Avoiding Temptation (Avoiding #3)(22)

“How exactly do you feel about him, C? Because you’re acting like I stole your boyfriend,” Lexi snapped.

“Don’t even. You know he was an ass to me and then caused the breakup.”

“But now, you’re fine! And John is not bothering you anymore. I’m not happy that you told everyone about what had happened with Jack that night, but I’m willing to get over it!”

“Then, get over it. You’re always hiding things. If you just communicated with everyone else, then this wouldn’t even be a problem.”

“All right, whatever,” Lexi said in frustration. “I can’t be you. I can only be me, so I just hope you’ll forgive me.”

She looked at Chyna deliberately before turning on her heel and walking out. Lexi closed the door behind her before she let the tears come. She couldn’t lose her best friend over this. She just couldn’t…

It wasn’t a date.

It definitely was not a date.

There was no way she was going on a date with John—but that didn’t explain why she had taken a lot of time to pull the straightener through her long hair, making it silky smooth, or why she had carefully applied the makeup she didn’t normally wear, or why she had found a dress that had once belonged to Chyna that had somehow made it into Lexi’s closet with the price tags still on it.

Well, she had to still look the part. She had to still look like she was going to Daniel. They weren’t going to let her in if she was in an oversized T-shirt, running shorts, and tennis shoes. That was why she had put on her favorite pair of Manolos that Chyna had given her. There was no other reason—whatsoever.

It wasn’t a date. That was obvious.

Lexi shook off her worries and finally left her apartment. She wanted to think it didn’t matter what she looked like, but it did. It wasn’t about the dress code. It mattered to her. She had to tell John it was over, but still, a part of her wanted to look nice for him.

John had wanted to pick her up from her apartment to take her to the restaurant, but she had refused. She didn’t want to give him the wrong idea about what they were doing. This put some distance between them, and it helped to calm her down.

Nerves hit her full force as the cab driver pulled up in front of the restaurant after the short drive. A valet opened the door for her and assisted her out of the car.

“Thank you,” she murmured.

She walked across the red-carpeted entranceway that read Daniel in the restaurant’s signature design and in through the wooden double doors.

Lexi bit her bottom lip as she stared at the beautiful interior of the restaurant. She had always wanted to come here, but she had been intimidated by the luxurious surroundings. It had an all white interior with large columns artfully placed in archways that divided the rooms. Tables were evenly spaced throughout the room with crisp white tablecloths, sterling silver utensils, and bouquets of red roses. The lighting was dim and romantic. Daniel was a date spot, and Lexi knew it. Knowing it made her even more anxious. She wasn’t on a date. As far as she wanted to look at it, she was here on business.

“May I help you?” the maître d’ asked, stepping up to greet her.

“Yes, I have a reservation for two under Ward,” Lexi said. She fiddled absentmindedly with the deep purple clutch she held in her hand. At least she wasn’t pushing her hair behind her ear.

“Of course. Mr. Ward has already arrived. Allow me to escort you to his table.”

Lexi followed him across the main room, through a large archway, and into a smaller similarly decorated room. The maître d’ strode into the candlelit room and headed to the very back corner.

“Here you are,” the maître d’ said, gesturing to the table.

“Thank you.”

When the maître d’ left, Lexi caught her first look at John as he stood from the table. He was strikingly handsome in a charcoal gray suit with a black button-up. He didn’t have on a tie, and the top button on his shirt was undone. His short brown hair was styled, his hazel eyes looked dark in the low light, and his lips were pulled up into a smile at the sight of her.

“Lexi,” John said in greeting, his eyes roaming the curves clearly visible in the tight black dress she was wearing.

She saw a glint of desire in his eyes. She couldn’t keep the smile off her face as she approached him.

“Stunning,” he murmured.

He reached out his arms and took her hands in his, pulling her lightly toward him. Lexi teetered forward on her high heels as just that slight tug threatened to pull her off-balance. John caught her against his chest and wrapped an arm around her waist.

“Absolutely stunning,” he whispered into her hair.

His hands slid down her sides, and she quickly stepped away from him.

She smacked his hand lightly and shook her head at him. “No touching.”

He smirked devilishly. Lexi remembered why she had been able to forget everything that had happened when she had left Atlanta after breaking up with Ramsey. She had really wanted to forget though, so that probably helped.

“Oh, I forgot. Boyfriend.”

“Yes, boyfriend,” Lexi repeated. He would do well to remember that.

He didn’t seem perturbed by that fact as he ushered her to her seat.

John pulled out the chair for her, and she sat down.

“Does your boyfriend know that you’re out to dinner with me?” he asked, scooting the chair forward.