* * *
We saton the floor in the corner of the room. There was just enough room for me to lay down a blanket for us to sit, the misshapen pizza between us, along with a bottle of red wine and two glasses.
I had helped Emilia sit down, and though she didn’t talk about her prosthetic leg much—or really, at all—I knew from the look she shot me after that she felt self-conscious about it.
I pretended not to notice, and I didn’t say anything.
I had found the light switch and dimmed down the light, and like this, I could almost pretend we were the only two people on this earth.
She took a bite of the pizza, closing her eyes and letting out a small moan that could give the world’s best porn star a run for her money.
I shifted in my seat just as she opened her eyes and looked at me. “Despite the shape, this is actually pretty good.”
“Yeah?”
She nodded, smiling happily. “Yeah. I like this. I’ve never been on a date like this before.”
“Good, I’m glad to hear you say that.”
“Does Aaron own the place or something?” she asked.
I nodded. “Yeah. He owns a pizza parlor not far from here, and on the weekdays, when it’s not too busy, he comes here to teach a class or two.”
“How did you meet him? And what did you do to get him to grant you this favor?”
“How do you know he was doing us a favor?”
“You said he owned a restaurant. Why would he just be here on Saturday night to let us in when his restaurant is probably busy now?”
I smiled a little at that. “He has competent staff to keep the place running for a while with his brief absence.”
She raised an eyebrow, as if asking me to continue. My smile widened at the sass in her eyes. Emilia was definitely different from her sister. Whereas Evelyn had a sweet, demure personality that made anyone in her orbit feel warm, Emilia was a force to be reckoned with. A passionate, fiery, beautiful force that I couldn’t get enough of. Surely if I got too close to this girl, I would end up burned.
And I couldn’t fucking wait.
“I helped his business out a while back. He called to invite me to the twenty-fifth anniversary party he was holding for his wife. I’d been thinking of ideas for our date, and I remembered this class.”
“How did you help him?” she asked curiously.
I rubbed my hand over my chin. “His restaurant ran into a bit of financial trouble two years ago. I backed him so he could get a loan from the bank to help him pull through.”
Her eyes turned gentle, and I looked away, shifting a bit. Emilia’s gaze could unnerve even the strongest man, and I wasn’t strong. Not at all. Not when it came to her.
“What?”
She smiled. “You’re a good man, Jensen. Even when you don’t want other people to know it.”
I shook my head. I didn’t want her to put me on this pedestal I had no business being on. “Not at all. I helped him for selfish reasons.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah.” I looked down at the pizza then. “I grew up visiting his restaurant. Used to be every other week with my dad. I visited a lot less after he died, but that restaurant remained a cornerstone for some of my happiest childhood memories. I couldn’t stand the thought of it going out of business.”
She placed a dainty hand on top of mine. I looked down at it. Emilia was so delicate in every possible way. Even her hands were delicate. I almost didn’t want to touch her, for fear of breaking her. I didn’t want to break her.
Just push her to the edge.
I shook away the thought and moved my hand so it was holding onto hers. She didn’t pull away—if anything, she moved in closer to me.