“Uh-huh.” Sarcasm is the way to my heart. “I feel so special now.”
Holt crosses his arms over the table, showing off his toned biceps. “I haven’t actually been on a first date in years.”
“Oh.” I squint one eye at him. “You’re married. I found the catch.”
“Ha. No. Not quite.” Oh, it looks like I hit a nerve.
“Care to expand?” His eyes lose focus, and I wonder if the exposed nerve is more painful than I originally thought. “Shit, I’m sorry. You don’t have to say anything.”
“Eh, it’s okay. I got out of a long-term relationship about six months ago.” My heart sinks. Here we go. This is where things take a turn for the worse. It always starts like this and ends up with them back in bed with their ex and me broke and alone.
“I’m sorry to hear that.” I sip my water, suddenly parched.
“She was actually my business partner, too. We co-owned the tattoo shop.”
Now I’m interested. “Yikes. Double whammy.”
“Yeah, that’s no joke. We were like oil and water, though, constantly trying to make it work.” He absentmindedly rubs his forearm. “Both our relationship and our business. Basically, it was a shit show. I just wish I would’ve pulled out first.” The hurt in his eyes is palpable.
“What does that mean?”
“Well, we tried to keep the business going, but last month she left our shop, started her own, and took three of the highest-earning artists with her.” Holt clenches his fists. “Not a great way to start the year.”
“Yikes, Holt. That really sucks.”
“Yeah, but you take the good with the bad.” He gazes at me from across the table, and my whole body melts. “I may have lost out on a little profit, but she’s out of my life.”
“That’s very optimistic.” I place my hand over his. To my surprise, he rests his other one on top of mine, sandwiching me in.
“Thanks for listening. I don’t want to be a total bore.”
“You’re not.” Tingles dance up and down my arm. “Trust me.”
The server arrives, popping open our bottle of white. She pours Holt a splash and slides it closer to him. “No.” He pushes the glass in my direction. “The lady will do the tasting.”
Panic-mode. I don’t know shit about wine. “No, I couldn’t.”
“Yeah, you can. I’ll talk you through it.” Holt leans forward, giving me his full attention. “Hold the stem and swirl it around.” I do as he says, feeling like a total weirdo. “That releases the aroma. Now bring it to your nose and take a long inhale.” His low, commanding voice sends a wave of heat to my core. As I bring the glass closer, I realize I’ll do anything he asks when he talks to me like this.
I do as he asks, breathing in the scent, searching for whatever it is I’m supposed to find. “What do you smell?”
“Wine.” My face scrunches.
Holt laughs, clasping his hands in front of his chest. “Take a taste.” I bring the glass to my lips. Holt’s intense stare could melt metal. To my surprise, the white wine tastes bright and fruity but not sweet.
“That’s really good.”
“You sound surprised.”
“I guess I am.” I slide my glass closer to the server. “Fill ‘er up.”
Again, Holt laughs, and the joy it brings me is almost embarrassing. “Fill us both up.” Once full, we raise our glasses, “I’m glad you changed your mind, Sienna.”
Sienna.Growl.
“Me too.” I nod, and in my heart I mean it, but my mind races at the speed of light. Everything always starts off smoothly, but if experience has taught me anything, I know that things can turn on a dime. There has to be something he’s hiding from me. Something to make him less than the perfect, dead sexy man before me.
“Cheers.” He gazes at me like he could eat me up, and dammit, I wish he would.