I’m just about to say something profound when suddenly, we’re interrupted.
“Good evening, Mr. and Mrs. Stanton,” a waiter says as he materializes at the side of the table. “Can I start the two of you off with a drink tonight?”
Christine drops her hand from mine and blinks, flustered.
“Oh, I’m not …” Christine starts. I know what she’s going to say, but I cut her off in a smooth voice.
“I’ll have another bourbon, and my wife will take a seltzer water. Also, a spaghetti carbonara with extra bacon for the lady. Thanks so much.”
“Of course,” the waiter nods. “I’ll get that right out for you.” He then does a little bow before scurrying off to fill our order. As soon as the young man leaves, my date shoots me a startled glance.
“Why did you say that?” she asks.
I raise my brow.
“Oh, you don’t like bacon?” I lift my hand up to wave to the waiter. “I’ll have him change the order.”
“No, that’s not what I meant,” she says in exasperation. “You know what I mean!”
I pretend confusion.
“So bacon is good then? Or bad? We can always ask for chicken instead, if you prefer.”
Christine rolls her eyes, and then giggles.
“Okay, okay, have it your way. It’s just weird, don’t you think, that everyone thinks that I’m your wife?”
I grin.
“I like it actually,” I say in a light tone. “Besides, you’re a pregnant woman obviously out for a night on the town, so it makes sense that they’d assume that we’re married.”
She lets out an exasperated laugh.
“But you don’t have to reinforce it, Mr. Stanton. I can take care of myself.”
I grin and shrug.
“I’m sure you can, Christine, but let me take care of you for tonight at least, because it gives me great pleasure. Besides, it would have taken longer to correct the waiter, so I just rolled with it. It’s a compliment that he thinks I’m handsome enough to be married to a beautiful woman like you,” I wink.
She giggles then.
“Oh you!”
A sweet smile tilts the corners of her mouth, and I’m utterly entranced as she caresses her belly again.
“So,” I growl, trying to settle my pulse, “tell me about yourself, sweetheart. Do you work for City Girls a lot?”
She pauses and shakes her head.
“Actually no. This is my first date through the agency.”
My eyebrows fly up to my hairline.
“Really? What made you decide to try now, especially in your state?”
She takes a long swallow of her seltzer water, collecting her thoughts before answering.
“Well, it’s kind of a long story. I got laid off from my job just a few days ago, and as you can imagine, it didn’t come at a great time. Not that getting laid off ever comes at a good time, but you know what I mean,” she adds hastily. “I’m having this baby on my own, and so I needed to make money fast and City Girls was it.” Then, she looks mortified. “I’m so sorry to dump my sad story on you, but it’s the truth. I need to make money before the baby’s born, and City Girls is the best way.”