure I wanted Shaw as a witness to my first kiss with Remington.
“When Jan told me Remington Sawyer was gracing my humble establishment tonight, I had no idea he would be bringing two of my favorite blondes with him.”
Hoping my face didn’t show just how turned on I was, I smiled up at Aldrich Baldwin. He was a celebrity chef, and he was close friends with my entire family. He was so calm and cool in the kitchen during every kind of emergency, and I’d rarely seen him as anything but over the years. Aldrich was handsome, and with his pale blond hair, it was hard to tell if he had any gray mixed in with it, but at fifty-two, I was sure he had at least a few scattered in his thick mane.
He slid into the booth beside Shaw and casually draped his arm over her shoulders. “How are you, darling?” he asked as he kissed her cheek.