The second Rob comes into view, his wife along side Zack and his wife, I swallow and get ready to put on our show. Although, I’m ninety percent sure it’s going to blow up in our faces, at least we can try.
“Emery!” Zack calls, rising from his chair, smiling widely. His wife is a mousy brunette with big glasses that cover most of her face. She’s obviously shy, as her eyes barely meet mine when I say hello. “This is MJ my wife, and this must be your fiancé.”
“Hi! Nice to meet you. I’m Emery, and yes this is my fiancé, Graham,” I say, looking over at him. He easily falls into a smile, offering his hand to Zack then MJ.
“Graham! The hockey superstar, I hear.” Zack laughs, clasping his hand. “Not much of a hockey fan myself, but Rob here could carry the whole damn team with all the knowledge he’s got.”
Rob laughs, shaking Graham’s hand as well. “I’m Rob, Emery’s boss. This is my wife, Malinda. Nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you all as well. When Em told me about wanting to have dinner and how big of a hockey fan you were, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to talk shop.”
Rob practically has stars in his eyes. Graham could charm anyone, anytime, without even trying.
Hell, it’s how I ended up like this.
And by this, I mean pregnant.
Camden introduces his girlfriend Aria, and then when all introductions are made, we get seated.
I take a seat across from them, Graham pushing my chair in before taking the seat beside me. We give the waiter our drink order, and when he’s gone, Zack looks over at me. “So Emery, I hear you’re taking some time off to be with Graham and his family?”
I nod. “Yes, we’re going to be going to Graham’s farm in Tennessee, to tell his mom and sister the news. About the babies.” Instinctively my hand moves to my lower stomach. When I glance over at Graham, he’s already looking at me, a small smile on his face. “I’ve actually never been down south and I’m really looking forward to seeing his family.”
Zack looks between the two of us. “I love it. My wife’s family is actually from southern Louisiana. A bit farther south than Tennessee, but the culture is amazing down there.”
“Ah, I have a cousin who’s a physical therapist down there. She actually works with a lot of athletes who have been injured. I believe she lives in the New Orleans area, or right outside,” Graham says.
“Small world. MJ’s family is from Metairie. A small town outside of New Orleans.”
I look at MJ and give her a smile. She tucks her hair behind her ear and nods shyly. It’s actually surprising to see Zack with someone so polar opposite to him. He seems to be a complete extrovert, and one that never meets a stranger.
Dinner passes quickly, we’re all so caught up in conversation and swapping stories around the table, that most of the restaurant has begun to clear out.
Rob and his wife tell us goodbye, since they’ve got a sitter with their kids, and Camden and his girlfriend had plans for after dinner, so it was just Zack, MJ, Graham and I left.
As nervous as I was, our dinner was hardly any talk about work, and most of it spent laughing until my sides hurt.
“Honestly, this was so much fun Zack. MJ. Thank you both for having us all for dinner.” I say.
Zack waves his hand, dismissing it, “I’ve loved getting to know everyone. Especially you and your fiancé. I can’t remember the last time I didn’t actually talk about a project I was working on and laughed this hard.”
I nod in agreement.
Graham reaches out on the table, lacing my hand in his and gives me a reassuring smile.
I can’t help but think about his whispered words before we left the house… There has been an undeniable ache between my thighs for the remainder of the night. Every time I shifted on the chair; I could feel the evidence of what we’d done only minutes before arriving here.
The way his eyes, molten amber liquid, just darkened signal he’s thinking the same exact thing that I am, right now.
“I’ve been thinking about broadening this project, maybe heading to the west coast with it, but the first stop is getting everyone on the same page.”
I nod, “Rob, Camden and I have been working on getting the contracts set up and will start working on filings soon.”
Graham looks around the restaurant and back at us, “Man, we cleared the place out Zack.”
Sure enough, we’re the only patrons remaining, and we’d been so lost in conversation I didn’t even realize it.
“Wow. Well, I guess this is where we say goodbye. I’m really looking forward to working together on this Emery. It was nice to meet you, Graham.” Zack rises from the table and extends his hand, shaking Graham’s. “I hope to see you both soon.”
He places his hand behind his wife’s back, and she tosses a shy wave over her shoulder, and they leave us in silence.
Before we can even stand, Graham leans in, his lips brushing against the sensitive shell of my ear, “Let’s go Davidson. You haven’t been able to sit still all night, and I know you’re dying for me to make it better.”
In the middle of the restaurant, I clench my thighs together.
But I refuse to admit that he’s right.
“You wish, Adams.”